Beatles tunes to ring out across York

2:20pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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THE streets are to come alive with the sound of music as people across the city set to be serenaded by Beatles classics – thanks to the bells at York Minster. The Minster became the first Cathedral in England to have a carillon of bells, a musical instrument comprising of at least 23 cup-shaped bells, earlier this year.

The Minster used to have a chime – an instrument with fewer than 23 bells – until it added a further 24 small bells to its existing Nelson Chime in April to give a carillon of 35 bells in total.

The new carillon, which has now been completely installed and is ready to be played properly for the first time, is set to be used to announce Evensong at about 5pm each day.

Hymns are most regularly played, but the bells now have the capacity to play anything from Beethoven to the Beatles, a York Minster spokeswoman said.

Smash hits from the group could soon be belted out by the bells across the streets of York. The Revd Canon Jeremy Fletcher, Canon Precentor at York Minster said: “The ringing of simple tunes has become a real feature of the Minster’s life in recent years.

“We are delighted that we have such a remarkable carillon which will add so much to the sound of York Minster and to life of York in general.”

The bells will be played by a carilloneur using a baton clavier sited in the ringing chamber which is below the bell chamber in the south west tower. A group of volunteers are being trained ready to play the carillon regularly before Evensong each day.

They will be rehearsing on a practice clavier, which is currently being installed. The baton clavier is played by the carilloneur using both hand batons and feet pedals that look like a church organ pedal board. The chiming of tunes on the Minster bells dates back to the building of the present cathedral’s towers in the mid 15th century. The Minster’s original carillon was removed in 1750 when chiming fell out of fashion.

In 1989, 11 bells were installed above the ringing-peal in the Minster’s South West Tower, which enabled the playing of tunes once again. With only 11 notes, the range of tunes was limited.

The installation of the further twenty four bells will mean that almost any tune can be played.