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Dallas church serenades neighbors
By Sheila Huffman
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| | Original carrilon control panel |
The chimes are ringing once again at Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). And how sweet the sound!
For more than five centuries, carillons have been a voice for the hopes, aspirations and joys of mankind.
Carillons (a set of stationary bells hung in a tower and sounded by manual or pedal action, or by machinery) evolved in the lowlands of Holland, Belgium and northern France.
Having impressive sounding carillons became a status symbol.The town carillonneur played on market days and holidays and good bells and good schools were the sign of a well-run city.
In 1935, George Schulmerich invented the electronic carillon. He discovered that tiny rods of cast bronze struck with miniature hammers produced pure bell tones and that these sounds could be amplified electronically resulting in a rich, sonorous tone.
Soon electronic carillons were being installed by churches and communities across the country, imitating the rich tone of the finest cast bronze bells at a fraction of the cost.
Central Christian Church is the oldest continuously operating Protestant church in the city of Dallas, founded in 1863, but the building at its current location at 4711 Westside Drive was erected in 1953, during the height of popularity for Schulmerich carillons.
Though the original carillon has long since stopped working, the console that housed the rods and hammers is still in the church today. In the 1980s, Martha McClain paid to have the chimes replaced, but those too stopped ringing after 30 years.
This summer, the chimes were again replaced with an even more modern version complete with computer and amplifier. The result is the same - a voice for the hopes, aspirations and joys of mankind.
The chimes ring on the hour and they play a hymn at noon and at 6 in the evening. The current song being played is "Amazing Grace." Neighbors have already called the church office to declare how great it is to once again hear the chimes.
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