13 minute read
LET THE BELLS RING OUT
Keeping tradition alive
Kate was introduced to the quintessentially English practice of bellringing in Seaton church. And what a merry band of ringers she met
IN MY OPINION there is nothing so charming and steeped in tradition as hearing the church bells ring calling people to prayer, to celebrate special occasions or in remembrance. I grew up in a village and church bells formed the aural backdrop to my life. But apart from a cursory glance at the bellringers during church services I’ve never considered what it involves. Until now.
I was invited to Seaton church by Henrie and Charles Kiddle to watch their Monday evening practice. And what a lot I learned in just two hours! For a start they don’t call it campanology as I thought; that is the study of bells.
Initially church bells were fixed to spindles but in England in the 1500s it was discovered that, by attaching bells to wheels so the rope pulls the bell the whole way round a circle, it makes the bells sound louder. Elsewhere in Europe bells still hang down and just chime dong, dong, dong, but English full circle ringing has migrated to countries like Canada, Africa, Australia and USA. It starts with the bell upside down and when you pull the rope it goes round one way and when you pull the rope again it moves the other way round.
Generally a bellringing practice starts with ringing up the bells in rounds which goes from the highest to the lowest note, which is the tenor bell. They can be as heavy as 82 hundredweight like the one in Liverpool cathedral.
As bells are huge they can only swing at a certain speed so in order to make a variation which is more than just a round, call change ringing was developed. This is a scheme where the order of just two bells are swapped at a time so you might have 123456 then 213456 or 214356, etc. You can’t ring tunes as such so ‘methods’ were developed which are based on mathematical permutations. You don’t learn the number of the bell, you learn the pattern of red or blue lines on a page. If you’re the first bell, you learn the pattern belonging to bell one, and so on. One member of the band told me that non-ringers sometimes comment that the bells ‘sounded lovely at the beginning of service, then got a bit messy in the middle, then sounded more melodious at the end.’ That’s when they’ve moved from doing harmonious rounds to complicated methods and then back to rounds again to finish off!
If I’m honest, even after studying the book of methods, and watching the practice I still didn’t fully understand how it works. I don’t have a particularly logical brain but Henrie insists you don’t have to be a mathematician to ring bells. She told me that bellringing is one of those skills, like playing bridge, where it’s a lifelong learning skill and you build up knowledge as you go along. Some people are really clever and ring all sorts of complicated methods and others just like to go along and ring rounds on a Sunday.
And that was what was so appealing about the group. There are all sorts of different standards, ages, shapes and sizes. Henrie has been ringing since she was 16 as she lived in a village with nothing going on,
then a new curate set up a youth group and collared her and her friends for bell ringing practice. Her husband Charles only started learning three years ago when they met. He’ll never have the same skills as Henrie as it’s much easier to learn when young, like playing chess. The younger you start the better you’ll be but it’s not to say that older learners aren’t valuable. Seaton Tower Captain Bob Williams and his wife Hilary took it up eight years ago as a retirement project and they’ve learnt to ring complicated methods. You have to memorise the patterns which is fantastic for your brain.
Bellringing is a skill that, once learned like riding a bicycle or a horse, is there for life. One gentleman said ‘it’s like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time,’ it definitely requires focus but once the penny drops it’s a wonderful moment.
David Coop from Seaton learnt to ring with his nine-year-old daughter and the night I was there Lyddington resident Sharon and her 12-year-old son Harry were ringing in the group for the first time. Henrie had given them one-to-one lessons during half term and they were excited to practise what they’d learned. Harry had heard the bells ringing in Uppingham one day after lockdown had ended and was so drawn to the sound they wandered into Uppingham church and were invited up to the belfry and then on to Lyddington church to have a go. ‘We’ve got our L-plates on,’ Sharon told me, ‘but the training has been great and the group has been so welcoming.’
