What musical instrument is the oldest ancestor of the bell. Church bell as a musical instrument

Bell- tool, source sound , having a domed shape and, usually, a tongue hitting the walls from the inside. At the same time, in various models, both the dome of the bell and its tongue can swing. In Western Europe, the first version of the bell actuation is the most common. In Russia, the second is ubiquitous, which makes it possible to create bells of extremely large sizes (“ The Tsar Bell "). There are also known bells without a tongue, which are beaten with a hammer or a log from the outside. The material for most bells is the so-called bell bronze, although bells made of iron, cast iron, silver, stone, terracotta, and even glass are known.

The science that studies bells is called campanology (from lat. campana - bell and from λόγος - doctrine, science).

At present, bells are widely used for religious purposes (calling believers to prayer, expressing the solemn moments of worship), in music, as a signaling tool in the fleet (rynda), in countryside small bells are hung around the necks of cattle, small bells are often used in decorative purposes. The use of the bell for socio-political purposes is known (like the alarm, to call citizens to a meeting (veche)).

The history of the bell goes back over 4000 years. The earliest (XXIII-XVII century BC) found bells were small and were made in China. In China, a musical instrument was also created for the first time from several dozen bells. In Europe, a similar musical instrument (carillon) appeared almost 2000 years later.

The earliest known Old World bell at the moment is the Assyrian bell, kept in british museum and dated to the 9th century BC. e.

In Europe, early Christians considered bells to be typically pagan objects. Indicative in this regard is the legend associated with one of the oldest bells in Germany, bearing the name "Saufang" ("Pig production"). According to this legend, pigs unearthed this bell in the mud. When he was cleaned and hung on the bell tower, he showed his "pagan essence" and did not ring until he was consecrated by a bishop. However, the "impious" names of the bells do not necessarily testify to their negative spiritual essence: often we are talking exclusively about musical errors (for example, on the famous Rostov belfry there are the bells "Goat" and "Baran", so named for the sharp, "bleating" sound, and, conversely, on the belfry of Ivan the Great one of the bells is called "Swan" for a high, clear sound). In medieval Christian Europe, the church bell was the voice of the church. Quotes from the Holy Scriptures were often placed on the bells, as well as a symbolic triad - "Vivos voco. Mortuos plango. Fulgura frango" ("I call the living. I mourn the dead. I tame the lightning"). The likening of a bell to a person is expressed in the names of the parts of the bell (tongue, body, lip, ears). In Italy, the custom of "christening the bell" (corresponding to the Orthodox consecration of the bell) is still preserved.

The belief that by hitting a bell, a bell, a drum, you can get rid of evil spirits, is inherent in most religions of antiquity, from which the bell ringing "came" to Rus'. The ringing of bells, as a rule - cow, and sometimes ordinary frying pans, boilers or other kitchen utensils, according to ancient beliefs that exist in different regions of the planet, protected not only from evil spirits, but also from bad weather, predatory animals, rodents, snakes and other reptiles, drove out diseases. To date, this has been preserved by shamans, Shintoists, Buddhists, whose services cannot be imagined without tambourines, bells and bells. Thus, the use of bell ringing for ritual and magical purposes is rooted in the distant past and is characteristic of many primitive cults.

Church bells in the Russian Orthodox Church

Bell ringing was widely used in the work of Russian composers of the 19th century. M. Glinka used the bells in the final choir "Glory" of the opera "Ivan Susanin" or "Life for the Tsar", Mussorgsky - in the play "Bogatyr Gates ..." of the cycle "Pictures from the Exhibition" and in the opera "Boris Godunov", Borodin - in the play "In the Monastery" from the "Little Suite", N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov - in "The Maid of Pskov", "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", "The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh", P. Tchaikovsky - in "The Oprichnik". One of Sergei Rachmaninov's cantatas was called The Bells. In the 20th century, this tradition was continued by G. Sviridov, R. Shchedrin, V. Gavrilin, A. Petrov and others.

