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Carillonneur

April 09, 2008

preston_Carillonneur.jpg

This is a shot of Edward Nassor, the carillonneur of the Washington Cathedral. Carillonneur... don't hear that word very often, do you? A carillonneur is a connoisseur of all things carillon. A carillon is a chromatic series of fixed bells which are struck with a clapper. I was very interesting to be present for Mr. Nassor's demonstration, and as you can see, the "keyboard" is struck with the musician's half-closed fists. Seems to me this is a musical discipline, and stress therapy rolled into one! In addition to the keyboard, there are numerous foot pedals similar to that of an organ. I'm guessing this must be the largest musical instrument in the world, if not the heaviest.

susanPreston_carillongears.jpg

A fellow tour-goer behind a set of cables connecting the playing console to the bells above. To hear an audio clip of the carillon bells, Click here.

Posted by vincent at April 9, 2008 11:45 AM

Comments

Oh, what a treat to see him perform, Susan! Must have given you goose bumps. Just the cables tell the story. Thanks for sharing all this.

Posted by: janet at April 10, 2008 02:09 PM