Restoration Highlight--The New Practice Instrument

Restoration Highlight    

      The highly anticipated restoration and renovation of The McGaffin Carillon is complete. We are very thankful for the over 225 donors who have made this possible. A list of donors is on the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon website https://www.ucbells.org/friends . In these series of highlights The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon would like to honor some of the major gifts as well as some of the major upgrades to the installation.   

A New Practice Instrument 

One of the most frequent questions visitors to the tower ask is, “How do you practice the carillon?” Learning a complicated new piece—or even learning to play at all—on the actual tower bells isn’t the best way to stay on good terms with the neighbors. For this reason, most towers have a practice instrument: a clavier, or keyboard, configured like the live clavier but not connected to the bells. If the carillonist is lucky, the practice instrument is located in a warm cozy room during the winter.

The original 1968 installation included a practice instrument that matched the tower clavier and produced sound using bright xylophone-like tone bars. That instrument is still located in the tower. However, the new main clavier follows the 2006 World Carillon Federation Standard configuration, so a new practice instrument was needed to match.

Patrick Macoska demonstrates the new practice instrument to visitors at our “Farewell to the Bells” event in August 2024

Fortunately, in 2021, FMC board member Patrick Macoska donated a practice instrument he had designed and built. It matches the new clavier configuration and, instead of tone bars like the original practice instrument, uses digital sound samples of real bells. The instrument is currently located in the handbell room off Beckwith Hall on the upper level of the parish house—a much more comfortable place to practice.

This practice instrument will see plenty of use as we launch our student guild and introduce young performers to the carillon.

Restoration Highlight--The Smallest Bells of the McGaffin Carillon

Restoration Highlight    

      The highly anticipated restoration and renovation of The McGaffin Carillon is complete. We are very thankful for the over 225 donors who have made this possible. A list of donors is on the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon website https://www.ucbells.org/friends . In these series of highlights The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon would like to honor some of the major gifts as well as some of the major upgrades to the installation.

The Smallest Bells of the McGaffin Carillon

The two smallest bells of the carillon prior to their installation.

Jane Leggiero and the top D bell

     Not all of the carillon updates weigh thousands of pounds! George and Jane Leggiero gifted two bells at the upper end of the instrument. This extends our range with a C# and D at the very top of the clavier. The treble bells of the McGaffin Carillon are truly special, very sweet and singing. These two new bells increase what hymns and other tunes we can play in this “music-box” range of our bells. Each of the bells weighs about 30 pounds.

     The C# Bell is the new number 50 bell and is a gift from George Leggiero to celebrate 2023, the 50th year of his playing the McGaffin Carillon. George came to Cleveland from Connecticut as a freshman engineering student at CWRU in 1968, only months after the carillon was installed. As a graduate student in music history, in 1973 he took on the role of Covenant Carillonist.  

     The top bell, D, is a gift of George’s daughter, Jane Leggiero, also celebrating 2023. The bell commemorates her 40th year and the year she completed her doctorate at CWRU, a DMA in historic performance. 

     The bells are small enough, about 8 inches across, that there isn’t much room for fancy inscriptions or decorations. The C# bell simply has   “G 50 L”  and the D bell   “J 40 L” 

Restoration Highlight--The New Eb Bell

Restoration Highlight    

      The highly anticipated restoration and renovation of The McGaffin Carillon is complete. We are very thankful for the over 225 donors who have made this possible. A list of donors is on the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon website https://www.ucbells.org/friends . In these series of highlights The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon would like to honor some of the major gifts as well as some of the major upgrades to the installation.

The New E♭ Bell

Rod Keen and Denise Horstman look over the new Eb bell just before it will be hoisted into the tower.

      One of the new bells added to the McGaffin Carillon during our recent renovation is a low E♭ on the clavier (keyboard). As was customary for many carillons, including the McGaffin Carillon, the original instrument was cast without the lowest C♯ and E♭ bass notes. Because bell weight triples with each descending octave, it made sense in 1968 to extend the instrument in the upper range rather than include these large, infrequently used bass bells.