chimes

A set of bells (of all sizes) tuned to a diatonic or chromatic scale is called chimes. Such a set of large sizes is placed on the bell towers and is in connection with the mechanism of the clock tower or the keyboard for playing. Chimes were used and are used mainly in Holland, the Netherlands. Under Peter the Great, on the bell towers of the church of St. Isaac (1710) and in the Peter and Paul Fortress (1721) chimes were placed. On the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the chimes have been renewed and exist to this day. Chimes are also located in the Andreevsky Cathedral in Kronstadt. On the Rostov cathedral bell tower, tuned chimes exist from XVII century, since the time of Metropolitan Jonah Sysoevich. At present, archpriest Aristarkh Aleksandrovich Izrailev paid special attention to the system of K., who built an acoustic device for accurately determining the number of vibrations of sounding bodies, consisting of a set of 56 tuning forks and a special apparatus similar to carillon). Unlike the chimes, which are capable of playing only a limited number of works provided for in the manufacture, just as it is the case with a music box, the carillon is a genuine musical instrument that allows you to perform very complex pieces of music. The carillon was installed on the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg by the Dutch craftsman Jo Hausen at the beginning of the 21st century.

Bells of China

In China, there is a centuries-old tradition of casting bells, which has spread to neighboring countries that have experienced the influence of Chinese culture (Korea, Japan). In late imperial and modern China, bells are a typical fixture of Taoist and Buddhist temples. In addition, special “bell tower” and “drum tower” were often built in the center of old Chinese cities (see, for example,

The Chinese bell culture, which has come down to our time, appeared in a new perspective in the light of the archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. It has been found that, in contrast to modern round bells of Indian origin, the oldest native Chinese type generally had an almond-shaped cross section. Bells of this type were distinguished by a shorter sound duration, however, they could emit two clear tones and, in their most developed form, were sets covering up to 5 octaves and adjusted according to the chromatic scale (see Tomb of Marquis I). The heyday of the production of almond-shaped bells fell on the Zhou dynasty. The discovery of the largest among the bells of this type (more than 1 m high) was announced in 1986.

The characteristic shape of some bells is noteworthy: type nao was installed, like goblets, with the sounding part up (this is evidenced by a long, even “leg” not adapted for hanging an instrument), but developed from it yongzhong retained the “leg” for installation, however, it was suspended by attaching the rope along the transverse ring on it, or by a special loop. At the same time, the “leg” of the bell, which was hollow from the inside, was preserved, presumably for reasons of acoustics.

It is curious that after the period of the Warring States, along with the decline of the Zhou ritual, the golden age of Chinese bell making ended. The last echo of the old tradition, lost already by the Han Dynasty, was the manufacture of giant ritual bells by Qin Shi Huang. By his command, they were made from the weapon bronze of the conquered kingdoms.

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(usually cast from the so-called bell bronze), a sound source that has a domed shape and, usually, a tongue that hits the inside of the walls. There are also known bells without a tongue, which are beaten with a hammer or a log from the outside.

Bells are used for religious purposes (calling the believers to prayer, expressing the solemn moments of Divine services) and in music. The use of the bell for social and political purposes is known (like the alarm, to call citizens to a meeting (veche)).

Classical bell as a musical instrument

Bells are medium in size and have long been included in the category of percussion musical instruments with a certain sonority. Bells come in various sizes and all tunings. The larger the bell, the lower its tuning. Each bell makes only one sound. The part for medium-sized bells is written in the bass clef, for small-sized bells - in the violin clef. Bells of medium size sound an octave above the written notes.

The use of bells of a lower order is impossible, due to their size and weight, which would prevent them from being placed on the stage or stage. So, for a sound up to the 1st octave, a bell weighing 2862 kg would be required, and for a sound an octave lower in the church of St. Paul in London, a bell weighing 22,900 kg was used. There is nothing to say about lower sounds. They would demand the Novgorod bell (31,000 kg), the Moscow bell (70,500 kg) or the Tsar Bell (350,800 kg). In the 4th act of the opera Les Huguenots, Meyerbeer used the lowest of the commonly used bells for the tocsin, emitting sounds in F of the 1st octave and up to the 2nd. Bells are used in symphony and opera orchestras for special effects related to the plot. In the score, one part is written for bells numbering from 1 to 3, the systems of which are indicated at the beginning of the score. The sounds of medium-sized bells have a solemn character.

From the end of the 19th century, theaters began to use cap bells (timbres) made of cast bronze with rather thin walls, not so bulky and emitting lower sounds than a set of ordinary theater bells.