You don’t have to be religious or attend church to be a bellringer and you can ring any full circle bell anywhere around the world. You just roll up and introduce yourself. Bellringers are notoriously sociable people, it’s a team activity after all. Bells and beer (and cake) apparently go very well together. Ringers practice in different churches and also swap around for weddings and funerals depending on availability. It’s not unknown for ringers to get on their bikes and do three different services in three churches on a Sunday morning. It’s a world where everyone knows everyone else and social events and outings are a great excuse to get together.
Safety is vital. Non-ringers must not touch the ropes. When you’re ringing you must do as you’re told, but the most likely accident is to get rope burn if you catch the rope at the wrong time. Henrie has twice had someone’s feet whiz past her ear and that’s when they have to ‘let go’ as soon as they’re told so they don’t crash to the floor. When the cleaners, flower ladies and vicar are also sharing the same ground floor space they do have to be careful and not enter when the bells are being rung.
Since the millennium more young people have been learning to ring; 95% of churches rang on 1 January 2000. There are national youth competitions and it can be accredited as a skill for the Duke of Edinburgh award. Henrie told me: ‘Bellringing is a mixture of an art and a science. Anyone can do it, providing you have hands strong enough to handle the rope. Being a little bit rhythmic would help like being able to march in time but anyone from any background, age or culture can do it. You can be 100 years old and still ring.’
For more information contact Bob Williams on 01572 747044.
It’s good to be back
Harborough Singers are celebrating their return with a festive double bill. Sue Peet tells us more
TWO FOR THE price of one! It sounds like a Christmas bargain that’s too good to be true but this year, for their celebrity Christmas concert, the Harborough Singers will be welcoming not one but two very special guests. A ticket to their 2021 Christmas Concert offers an opportunity to relax as the Singers perform a wide range of traditional and modern Christmas music, while also being delighted by the reading talents of renowned actress of stage and screen, Jemma Redgrave, and award-winning composer and actor, Simon Slater. The concert will take place on Saturday December 18 at 7:30pm at St Dionysius Church, Market Harborough.
Under the guidance of Musical Director Charlie Penn-Jones, and with the accompaniment of Harborough Singers’ great friend, organist and pianist, Andrew King, an evening of Christmas songs, carols and readings beckons, ranging from the exquisitely beautiful to the humorous and roof-raising. For many, this annual event marks the start of Christmas festivities and, for singers and audience alike, the Christmas Concert this year has an additional resonance after a long, enforced absence. It’s so good to be back.
Little did we know. On December 21 2019, with festive corsages pinned, bow-ties tweaked and music folders organised, we made our way on stage with no inkling that this would be the last time that choir and audience would meet in person to share the joy of music-making for almost two years.
Zoom rehearsals initially had a certain novelty and provided the means of retaining focus and cohesion as a group of singers. During this time, we successfully completed the remote recording of four pieces, available to listen to on the HS website. This was achieved due to the considerable technical wizardry of musical director, Charlie, despite the not inconsiderable angst of choir members faced with the prospect of singing their part into a phone or tablet with just the stripped-back sound of their own voice for company. Never were we more aware of the truth that the sum of a choir is greater than its individual parts. The Harborough Singers began life as a school choir in 1978 and still retains three original members. Today’s membership, however, includes singers covering a wide range of ages, from people living as far afield as Shropshire, Oxford and London, representing many interests, musical backgrounds and walks of life. Over the years the choir has performed extensively both in the UK and abroad. Along the way we have worked with fabulous musicians such as, most recently, distinguished violinist Christopher White, a host of singers including Dame Felicity Lott, and numerous leading actors from Patricia Routledge and Josette Simon to Sam West and Martin Jarvis. Choir highlights include: singing the weekend services at St Paul’s Cathedral; performing the 250th anniversary concert commemorating the first recital of Handel’s Messiah in an English parish church, and touring major European cities in The Czech Republic, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. Our repertoire is drawn from both sacred and secular music, including church music representative of the core of the choral tradition while also featuring madrigals, spirituals, folk songs and much more. We have performed premieres and commissioned works, as well as exploring pieces written in French, German and Hebrew to complement the more usual English and Latin. At its core, a choir is a group of individuals coming together with just their voices to take part in that most Jemma Redgrave and Simon Slater
YARWELL MILL
COUNTRY PARK • CAMBRIDGESHIRE
PART EXCHANGE YOUR CURRENT PROPERTY FOR 100% MARKET VALUE
LAKESIDE VIEWS
THE RETIREMENT DREAM A REALITY
Park Homes from £179,995*
MOORINGS AVAILABLE
Luxuriously furnished Residential Park Homes No Stamp Duty! No Estate Agent fees!