     As part of this renovation, we have added four new bells to expand the carillon’s musical range. The low E♭ bell was generously gifted by Denise Horstman, founding president of The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon, and her husband, Rod Keen—much to the excitement of our performers. This bell, weighing 1,672 pounds, was cast in 2023 by Royal Eijsbouts to match the original bells in tone, tuning, and decoration.

     An inscription on the bell’s shoulder reads: EIJSBOUTS ME FECIT FOR THE MCGAFFIN CARILLON MMXXIII. The decorative band surrounding the inscription features symbols of the gospel writers, matching the ornamentation on the original bells. The bell is a memorial to the donors’ parents and includes a Latin inscription encircling its body:
NON VOX SED VOTUM NON MUSICA CORDULA SED COR NON CLAMOR SED AMOR CANTAT IN AURE DEI
(“Not the voice but the prayer, not concordant music but the heart, not noise but love sings in the ear of God”)—a quote from a 17th-century bell in Cambridgeshire, England.

     This bell is featured in the new quarter-hour chime and is heard as the final note of each quarter. The photo shows the proud "parents" inspecting their gift before it was hoisted into place in the tower.

A view of the decoration circling the shoulder of the new bell.

Restoration Highlight -- The Clock Chimes

Restoration Hightlight

     The highly anticipated restoration and renovation of The McGaffin Carillon is complete. We are very thankful for the over 225 donors who have made this possible. A list of donors is on the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon website https://www.ucbells.org/friends . In these series of highlights The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon would like to honor some of the major gifts as well as some of the major upgrades to the installation.
 

The New Clock Chimes

The Digital Clock Display

Emily Blake

     At its installation in 1968, The McGaffin Carillon marked the hours and played the Westminster Chimes every quarter hour. Unfortunately, these chimes stopped working decades ago. During our 2018 restoration of the peal, a community volunteer was able to repair the hour strike, but parts needed to repair the quarter hour chimes were no longer available and the quarter hours remained silent.
     A digital clock control is part of the new system thanks to the generosity of the late Emily Blake. Emily was a lifetime member of the Church of the Covenant. She met her husband, Bob, at the church. Emily served as chair of the fundraising and membership committees of the church and was also a volunteer for the Covenant Cache, the church thrift shop. The entire family has been very active in church activities.
      New quarter hour chimes, The McGaffin Quarters, were composed by Covenant and University Circle Carillonist, George Leggiero. The chimes highlight the new Eb bell, the last bell rung every quarter, and the new bourdon or lowest bell that counts the hours. The McGaffin Quarters will sound from 9am to 10pm. The hour strike will be heard 24 hours a day. The clock is set by an Internet time signal and the first stroke of the hour strike is always exactly on the hour. 

Restoration Highlight--The Clavier

Restoration Hightlight

     The highly anticipated restoration and renovation of The McGaffin Carillon is complete. We are very thankful for the over 225 donors who have made this possible. A list of donors is on the Friends of the McGaffin Carillon website https://www.ucbells.org/friends . In these series of highlights The Friends of the McGaffin Carillon would like to honor some of the major gifts as well as some of the major upgrades to the installation.

Clavier

Mildred Russin and Frank Svoboda

The New Clavier

There are new bells, and those will be highlighted in a later post. But those won’t be heard unless the performer has a proper clavier (keyboard) from which to play them. After over fifty years the old clavier had become so worn that it made so much noise the performer couldn’t hear what they were playing. The new clavier is a gift of the estate of Frank J. Svoboda. Frank was a good friend of the late Mildred Russin and both were very supportive of music at The Church of the Covenant, especially the carillon. Mildred arranged for the gift from Frank’s estate. 
     The new clavier is built to a standard set by The World Carillon Federation in 2006. It is made of sturdy oak, with maple batons. Its smooth and quiet action is a welcome change from the old clavier.
     The clavier is connected mechanically to the clappers of each of the fifty-one bells, a hand lever for each of the bells, and foot levers for the lowest twenty-five.  The bells have been hung on new framing that brings the smaller bells closer to the clavier. All of this makes for a quieter and more responsive action. The musicians will have an easier time bringing more subtle nuance to their performances.