In the XX century. to imitate bell ringing, not classical bells are used, but the so-called orchestral bells, in the form of long tubes. See bells (musical instrument).

A carillon is a musical instrument made from specially selected and built bells. In Belgium, Holland, carillons have been known since the 9th century (although the very first one was found on the territory of modern China and dates back to the 5th century BC! Despite this, it was only in the 15th - 16th centuries that they spread throughout Europe. So what is this for a very ancient and mysterious tool???

The carillon consists of at least 23 bells, and the largest one today consists of 77!)

The main structural elements of the carillon are the performance work (with manuals and a pedal keyboard like an organ) and a set of bells.

Keys - levers of manuals and pedals through a system of blocks are connected to the tongues of the bells by cables, which, when played, set them in motion, hitting the edge of the bell.

The oldest and generally recognized carillon is an instrument of the 15th century, located on the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Rombouts in Mechelek in Flanders (Belgium).

The recognized capital of carillon music is the Belgian city of Mechelen (Mechelen, or Malin, as it is called in French, from the French name of this city in Russia the expression "crimson ringing" went). Mechelen hosts the most prestigious international competition, which bears the name of the Belgian queen - "Queen Fabiola", the most representative festivals and concerts of bell music are held here, as well as scientific conferences devoted to the theoretical problems of this art. There are 4 large carillons in Mechelen, which include 197 bells. Three of them are located in the belfries of the city's cathedrals, the fourth - mobile - is installed on a wooden platform with wheels, it is rolled out to the square during the holidays. This carillon includes the oldest bell in Mechelen, cast as far back as 1480. Interestingly, carillon tuning is still done in the old fashioned way - not according to the tuning fork, but according to the sound of the violin.
Mechelen is home to the Royal Carillon School, which was founded in 1922 and is called "Jef Denin" - after its founder and first director. Here, musicians from many countries of the world learn the art of playing the carillon. In 1992, for the first time, students from Russia came here to study. Carillonera training is individual, and its full course lasts six years. Another school of playing the carillon is located in Holland in Utrecht.

The first carillons, which date back to about the 5th century BC, were discovered by archaeologists in China (In 1978, during excavations in the province of Hubei, a set of 65 bells with a range of 5 octaves dating back to the 5th century BC was found).

In Europe (Northern France and the Netherlands) carillons have been known since the 15th century. In the beginning, sets of bells appeared on tower clocks (at the end of the 14th century), but then they acquired independent significance as a musical instrument. In old chronicles, the first mention of the performance of "melodies on the bells" dates back to 1478. It was then that a set of bells was tested in the city of Dunkirk, on which Jan van Bevere even reproduced musical chords to the surprise and pleasure of the audience present. Jan van Bevere is also called the inventor of the bell keyboard. From the same chronicles it is known that in 1481 a certain Dwaas played the bells in Aalst, and in 1487 - Eliseus in Antwerp. However, it is not known what composition of the bells the musicians controlled, most likely they were the so-called glockenspiel (Glockenspiel - literally: bell game) with a small set of bells. In 1510, an instrument with a musical roller and nine bells from Oudenaarde is mentioned. And after 50 years, even a mobile carillon appeared. Further development of the instrument went in the direction of increasing the number of bells. The same bells on the towers were practically used for playing with the keyboard (like a carillon) and for mechanical ringing (like chimes).

It must be admitted that the carillon is a very expensive instrument, so it was difficult to expect its wide distribution. However, the rapid development of the North Sea region and large trading cities provided a financial basis for the development of carillon business in the 16th - first half of the 17th century. Carillons were built in the cities of Adenand, Leuven, Tertonde, Ghent. The number of bells in carillons gradually increased, the keyboard was improved, which greatly facilitated the work of the carilloner. Acquired carillons Mechelen and Amsterdam (and more than one!), then Delft. In the second half of the 17th century, carillons made by the brothers Franz and Peter Hemony were especially famous in Holland. There is evidence in the literature that the first well-tuned carillon with a keyboard and a harmonious sound of 51 bells was built by them in 1652 in Holland.
The renaissance for carillons came at the end of the 19th century. The concerts given by Jef Denyn on the famous carillon of the Mehlen Cathedral on summer evenings were especially popular. (Now carillon concerts in Mechelen are held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, it has long become a city tradition.) America also showed interest in carillons, having learned about them ... from the press. The 2nd World War prevented the further flourishing of the carillon business. But the carillons were not forgotten.

