The Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten has an automatic playing system connected to the F0 bell and the 25 bells c2 - c4. The hammers and electric cables are from the Dutch bellfounders Eijsbouts. The present day system of relays and the computer were delivered and installed by Rainer Chemnitius when the original equipment broke down after several years. The special computer software was developed by Klaus Bonau in consultation with Jeffrey Bossin in the course of several years.

The automatic plays a short motive from 8 until 11 a.m. and from 1 until 7 p.m. and a short  melody at 12 noon. After that it strikes the hour from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. At 12 noon and 6 p.m. it then plays four short pieces. The hour-strike motive and melody and all the pieces were arranged or composed by Jeffrey Bossin, who programmed them on the computer. The melodies sometimes differ from the standard versions because the automatic can't repeat the lower notes quickly so other notes are substituted for the repeated ones.


Click here to listen to the hour-strike motive and here to listen to the hour-strike melody.

The automatic currently plays the following pieces. Click on the names to listen to them:

At 12 noon
Tra-ri-ra, der Sommer, der ist da*               German folksong
An einem Sommermorgen*                        German folksong
                             

At 6 p.m.
From "Die schöne Müllerin"
Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust*            Franz Schubert
Geh aus, mein Herz und suche Freud'*      German folksong

*Arranged for carillon by Jeffrey Bossin.