The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA)

The GCNA is dedicated to the promotion of the carillon art in North America.  On this continent, it is

• the professional organization of musicians who play the carillon,
• the association of and for persons interested in the carillon - its music, its use, its construction, etc.

Find out more about the Guild, its organization and operation, membership, publications, gatherings, history, contacts, etc.

A Carillon is

“a musical instrument consisting of at least two octaves of carillon bells arranged in chromatic series and played from a keyboard permitting control of expression through variation of touch.  A carillon bell is a cast bronze cup-shaped bell whose partial tones are in such harmonious relationship to each other as to permit many such bells to be sounded together in varied chords with harmonious and concordant effect.”

from the Articles of Incorporation of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America

 

So what really is a carillon?  A brief history and technical discussion.

 

The photo at right shows some of the bells of a carillon in their frame, along with parts of the operating mechanism.

Where are carillons found? Most commonly, in conventional bell towers, either attached to buildings (such as churches) or freestanding (often called a campanile).   The photo at left shows such a tower. More generally, in any kind of structure which can *   adequately support the bells where their sound can be heard over a wide area, and *   provide a weatherproof and easily accessible space to house the playing keyboard. Specifically, in hundreds of locations, not only in North America but around the world.  You can find them via either of two pathways: *   a regional locator map for North America     (with links to the data pages about individual carillons) *   the Introduction to the Data Section of this Website. (Also indexed and described are other significant types of tower bell instruments.) Where and when can they be heard? Consult 2008 Summer Carillon Recital Schedule as a Web page   (with links to similar schedules from previous years,       and to the data pages about individual carillons) as an Acrobat Reader (or PDF) download (132 KB) The pages about individual carillons (refer to locations as above) often include schedules of regular or occasional playing. Recordings of carillons

Links:  Web pages of other bell-related organizations and related e-mail lists

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Credits:  The carillon tower is at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA (photo used by permission).  The inside picture is of Paccard bells in the carillon of the University of California, Riverside, CA (photo by N. Bliss).  The graphic heading of this page is the current GCNA logo and letterhead.  The frieze design at the top of most other pages related to the Guild is from the title page of music published by the GCNA, and represents a decorative frieze found on 17th century Dutch bells.