The
Yale
Guild of Carillonneurs visits the Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten
On Sunday, March 6, 2011 the
Yale Guild of Carillonneurs visited the Carillon in Berlin-Tiergarten.
The group of 18 young carillonneurs attend Yale University in New
Haven, Connecticut, USA and play its grand carillon with 54 bells, a
6,3 ton bourdon and a total weight of 38,5 tons. The bells were cast by
the English bellfounder John Taylor. The visit to Berlin was the first
stop in a tour through Germany, during which the Yale carillonneurs
visited carillons in Emmerich, Frankfurt, and Wiesbaden. The Berlin
carillonneur Jeffrey Bossin hosted the group, explained how he designed
the Berlin carillon instrument to be a typical American grand carillon
in a park setting and played the choral setting Victimae paschali from Roy Hamlin
Johnson's Carillon Book for the
Liturgical Year. Each member of the Yale Guild then played a
short piece. Their repertoire included carillon works such as the Sonnerie by Ronald Barnes and Asteroids by Gary White as well as
popular tunes such as the melody from the film The Godfather and a duet on the song
Chim Chim Cheree from
the film Mary Poppins. Bossin
gave
the members of the group many tips designed to help them improve
their playing technique and render it more expressive. At the end of
the visit the group gave Mr. Bossin a card thanking him for his
hospitality and then proceeded to the train station to catch a train to
their next destination.