Yarwell Mill Country Park is a stunning NEW over 55’s residential development, located in the picturesque village of Yarwell, besides the River Nene. Why not enjoy your golden years by downsizing to a Park Home, releasing equity, reducing costs and outgoings, so you can live the retirement dream here at Yarwell Mill.
Your home £260,000 New park home £179,995 Cashback £80,005
On completion of part exchange.
● Over 55’s Retired and Semi-Retired Park Community ● Overlooking The River Nene ● Pet Friendly ● Landscaped Gardens ● 2 Parking Spaces ● 5 Acre Fishing Lake on Site ● Moorings (Subject to availability) ● Secure Motorhome and Caravan Storage (Subject to availability) ● 24hr Security 01733 736730 for all sales enquiries*
Mill Road, Yarwell, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE8 6PS sales@yarwellmill.co.uk www.yarwellmill.co.uk yarwellmillcountrypark
PERFECT FOR FISHING ALL YEAR ROUND
human of activities: making music together. In the words of Finnish composer, Sibelius: ‘music begins where the possibilities of language end.’ It is thought that the vocal production of tones which we now call ‘singing’ may even pre-date language itself. This perhaps partly explains why music can offer a profound, inspiring or comforting experience, helping access thoughts and emotions that words fall short of expressing. The physical and mental health benefits of singing in a choir are widely recognised, with evidence of beneficial effects on breathing, stress and depression, as well as promoting well-being and abating loneliness. Being part of the Harborough Singers feels like belonging to a family in which a love of choral music, shared goals and friendship combine to create a unique bond.
But the choir is just one half of the equation. The essential balancing element of any performance is the audience. In the words of Harborough Singers’ musical director, Charlie: ‘audiences now have the option to stream professional recordings of our entire programme from the comfort of their own living rooms, with the added bonus of a glass of wine at their elbow. But the reason they turn out to concerts on drizzly Saturday evenings in November is to witness the creation of live music.’ A choir’s experience of communicating musically with one another and the privilege of performing to an audience is why we turn up to rehearsals, shiver in draughty churches on concert days and produce our best come show-time. From whichever side of the equation, music maker or listener, live performance is wholly addictive. We currently have vacancies for two tenors and two basses in the choir and, although our soprano and alto sections are now at full strength, we are always interested to hear from enthusiastic singers with a blending voice. The ability to read and follow a line of music is required; the ability to project Nessun Dorma to the far reaches of Wembley Stadium isn’t. If you think this might be you, please do get in touch. Our rehearsal pattern of a Friday evening plus a whole day Saturday rehearsal once a month means choir members who live out of the area are able to attend. Our extended monthly Saturday rehearsal of 10am to 4pm provides a concentrated period of time within which to work, while also providing opportunities to catch up over lunch or during that other choir institution known as ‘coffee and cake.’ With the tenor section acting as the choir’s self-appointed official tasters, the standard of baked goods remains high. Cake lovers or not, we are always delighted to hear from potential new recruits.
If you would like to find out more about one of the East Midland’s foremost amateur choirs, buy tickets for forthcoming concerts, join the mailing list or enquire about membership, please visit the Harborough Singers’ website.
Tickets for the Christmas Celebrity Concert 2021 are available through our website harboroughsingers.com/ Ticket prices start at £7.
