Although
the LaGuardia Tower has housed a carillon from the very first days it opened its
doors, details about the original carillon are sketchy at best. About the
only thing we know is that is was a manual operation with hand-struck bells. A carillonneur had to go up to the tower and actually strike the bells. There is
no record of who manufactured it or any details of the number of bells or the
original mechanism. Only a cork-covered "sounding" room which housed the system
and a few rusted tubular bells are all that remain of that first instrument
which indicate that it may only have been able to play the simple Westminster
melody. How it was played, how often or by whom, remains a mystery.
The first automated carillon capable of playing a double octave
of notes and full melodies on campus was installed circa 1959 in the LaGuardia
Tower by the Schulmerich Carillon Company of Pennsylvania. It consisted of
six tuned sounding rods which struck the familiar Westminster melody sequence on
the quarter hours as well as striking the hour. The entire clockworks were
driven by electro-mechanical components -- a mass of metal rods, pins, relays
and motors. Except for the occasional mechanical failure, it was used on a daily
basis for nearly twenty years. In 1986, the 17-year-old Schulmerich instrument
broke down beyond repair.
The carillon and the LaGuardia Tower with its blue-lighted
belfry and amber turret lights have long been a cherished tradition on campus --
indeed the LaGuardia Tower and gold Dome have become the symbol of Brooklyn
College. The late President Robert L. Hess had a personal love of carillon music
and a desire to perpetuate the tradition, which he referred to as "music to my
ears." He quickly made arrangements to have a new carillon installed once
the original Schulmerich unit stopped functioning. At the same time he directed
that the atmospheric lighting in the belfry be enhanced. Brooklyn Center's sound and lighting technicians have maintained the
system ever since.
The new Maas-Rowe carillon was put into service in June 1986. This
carillon instrument, the current one now being heard, is modeled after the
classic carillons found in the churches and universities of Europe. It consists
of 15 tuned tubular bells, which produce the same rich, sonic tone quality as
traditional, full-sized steeple bells. These toll each quarter-hour with the
Westminster melody progression and strike the hour number. In addition, the
carillon has a seven-bell Laudatae or joyous bell peal (random swinging
bells) that is used on holidays and at the beginning of official college
functions such as commencement and convocations (in monastic times the
Laudatae peal was used to call the community to church service or to town
meetings and to announce holy days and feasts). A single swinging bell
peel is used to announce the convocation of official college gathering such as
the Stated Meeting of the Faculty.
A repertoire of more than one hundred classical, general,
patriotic and Christmas/Chanukah melodies can be programmed to play at various
times during the day. The computer, which controls the sequence of these musical
events, is very flexible, allowing melodies to be played during class breaks.
The old Schulmerich carillon allowed melodies to be programmed only on the hour
quarters, which severely limited the number of times melodies could be played
during the day without disturbing classes in session.
Carillon melodies are programmed to be played at 12n, 3pm and
6pm on days when no classes are in session, and at the class breaks closest to
those hours when classes are in session. Melodies are never played when classes
are meeting. Mini-concerts of three melodies are played during club hours (the
12 noon hour) and during the 6pm to 6:30pm break. The daily sequence begins at
9am during the week and at noon on Saturday and Sundays.
A distinctive two-bell class-break strike is sounded for the
beginning and ending of each class period (except when a class begins or ends on
an hour quarter -- then the Westminster melody takes precedence).
At 11pm the Carillon sounds the De Profundus. This is the
traditional, single, deep-bell toll that is struck at the end of the day. During
the Middle Ages, it was used to announce the beginning of the Grand Silence in
monastic Europe. It is still used on university campuses to signal the day's end
-- a time of quiet reflection (and time to watch the news). The De Profundus
is the last event programmed by the system.
The Maas-Rowe Carillon also provides a Requiem strike. This
somber, single bell toll is used to announce an official day of mourning. If the
college President, the Mayor, the Governor or the President call for an official
day of mourning, such as was done for the astronauts or 9/11, the Requiem bell
is tolled at 12n, 3pm and at 6pm. The Westminster melodies as well as any other
bell strikes (except the De Profundus) are silenced all day long on such
occasions. Fittingly, Dr. Hess's beloved carillon, which he took such interest
in refurbishing, tolled the De Profundus on the day of his memorial
service.
The clockworks themselves are no longer a mechanically driven
affair, but are controlled by an on-board computer, making the accuracy of the
carillon as good as a very expensive quartz watch. The computer clock is
reset to the atomic clock, Meridian Time at the Naval Observatory every week to
insure accuracy. The computer actually programs the Westminster hour melody to
start ahead of the hour so that when the melody finishes, the first strike of
the hour bell will mark the hour exactly to the second! It is probably the most
accurate time-piece on the campus.
The computer system wisely incorporates a "curfew" which will
not allow any event to be programmed either inadvertently or by design between
the hours of 11pm and 7am. This is to assure that no event is accidentally
programmed in the middle of the night. In the event of a power failure, a
back-up power supply protects the computer memory from loosing track of the
correct time or its programs. The entire control system is no longer housed in
the LaGuardia Tower but in the systems control room in the Performing Arts
complex.
Incidentally, the carillon computer does not control the
LaGuardia Tower clock that faces the quadrangle. This large clock is an original
mechanical gear mechanism that is driven by motors and relays and is the
original piece of equipment that was installed when LaGuardia Hall was built.
It’s surprisingly accurate for such an old timepiece.
For these many years, the LaGuardia carillon has rung out is
melodies through every historical event that the community has lived through,
many joyous, some sad. One of the more momentous occasions was when the then
President Bill Clinton visited the college and spoke to a packed Gershwin
Theatre with the crowd overflowing onto Campus Road. It was quit thrilling to
hear the Secret Service on their walkie-talkies, describing his location at
every intersection and then to hear the carillon play Hail To The Chief as he
drove into the Performing Arts Center parking lot and then walked through the
stage door.
On a sunny Spring or Autumn day, a gentle wind can carry the
peaceful melodies of the carillon in every direction to the trees and sidewalks
and gardens of the surrounding neighborhoods; on a pleasant evening, strollers
walking along the campus paths are reassured by sound of the bells and the
tower's welcoming blue and amber glow. It may not be enough to set everything
right in the world, but it certainly helps make the campus a friendlier place --
a comforting, symbolic oasis. We are fortunate to be able to enjoy this
continuing Brooklyn College tradition that has graced our campus and the
surrounding community for over forty years.
