Department of Music acquires carillon practice keyboard
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For a full decade, the University community has enjoyed the sounds of the 35-bell carillon in the Allen bell tower. While the hourly chimes and much of the weekly music is recorded, the rich tradition of the carillon lies in the variety of music that can be played from the manual keyboard. The playing console is a system of dowels and pedals with wires connected to the bell clappers, and is unique to the carillon. This uniqueness makes practicing a challenging matter, since carillon bells can be heard for some distance. Most schools, churches, and towns with a carillon make provisions for a practice keyboard—a keyboard where the dowels and pedals are connected to tone bars rather than live bells; the player can hear the notes played, but practicing can be done in relative quiet and in a small space.
| Mr. Farris with the numerous and well-organized pieces of the practice keyboard in his garage |
In the fall of 2007, university carillonneur Donna King learned of a disassembled practice keyboard in Pennsylvania that might be a good match for Lipscomb’s playing console. This past summer, she and her husband, Robert, traveled to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and brought this unusual instrument to the new music facility at Lipscomb University. Mr. Charles Farris, a church musician, retired music professor and carillonneur, had purchased the instrument from the University of Kansas several years ago. He intended to reassemble it in his home, but an increasingly busy piano studio prevented the project.
This particular practice keyboard has an interesting history with some of the most recognized names in the modern carillon tradition. It was originally constructed by John Taylor & Company of Loughborough, England, when the original carillon was installed at the University of Kansas in 1950-1951. In 1996, both the playing and practice consoles were replaced during extensive renovations to the instrument, and it was at this time that Mr. Farris purchased the instrument. The first University of Kansas carillonneur was Ronald Barnes, a teacher, performer, composer, and arranger, for whom an annual carillon scholarship is named. He was succeeded by Albert Gerkin, another great performer and composer in the American tradition, and a friend of Mr. Farris from the School of Music at the University of Michigan. On the Lipscomb campus, the console was reassembled by Mr. Richard Watson of Meeks, Watson, and Company, Bellfounders and Carillon Builders.
The addition of a practice keyboard in the Department of Music should provide not only increased opportunities for live playing, but for involvement by both performing and composition students with a somewhat rare and very remarkable instrument.