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Sixty-six bronze bells hanging in an open tower in Springfield’s Washington Park form the Rees Memorial Carillon, one of the world’s largest and finest carillons.
Prairie Fire visits the carillon, where carilloneur Karel Keldermans plays the bells manually with a keyboard located in a glass enclosure in the tower. Prairie Fire host Alison Davis tours the tower and the glass booth known as the “carilloneur’s cabin.” She explains that carillons differ from ordinary bell towers. “Bell towers are built to produce sound, while carillons are built to produce music. They’re more refined than bell towers. The bells are precisely tuned,” said Davis.
The program looks at the history of the carillon, built with a trust fund provided by Thomas Rees, publisher of the Illinois State Register from 1881 until his death in 1933.
He and his wife traveled extensively in Belgium and Holland and he fell in love with the sound of the carillons he saw there,” said Davis. “He never got to see his gift realized because the carillon wasn’t completed until 1962.” Carillon concerts are given each Sunday afternoon year-round and on Wednesday evenings during the summer. In addition, the week-long International Carillon Festival, held each June, draws thousands of music lovers.
Segment duration: 08:32
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Illinois Culture/History • Music • University of Illinois • Springfield
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