Juniata Sentinel And Republican

Bells.

One of the most interesting subjects which presents itself to the mind of a musical student is that of bells. Being ranked by musicians among the musical instruments of percussion, the study of them, like all such inexhaustible subjects, admits of careful explanation, which is likely to be a long journey before the different branches which spring from the parent subject are fully investigated. In prosecuting such a study there are halting places and by-paths thick as leaves in Vallombrosa, with historic treasures which the writer cannot reconcile himself to neglecting, and yet to prepare a bird's-eye view of any great whole there must be no lingering, no stopping, but a hurried scanning and a rapid transilience.

As a writer of the present century says, bells have been neglected by musical antiquaries, and there are very few records which are wholly correct. This is a matter of wonderment to many people whose experience extends to the limit of knowing that a certain famous bell hangs in an accessible tower which is free to the investigation of any lover of research. But to the learned there are very serious difficulties attending the examination of bells which are hung. As an example, we quote from the private diary of an enthusiastic music-loving friend who was collecting facts of interest concerning old, celebrated musical instruments. For a portion of his time he examined some of those brazen-tongued sentinels, and describes one of his tours which, as he says, was an "experience oft repeated:"

"We climbed up hundreds of stairs innumerable ladders, over beams black with age and dust, to find at the last moment an intercepting support which prevented further progress. We could see one-half of the bell, but a perverse chance made the half which was hidden bear the date and name which we so desired to see." These are some of the difficulties, and to any one who intends to pursue his studies of bells we recommend the practice of patience and a diploma as a gymnast. From some experience in watching an investigation of this kind we learned that frequently it is necessary to get through an aperture too small to admit the whole body: to hang from the ceiling with one hand and with the other to hold a light and attempt to decipher a date; or to crawl close to the bell and try to rub off the rust from the name with a prospective fall of a hundred feet should your foot slip or the rope prove treacherous.

Weighing these attending circumstances our readers will readily see why so little is known of some of these most important musical instruments.

Bible savans will tell us that perhaps the first mention of a bell was made by Moses where he described the dress of the high priest. This is certainly excellent authority and we know from profane history that bells were common at that time as ornaments. It is unnecessary for us, in fact it is impossible, in one article even to trace the history of bells from that time up to the Christian era; we therefore hastily glance at a few records taken from different years, giving enough of the fictions relating to bells to color plain facts. In the year 870 we hear of chimes, one peal in particular which were a gift to the Abbey at Croyland. From this time, and years before, single bells were used for church purposes, in imitation of rude music, and were principally associated with the joyous seasons of the church. During Lent they were muffled, and runners were employed to assemble the congregations, or pieces of thin board were struck together which were the unharmonious substitutes for the silenced bells. These boards have been preserved and in Florence sets of them are still to be seen: they are called sacred boards. At the Easter festival the bells were uncloaked, cleaned and rung out in the most exultant tones to celebrate the feast of the risen Lord.

The quality of tone in bells depends in a measure upon their size, and in order to facilitate correctness in scales immense bells have been moulded, which are not, as some suppose, capable of giving out a tone which will be heard at a greater distance than that which emits from a smaller bell, but are simply to give a lower tone in the register. The immense bell which was cast in Moscow in 1653, by order of the Empress Sophia, was intended to produce a note equal to any organ bass, but it came out a cracked bell in spite of all care, and the 198 tons of metal was useless. A second experiment gave another enormous bell to the world, weighing 138 tons, and measuring 21 feet in height. This gives out a note which is too untrue to be of much vice: it therefore serves only as a mammoth heirloom of which Russia is proud. Father Le Comte, the Jesuit missionary to China, speaks of a chime of bells at Pekin, nine in number, which are more perfect than any he heard in Europe. The largest bell weighed 190 tons, and is true in tone and wonderful in its position as bass to the eighteen parts of the harmony. The Chinese have an aptitude for the manufacture of bells, and enjoy a celebrity which has been undisturbed until the last century.

Chevalier Van Elewyck calls Belgium the "classic land of bells" with perfect justice, for the family of Van den Gheyns have carried to perfection the science of bell making. That country has been the scene of so much strife that the bells of Belgium have had associated with them a strange and deep significance, in addition to their intrinsic value. In all the fortified towns the most important structure was the bell-tower, which alike served the friend or foe. So many tones struck upon a bell in quick succession told of danger; the ascending notes of the scale were a sign that their armies were victorious; while the clanging of the chime of bells told of utter loss. The Belgium bells were valuable trophies, being considered great acquisitions to the musical treasures of any city.

Naming bells was an early custom, and from the time of John XIII., 968, it has been preserved. In Germany it is not unusual to hear the citizens say "how loud Beethoven speaks this morning," or "Handel is in better tune." To the unsophisticated this is rather an irreverent use of the dead masters' names, but this mode of perpetuating the musician's memory strikes a sympathetic chord in our own minds. Though perhaps a little irrelevant to the immediate subject of music and the drama we wish to speak of some of the superstitions which cluster about these named bells, leaving the remaining musical score of the subject unfinished until a future time.

As was habitual to the ancient and superstitious people of Italy, bells were named at first after some departed saint whose spirit was supposed to ring the bell if its mission led it past the tower. This was a reminder of the immediate presence of the departed, and in Italy it is not unusual to see at night some devout citizen cross himself and whisper a prayer as a far off bell-tone is heard. They are wholly satisfied that a spirit has passed by and left a heavenly message embodied in the one note. Priestly agency and electricity are a conjunction which the Italians are slow to fathom. Thus in Germany, if a bell is struck, especially at night out of its usual routine of duties, the spirit of Beethoven or Handel has been near earth. If we picture what this superstition must be to the enthusiast who is poring over some uncompleted composition, we can readily see the influence which may lead him to feel that the finger of inspiration has been laid upon him, and that the mantle of the master has fallen from heaven. We would be loth to rob any heart of this belief in supernatural bell agencies, and in recounting the above fancies we do it with the ever-present feeling that it would make life far less common-place if we could invest all music and musical instruments with a touch of the world that is the dwelling place of those great departed spirits whose legacies are immortal and heaven-inspired.