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.