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Composing
for the Carillon
by
John Gouwens.
What follows is taken
from the notes accompanying the video
demonstration: "Composing for the
Carillon" by John Gouwens A
"printer-friendly" PDF version
of the following is available at the the
website address given below. The video
demonstration is available, both as a free download and, soon, will be available
in DVD format (when ordered).
http://carillon.vrvisuals.com
Composing
for the Carillon: Recommendations and
Examples
by
John Gouwens.
This
explanation will, I hope, be helpful to
you in at least introducing you to the
technical and musical considerations of
writing for the carillon. The best
introduction, still, is to find a
skilled carillonneur who is willing to
spend time with you showing you how the
instrument is played. If you are unsure
as to who to contact, please contact me
(information at the end of this
document, as I will be glad to be of
assistance in finding the carillonneur
nearest you.
A
recording is available which features a
variety of recent compositions
demonstrating various approaches to the
instrument. The
Organ and Carillon, Volume 3: A
Summer’s Night is available for
$14.98 (plus shipping and handling),
including works commissioned by the
Johan Franco Composition Fund of The
Guild of Carillonneurs in North America
by John Pozdro, Stephen Paulus, and
Libby Larsen. This may be ordered from
the following:
Culver Academies Bookstore
1300 Academy Road, #101
Culver
,
Indiana
46511-1291
(phone)
574-842-8279
For
more information, and links to an online
order form, go to:
http://faculty.culver.org/~gouwenj/Recordings.asp
All compositions excerpted here
are published and copyrighted by The
Guild of Carillonneurs in
North America
. All compositions excerpted herein were
edited for publication by John Gouwens.
For
the purposes of competitions and
commissions sponsored by the Johan
Franco Composition Fund of The Guild of
Carillonneurs in
North America
, pieces must be playable on a carillon
of four octaves’ range, minus low C#
and D#. (Some carillons include low C#
and many carillons today include low D#,
but there is still a large number of
instruments in which those lowest
chromatics are eliminated – a savings
in space as well as expense.)
A few very basic considerations:
I. Technical:
1.
Normally, carillon music is written on
two staves, the lower in bass clef,
representing the pedals, and the upper,
in treble clef, representing the
manuals. The pedal range on a 47-bell
North American carillon is normally two
octaves (c-c2). The manual range can
extend as low as c, going up to c4;
however, in practice most manual writing
rarely ventures below middle c (c1), as
the heavier clappers are more easily
controlled by the pedals, where the
player’s leg weight can assist in
overcoming the inertia of the heavier
clappers (and the action connecting to
them).
Some carillons are
pitched 1–4 semitones higher or lower
(much higher in a few cases), which is
mostly a function of the money and space
available. The carillon at Culver (used
in this video) is pitched approximately
one semitone low, for example. Usually,
it is best to think in terms of a
carillon at “concert pitch” in order
to have a piece that will “fit” the
large majority of instruments available.
The trend in newer instruments is
generally to build them in “concert
pitch” whenever possible, adding extra
bass notes if space and money permit.
2. Except in slower passages, the
carillonneur can generally play only one
note at a time in each hand. In slower
passages, the maximum range of notes
that may be played is a perfect fourth.
Thus, two notes a fourth apart may be
played in one hand, or a cluster, or of
course, a smaller interval.
3. Because of the heaviness of the
lower bells, and the longer time it
takes those keys to return, it is
difficult to play a long string of notes
below d1 at a rate of more
than, say, 200 per minute, and rapid
repeated notes in the low range are
nearly impossible on most carillons. (On
video, excerpt from Johan
Franco: Prelude and Toccata II.)
4. Composers should bear in mind
that frequent, radical, sudden changes
in register (from high treble bells to
lower, etc.) can be very awkward to
play, and as a result, could count
against the composition in a
competition. (On video, example from Roy Hamlin Johnson: Winter Song)
5. Because the keys are so much
farther apart (manual and pedal) on the
carillon than on the piano and organ,
wide reaches between the feet (a tenth
at most) or between the hands (usually
less than two octaves, although wider
are possible) can be awkward if not
impossible, especially for players with
a smaller physique. (Johnson:
Jubilant Carol)
6. Arpeggio figurations in which
the notes each hand plays are staggered
(see first line of the example below)
are easier to execute, as the hands
don’t have to make such radical moves
to get to the next note. Traditional
“straight” arpeggios are common also
(see second line) but they are less
“natural” for the player. Also note
in this example that a melody doubled in
octaves is another possible solution to
the balance challenges inherent in many
carillons. (John Gouwens: Sicilienne
ronde)
II. Musical:
1. The biggest consideration is the
strong series of partials (overtones).
For middle C (c1), the main
overtones would be c (a “hum-tone”
an octave below the main note), e-flat1
(just a minor third above the main
note), g1, and c2.
Because of this unusual series of
partials, intervals used in especially
the lower range of the carillon must be
carefully selected.
