Summer Carillon Recitals at York Minster
18/06/2009
Issued by: York Minster
The grounds of York Minster and the narrow streets of the ancient city centre will be filled with the sounds of bells during the series of Saturday carillon recitals this summer.
The most recent recital on Saturday 6th June was entitled ‘Mainly Baroque' and featured some of the keyboard works of Bach, Handel and Purcell, arranged for bells. The next recital will be on Saturday 20th June at 11am and will move forward in time to music inspired by Second World War songs.
The carillon is a set of thirty-five chiming bells, located in York Minster's south tower. York Minster is the only cathedral in England to contain a full carillon.
The carillon is played before Evensong on weekdays and Saturdays by a team of volunteers ranging in age. Some of the carillonneurs are professional musicians but the majority are keen amateur pianists or organists who have progressed from playing the practice carillon to the much larger carillon keyboard and pedals. The carillon generally plays a mixture of hymn tunes and traditional melodies, but during the summer recitals, the boundaries will be stretched to cover a much wider range of music.
To celebrate the new ‘Veterans' Day' on the weekend of the 27th and 28th June, John Ridgeway-Wood has been asked by York city Council to play the carillon with music from the First and Second World Wars. The recitals will take place on Saturday at 1pm and 3pm and Sunday at 2.15pm, lasting approximately 30 minutes.
The carillon recital on the 4th July will be dedicated to American themes and on the 18th July to European folk music. The recitals are generally held on the first and third Saturdays of each month until the 17th October. To find out more about the carillon recitals, please visit http://www.yorkminster.org/calendar/