Presto

CONCERNING CHIMES
BY J. C. BACHRODT
In one sense the instruments of an orchestra may be com-
pared to the pigments on an artist's pallette.
Just as the true artist refuses to compromise in the mat-
ter of color, insisting on the exact shade and tone required
to create the picture he has in mind, so does the exacting or-
chestra director insist that his instruments include every tone
color that he needs to achieve the effect he seeks to create.
In this palette of tone colors, chimes have always occu-
pied a position of fundamental importance. It is true that they
are more sparingly used than other instruments, but it is this
very fact that makes them so distinctive. For when judici-
ously introduced into the score, chimes create an effect which
for poignancy and beauty cannot be surpassed or simulated
by any other instrument.
Impressive Music Of Chimes
Indeed so impressive is the music of chimes, and so uni-
versal their appeal, that they have been adapted to more
uses than any other musical instrument. For example:
In the modern home one set of chimes serves as a
musical door signal while another is used as a melodic
call to dinner.
In Catholic and Episcopalian churches, altar chimes
are widely used to punctuate and heighten the ritual-
istic beauty of the services.
In the present-day organ, both pipe and electronic,
chimes are considered an essential part of the musical
resources.
In church towers, on country estates, and on the
campus of many universities giant chimes in the form
of great carillons send forth what is generally ac-
cepted as the most inspiring music created by man.
Generally speaking, a set of chimes may be described as
a series of tubular bells tuned to the chromatic scale, and
sounded either by direct impact of mallets or by electrically
impelled actions. The art of the maker lies both in the metal-
lurgical characteristics of the chimes and in the skill, ex-
perience, and facilities used in tuning them.
Orchestra Chimes
Modern orchestra chimes are impressive instruments
that add glamour to the entire percussion section, with finishes
of gleaming Chromium or rich Lustro-Gold. A typical model
has a range of IV2 octaves, C to F inclusive. The chimes are
compactly grouped in a double row, and mounted on a grace-
ful light-weight rack, with a positive-action damper to pro-
vide precisely the effect desired.
Chimes For Pipe Organs
Chimes for pipe organs are designed with the exacting
requirements of organ builders in mind. Factory-assembled
and guaranteed, they may be incorporated into the original
design or added to organs already in service. Their highly
developed and remarkably efficient mechanism is engineered
(1) to strike a "swinging" blow of exactly the right intensity,
(2) to silence each note after the proper interval—without
either choking the music or permitting the distressing inter-
mingling of tones, and (3) to render silent service in order
that no operating noise may intrude upon the music of the
organ.
Chimes For Electronic Or Reed Organs
For electronic or reed organs the chimes maker provides
Cathedral Chimes in the form of a self-contained instrument,
mounted either on the wall or on a suitable standard and
operated from a keyboard fastened to the organ console. A
five-point expression switch provides whatever volume is re-
quired to interpret the organist's mood. It is significant that
chimes are the only instrumental accessory sanctioned and
recommended by leading manufacturers of electric organs.
Altar chimes are usually placed on the wall of the church
sanctuary and sounded by the server from a keyboard in the
steps of the altar. In some churches an additional keyboard
is placed at the organ console, permitting the organist to in-
clude the music of chimes in his interpretations—an effect
of rare and exquisite beauty.
Door chimes and dinner chimes are too well known to
require elaboration.
After completion, the Tubular Bell Carillon is assembled and
tested under the severest operating conditions before shipment.
Note the indentations in the surface of the chimes—a revo-
lutionary process, called "harmonic tuning" by which off-key
overtones are literally cut away from the chimes.
PAGE TWELVE
Limitations of Chimes
While chimes have many adaptations, they also have cer-
tain limitations, recognized by all musical authorities. Most
of these have to do with amplification.
When a note is sounded on chimes, the result is a com-
posite tone in which the strike note predominates but which
also includes overtones or partials. Precision-tuning has suc-
ceeded in so controlling the prominent overtones as to bring
them into harmony with the fundamental tone. The result is
the pleasing chord we all know so well. Deeply hidden in
every tone, however, are traces of inharmonious or "wolf"
tones which the finest tuning cannot remove. When Cathedral
Chimes are played as originally intended—without amplifica-
tion—these are indetectable and unimportant. But when they
PRESTO MUSIC TIMES
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