For all the time, about 6 thousand carillons were built. Most of them died during the wars... Now there are about 900 carillons in the world. The largest of them (by weight: 102 tons of bronze!) Is located in New York in the Riverside Church of the Rockefeller Memorial. It consists of 74 bells, the largest bell is 3.5 meters in diameter and weighs 20.5 tons. But this is only the third carillon in the world in terms of the number of bells. The instrument with the most bells - 77 - is located in Bloomfield Hills, USA; followed by the carillon Halle (Halle), Germany, with 76 bells.
in Holland there are more than 180 carillons (only in Amsterdam alone there are 7, not counting the mobile ones), in Belgium there are about 90 of them, in France - 53, in Germany - 35, in the USA - at least 157 ... Mobile carillons in the world are at least 13.
In Russia, the first carillon appeared thanks to Peter I, who ordered two mechanical chimes and a carillon of 35 bells in Holland. But the Dutch carillon was able to sing only a quarter of a century later. This happened in St. Petersburg on the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Unfortunately, this carillon died in a fire in 1756. In fact, Peter improved the carillons, for example, one of the three cast carillons had glass bells, they say that there were crystal bells among them, which were broken as a result of hostilities. The rest (cast from copper) died in a fire. But this information, more specific, I did not find on the Internet ...
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered a new instrument, consisting of 38 bells. It was installed in 1776, but in 1856 the carillon was out of tune, and in 1858 it was partially dismantled: the keyboard and part of the bells were removed. After the revolution, the carillon was practically destroyed.

The Royal Carillon School in Mechelen created the international project "Restoration of the Peter and Paul Carillon", the inspiration and main " driving force"which became Jo Haazen,

the current director of the school. This person personally undertook to revive the carillon art in the current St. Petersburg and put a lot of effort into creating a new carillon there. It took him a long 12 years to realize this dream, he himself personally looked for sponsors for this business. And one of the very first such sponsors to respond was the Belgian Queen Paola Margherita Maria Antonia.
The project helped find more than 350 sponsors, and as a result, shortly before its 300th anniversary, St. Petersburg received a wonderful gift - a new carillon of 51 bells, the total weight of which is 15 tons. The largest bell weighs 3075 kg, the smallest 10 kg. Casting, installation and adjustment of the carillon was carried out by the Royal foundry "Petit and Fritsen" ("Petit and Fritsen", the Netherlands). The first carillon concert on the new instrument took place in St. Petersburg on September 15, 2001.
Now there are three levels of ringing on the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral: a new Flemish carillon, 18 preserved bells of the old Dutch carillon of the 18th century (they will "work" as chimes) and an Orthodox belfry of 22 bells, 91 bells in total!

On August 2, 2007, Jo Haazen personally gave a concert within the framework of the International Festival "Soul of the Bell", held in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg. Many were lucky not only to hear interesting program performed by a remarkable musician, but also to examine in detail the new carillon of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the surviving bells of old instruments displayed on its bell tower. After his speech, Professor Haazen kindly talked with the audience and told a lot of interesting curious things, those who got to this concert were very sorry that this concert completed the program of performances, and Jo Haazen soon left St. Petersburg.
For its 300th anniversary, St. Petersburg received another carillon - on Krestovsky Island. This is a 27-meter belfry arch, on which 23 carillon bells are installed. automatic control from a computer and 18 Russian non-automatic bells. The author of the design of the belfry arch is Moscow architect Igor Gunst. The carillon bells for it were also cast by the firm "Petite and Fritzen". According to the intention of the creators, spiritual and secular music, as well as Russian bells.
Yesterday's performance (30.11 2011) by Jo Haazen on the Culture TV channel brought us stunning news - a new surprise: In the very near future we will have a MOBILE CARILLON!!! And who knows, perhaps ITS RASPBERRY RINGS WILL BE SPLACED WITH DIVINE SOUNDS ALL OVER THE TERRITORY OF OUR IMMENSE HOMELAND!!!

But the latest achievement in carillon construction is the design of the original mobile carillon by Budiwijn Zwart, a musician from the Netherlands, the carilloner of Amsterdam.
Such a carillon was made in 2003 and consists of 50 bells weighing from 8 to 300 kg, the total weight of which is about three tons. The bells are compactly placed on a special trailer. The trailer is small and can be moved even by a car. Moreover, this carillon, if necessary, can be divided into three parts and, thus, it is relatively easy to transport it to any room.