Minor thirds, tritones,
minor sixths, perfect fourths, and to
some extent major seconds, though not
all of these would be obvious choices,
are often especially good. (Daniel
Robins: #1 of Five
Short Pieces)
Many composers have
used the “octatonic” scale
(alternating half-steps and whole steps:
C C# D# E F#, etc.) to great effect,
since its interval content is so
idiomatic to the carillon. Within this
scale, even chords that would otherwise
be too thick on the bells can be
effective. (Roy
Hamlin Johnson: Jubilant Carol)
A variant on the
“natural overtone” scale (C D E F# G
A Bb) can also be effective. (Courter:
Gaudí’s
Chimneys, First Movement)
2. Chords should be thinned out as
much as is practical, in view of the
already full, rich sound of the bells.
Spacing of the chords is critical.
(c-e-g-c1 would sound
terrible, whereas c-g-e1-c2,
while still a bit thick on some
carillons, is much better.) You can get
by with much thicker writing in the
treble range (above c2), both
musically and because the lighter action
allows the player far greater agility.
Some piano and organ pieces have been
successfully transcribed for carillon by
being played an octave higher (due to
the hum tone, especially) with good
results. Many chords that would
otherwise be too thick on the carillon
work better when arpeggiated. That
spreads out the more short-lived
partials so that they “fight” less.
3. Obviously, the fact that there
are no dampers means that rapid changes
in harmony can be a problem (also, a
rapid “walking” bass line can be
quite muddy at times). The bass bells
always ring longer. In the treble range,
with the short ring time, one can change
harmony much more rapidly. (One noted
composer refers to that as “modulation
by evaporation.”) (Pozdro:
Slavic Dance, from Triptych)
4. For reasons of balance, care
should be taken to avoid active low bass
notes against very high melody in the
treble. (Figuration in the treble over a
melodic bass is very effective.) In most
carillons, the bass bells are more
powerful and longer ringing than the
trebles. (John
Gouwens: Nocturne)
5. The higher carillon bells tend
to be weaker in sound than the lower
ranges (far less bell metal mass, after
all). As such, a piece which combines
very high and very low notes
simultaneously, with a gap between, can
tend to be ineffective on the carillon,
as it can be difficult to “rein in”
the bass bells enough to balance. Many
carillon compositions therefore involve
crescendi that begin in the high range
and come lower as the dynamic level
increases. (On video, example from Roy
Hamlin Johnson: Summer
Fanfares)
6. Some lovely effects are possible
using the accumulations of sounds from
several notes played in succession;
however, carillons with dry
(short-ringing) treble bells or in very
open towers can render some of these
pieces ineffective (On video, example
from Lee
Hoiby: Variations and Theme). In the lower range, the ringing on of
larger bells can be used to great effect
on nearly any carillon (On video,
example from Roy
Hamlin Johnson: Summer Fanfares). The lower bells in the carillon are often
long-ringing enough to have a fine
“pedal point” effect on their own
(On video, example from Roy
Hamlin Johnson: Victimae
paschali laudes).
7. Under the best of conditions,
the carillon is capable of tremendous
dynamic nuances, even more so than a
piano, in the opinion of some. It is a
good idea to take advantage of it!
III. Notation Conventions:
1.
It is standard in carillon music to
write on two staves, the lower being for
the pedal and the upper for the manual.
In the case of high pedal notes,
performers tend to be more comfortable
with 8va notation than with a treble
clef for the lower staff. Carillonneurs
as a group definitely do not like to
have the handling (choice of left or
right hand) and pedaling (left or right
foot) indicated in the notation, so it
is best not to separate the two hands
(for instance) on separate staves unless
it is necessary for making it
clarification of musical intent.
2.
Carillon music often involves one or the
other of two types of arpeggios. Because
the hands can more easily get to the
next note in the arpeggio rapidly, the
first type given below is actually more
common in carillon music. Examples of
both types are provided on the next
page:
3. If you thoroughly understand
which notes might be played in the
pedals and which in the manual, it can
be helpful if the notation reflects
that, but in most cases, it is better to
entrust those choices to an editor who
is also a carillonneur (and preferably,
one who uses the same music notation
software you do)! The following excerpt
is an example where it would have been
difficult for the composer to guess
which notes are more easily executed by
the player. The following reflects the
carillonneur-editor’s practical
solution. (Pozdro:
Slavic Dance, from Triptych)
I
hope this helps! As a friendly
suggestion, I should comment also that a
piece written with the intention of
being truly idiomatic to the sound of
the carillon will always fare better
than a piece that applies an abstract
technique (such as pointilistic
serialism) which is conceived in
theoretical terms only, not really using
the special capabilities of the
carillon. (Final
example on video is Emilien
Allard: Image N˚ 2.)
If
you have specific questions, please feel
free to contact me.
John Gouwens
Chairman, Johan Franco
Composition Fund Committee
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