Campanile: a bell and clock tower
One of the most historic, visible and all-encompassing landmarks in the Bay Area is most certainly the Campanile, on the University of California, Berkeley campus. It is one of the most enduring and well-known structures in Northern California.
The Carillon
Inside the tower is a musical instrument called a carillon. The carillon is a set of bronze-cast tuned bells that are cup-shaped in construction. They are attached to a keyboard with levers and wires to activate a metal clapper inside the bells. The performer or carillonneur, or a more contemporary title – carillonist, can alter the intensity of the sound by the force applied to the key. The carillonist usually plays the keys by a loosely closed fist. The keys, that are stick-like, sometimes called batons, are arranged like a piano keyboard. The large and heavier bells are usually played with the foot-pedal keyboard.
The smallest bell weighs 19 pounds and the largest, called “The Great Bear Bell,” weighs 10,500 pounds. Some of the larger extant carillons can weigh as much as 100 tons. Obviously, the structure that houses the weight of these bells must be very strong and massive.
Sibyl Marcuse, in her book, Musical Instruments, defines a carillon as “A set of tuned bells hung dead, i.e. stationary, in a tower or church belfry played from a keyboard, automatically by clockwork or by an electrically controlled pneumatic mechanism.” The difference between a carillon and a bell-chime is merely one of compass; any set of bells of more than one and a half to two octaves is considered a carillon.
“In the 15th through the18th century carillons became extremely popular and achieved a high degree of perfection in the low-countries of Belgium, Netherlands and northern France. In the 19th century they spread to England and then to America,” according to the Harvard Dictionary of Music.
The Campanile
The proper name of the Berkeley Campanile is Sather Tower, named for its benefactress, Jane K. Sather. She gifted the tower to the university in 1914, along with the first set of 12 bells that are still housed today in the Campanile. The bells are inscribed with Sather’s name and year of the gift. She also gave the university the classic ornate gate that is named for her husband, Norwegian-born banker, Peder Sather. It is the formal south entrance to the campus, called Sather Gate.
Sather Tower is a Campanile designed by John Galen Howard, founder of the College of Environmental Design, to resemble the Campanile di San Marco in Venice, Italy. The tower is 307 feet tall. At this height it is the third highest bell and clock tower in the world. On the eighth or top floor, is the observation deck that houses the enclosure for the keyboard and foot pedals of the Carillon. When one goes up in the elevator to the observation deck ancient fossils and other artifacts can be seen on various floors. The fossils are from the Department of Integrative Biology and include many from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
Berkeley Bells
The bells were first installed in October 1917. The delay was due to World War I. The original 12 bells were not enough to play many tunes including The National Anthem. It took many decades to remedy this dilemma until, in 1978, the class of 1928 decided to make a gift to enlarge the carillon to 48 bells. The new carillon, with the 12 original bells, was installed in 1979.
Another generous gift to the university came about in 1983. Jerry Chambers, a member of the class of 1928, and his wife, Evelyn, (and the class of 1928) gave an endowment for the enlargement of the instrument to 61 bells making it a fully chromatic five-octave concert carillon. With the endowment for the instrument, money was set aside for two practice keyboards and a full-time position for the university carillonist, who is presently Jeff Davis. The entire carillon program is funded by the Chambers endowment.
The UC carillon program is reputed to be one of the most active and complete programs, not only in the United States, but in the entire world. The instructional program offers both private and group instruction through the department of music. There is a professional staff and four artist performers plus advanced student performers.
You can hear the carillon performances daily on the Berkeley campus. For performance schedules, admission prices and other information, go to http://visitors.berkeley.edu/camp/
Go hear for yourself the beautiful sounds of this historic and famous carillon at UC Berkeley. It is well worth a visit to the campus and I’m sure you will enjoy hearing this wonderful musical treasure.
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