As we speak’s publish celebrates the reminiscence of Karl Haas, the German-American musicologist and host of the long-running radio program, Adventures in Good Music. One of many program’s hottest episodes, The Story of the Bells, aired for a few years on Christmas Eve. It documented the various sounds of church bells throughout Europe and the Center East. In Haas’ phrases, “It’s an superior sound…a sound which leaves no room for human voices.”
To proceed this custom, let’s hearken to the awe-inspiring cacophony of the bells of Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral. On this recording, we hear 12 of the Cathedral’s 22 bells. Every bell joins the refrain, one after the other, in a descending cascade of pitches (C, A, F, D, C, B, G, F, E-flat, G). The most important bell, known as the Pummerin (“Boomer”), hangs within the north tower and weighs 44,380 kilos. A brand new bell has changed the unique Pummerin, solid in 1705 from the stays of 208 canons captured from Muslim invaders throughout the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna. It’s stated that Beethoven realized the extent of his deafness when he noticed birds flying from the towers of St. Stephen’s, however couldn’t hear the bells.
Over a whole lot of years, the bells of St. Stephen’s Cathedral have been used for functions that are each lofty and mundane. These embrace celebrations, funerals, spiritual providers, fireplace alarms, and even a Bieringerin (“beer ringer” for final name at taverns). On this heat day, the bells shaped a magical backdrop to the every day lifetime of Vienna’s Stephansplatz as frolicking kids chased bubbles blowing within the breeze:
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Composed in 1912, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols is scored for baritone, refrain, and orchestra. It consists of people carols which Vaughan Williams collected whereas touring all through southern England: The reality despatched from above, Come all you worthy gents, and the Sussex Carol. Within the climactic closing moments, a fraction of The First Noel weaves into the bass strains of the orchestra.
Recordings
- Adventures in Good Music/The Story of the Bells Amazon
- Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols, John Barrow, Gavin Williams, Choir of Guildford Cathedral, String Orchestra, Barry Rose Amazon
Featured Picture: Christmas market at Vienna’s Stephansplatz, {photograph} by Kim+Heep
