Berlin Carillonneur Jeffrey Bossin given
honorable
mention
in exhibition marking the 775th
anniversary of the founding of Berlin in 2012
The exhibition opposite the Berlin cathedral
In 1987 the city of Berlin celebrated its
750th anniversary and Daimler-Benz commemorated the event by sponsoring
the
installation of a grand carillon codesigned by the American
carillonneur
Jeffrey Bossin and cast by the Royal Eijsbouts bellfoundry. 25 years
later the
city is marking its 775th anniversary with an open air exhibition
entitled Mach
Dir ‚nen Plan von Berlin. Stadt der Vielfalt. A large map
of the city on a scale of 1
to 775 was drawn on what will become the site of the reconstructed city
palace whose ruins were torn down by the East
German government after the Second World War. It is opposite the Berlin
cathedrale
and the Lustgarten in the old city centre of Berlin. The exhibition
takes as
its theme the diversity of Berlin and its population and its origins in
the
many people who migrated there and brought new things
to the city with them. 150 people and things were chosen from the
775-year history of the
city to represent this aspect of its development including Hannah
Höch, who
cofounded the Berlin Dada movement, the peasant families from the
Palatinate
who accepted Frederick the Great’s call to move to Berlin in the 18th
century,
and the Swiss brewer Daniel Josty who invented the typical Berlin white
beer.
The American carillonneur Jeffrey Bossin was also selected as one of
these 150
immigrants. Tall poles representing huge pins were stuck in the map to
mark the
place where each person made his contribution and each one bears a
placard
showing a portrait of the person and a short text describing their
achievement.
A pink one representing music is placed in the Tiergarten and is
dedicated
to Jeffrey Bossin as the American who brought the art of carillon
playing back
to Berlin in 1987. He is also given a prominent place as one of only
fourteen
chosen to be displayed on the map of Berlin on the brochure
accompanying the
exhibition and as one of only four picked to be displayed on the
brochure in English. The exhibition
was opened on August 24th by the mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit and
runs until
October 28, the date marking the earliest recorded mention of the city
of
Berlin.
Part
of
the exhibition brochure. The pink
pin highlights the contribution made by Jeffrey Bossin to Berlin.
„An American brought the art of the
carillon playing back to Berlin. The first bell tower, installed in
1717 in the
Parochial church in the Mitte district, was destroyed during World War
II. For
many years, no bells rang out across the city. Then Jeffrey Bossin, a
trained
carillonneur from California, came to study in Berlin. In his hometown
in the
USA, the tradition of the Flemish carillon tower has been maintained
since
1883. High towers in parks and open spaces make the sound, which is
generated
using fists and feet on a keyboard of at least two octaves, resonate
far and wide.
Bossin lobbied for a similiar tower to be built in the Tiergarten to
celebrate
the 750th anniversary of the founding of the city, and he still plays
regular
concerts on the carillon’s 68 bells.“ The placard shows the carillon in
Berlin-Tiergarten
at the top, then Jeffrey Bossin at its keyboard. Underneath him is a
photo of
the lifting of the 7,8 ton bourdon bell into the tower with the German
parliament building, the Reichstag opposite the carillon tower, in the
background and to the right is a photo of the Parochial Church which
housed the
first Berlin carillon.