Insights

Inscriptions on bells are some of the most pristinely preserved records from centuries past. It is writing cast in bronze. At times curious and whimsical, beautiful and quaint, or downright secretarial – such as inscriptions attesting to the date of manufacture or listing the names of those donors whose patronage made the bell founding possible – bell inscriptions offer a window into the humors, aesthetics, and values of bygone eras.

Way back in 1888, the McShane Bell Company of St. Louis, Missouri, crafted a set of 14 cast bronze bells for a parish in New Bedford, Massachusetts. For over a century, those bells resounded over the neighboring community, calling the faithful to worship, announcing joyous occasions like weddings, and solemnly tolling at the death of a beloved neighbor. 

Across the centuries, men and women have tried to capture into words the ephemeral ringing notes of a bell. But how do you describe the different moods that a bell might evoke? Bells are certainly a most expressive instrument and our vocabulary has expanded to more acutely describe the many nuances of a ringing bell.

It’s been a tough year for many reasons. That goes without saying. Which is why we’re so excited to ring in the New Year and officially shake off the dust of 2020. Here at the National Bell Festival, it’s our privilege to be the first to welcome 2021 and the year ahead. In that spirit, we’ve compiled a host of ways to say: “Goodbye 2020.” We’re moving on now.

There comes a time in every bell restoration project where we get to see a glimpse into the future. That time has come. As we continue our work to refurbish the historic bell at Georgetown Lutheran Church (located at the corner of Volta Pl. and Wisconsin Ave. NW in Washington, D.C.), our restoration partners at Sunderlin Bellfoundry have created a rendering of the final installation.

There are many parts to a bell and each is given a name steeped in the craft of bellfounding and campanology. For instance, a bell has both a waist and a shoulder, a lip and a mouth. It’s even crowned with a…well, crown. But above the crown is that part of a bell by which it is suspended from a beam or truss: the canons.

Historic bell restoration projects here at the National Bell Festival sometimes have us scrambling up dusty ladders in search of clues to a bell’s age or provenance, as if we were Nicolas Cage in National Treasure (with less dramatic intrigue). We love uncovering America’s history through the bells that hang above us or, in the case of the bell at Georgetown Lutheran Church, a bell that sat firmly on the ground.

Instead of being silenced, a bell out of tune with the rest of the carillon at Oslo City Hall (globally recognized for hosting the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony) has become a solo artist. The 1.4-ton bell, cast in 1949, is tuned to D#, but incongruous with the instrument's other 48 bells. 

A bell is a most expressive instrument. Dancing cascades of bells in a high bell tower can erupt into a merry peal to celebrate the day and lift the collective spirit. Or, quite the opposite, a single bell can toll with such plaintive resonance that it portends a painful melancholia and brooding sadness. The latter gives the feeling of the adjective: plangent. 

Take a moment to think about cake. There is no product in the natural world called “cake” – we don’t pick cake from trees, nor do we find cakes roaming wild across the prairie. Instead, we mix a few ingredients together to create something that we think is tastier than its component parts – and those ingredients can be customized to make a great variety of cakes. If you want it sweeter, you add a little sugar. If you want it richer, you add chocolate.