One of the first concerts on this carillon B. Zwart gave during the music festival in Dresden (Germany) from May 19 to June 15, 2003. Concerts were held in open areas of the city. The concert program was very diverse, in particular, works by I.S. Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Corelli, Schubert and Gluck, as well as improvisations on the themes of Dutch folk music and melodies of Russian folk songs...
Carillon "descended" from the tower to the ground and became closer to people. And since not every city has a stationary instrument, a mobile carillon is an opportunity to hear bell music almost anywhere ...
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The ringing of bells has been an integral part of the life of the Russian people for centuries and was perceived in traditional Russian culture as the "voice of God". For many centuries, bells accompanied the life of the people with their ringing. They measured the course of days, proclaiming a time to work and a time to rest, a time to stay awake and a time to sleep, a time to rejoice and a time to mourn. They announced imminent natural disasters and the approach of the enemy, they summoned men to fight the enemy and greeted the winners with solemn bells, gathered citizens to discuss important matters and called on the people to revolt during the years of tyranny.

Bells and ringing are a great value of the cultural heritage of the Russian people. In the past, they were a significant phenomenon in public life And folk culture Russia. The study of the past and present of bells, their numerous and diverse functions in Russian culture will also allow a deeper understanding of the essence of the spirituality of the Urals.

This topic is extremely relevant. On December 11, 2008, a joint conference of the 11th Catherine's Readings and the IV scientific and practical conference "School and the Future of Russia" took place in the city of Yekaterinburg. More than 700 people from 18 regions of Russia took part in it: teachers, scientists, clergy, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Russian Academy of Education. The decision of the conference states that only the awareness by young people of their involvement in the centuries-old spiritual and cultural tradition his people will allow to preserve and strengthen the spiritual and cultural unity of our country. And what else, no matter how the bell ringing is able to unite the nation in hard time? "The art of Russian church bell ringing," says the Clergyman's Handbook, "is unique and is a great spiritual phenomenon"

The object of the research work is “big in small”, that is, a bell in life and culture. The subject of the research is the history of the Ural bells, the art of bell ringing, the art of casting bells in the Urals.

The novelty of the research work is an attempt to create an integral study on this topic, to show the connection creativity and the desire for spirituality of the Russian people in general and the Urals in particular.

To confirm the collected data, the author put forward a hypothesis: there is a future for the Ural land, reviving the bell ringing associated with the Soul of man and Nature, giving the right to reflect on the meaning of life and eternity, there is hope for its spiritual revival.

Research methods: excursions, observation, analysis of literature and archival materials, questioning, interviews, systematization of the studied phenomena.

The project consists of the following parts: introduction, in which they tried to justify the relevance of the study, goals and objectives; the main part, consisting of 5 chapters: 1 chapter talks about bells, their types and functions; chapter 2 deals with the types and aesthetic and theological meanings of bell ringing; where chapter 3 is devoted to the history of bell casting in Russia and the Urals; chapter 4 shows the fate of the Ural bell towers; chapter 5 reports on the achievements of modern Ural ringers; and the conclusion, in which the results of the work are summed up, the conclusions of the study are formulated; list of references; applications.

1. 1. Types of church bells

The bells were the only musical instrument used in Orthodox worship. In addition, they were generally the only monumental instrument in Rus', and therefore were used in a very diverse way.

“A bell is a metal instrument (usually cast from the so-called bell bronze), a sound source that has a domed shape and, usually, a tongue that hits the walls from the inside. There are also known bells without a tongue, which are beaten with a hammer or a log from the outside. Bells are used for religious purposes (calling the believers to prayer, expressing the solemn moments of Divine services) and in music. The use of the bell for socio-political purposes is well known (like the alarm, for calling citizens to a meeting (veche)).

Bells have been used in the Church since about the end of the 4th century, originally in Western Europe. There is a tradition that the invention of bells is attributed to Saint Peacock, Bishop of Nolan at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries. According to legend, the "inventor" of the bell is Saint Peacock the Merciful, Bishop Italian city Nola (IV-V centuries). His prayer: “Call, Lord, to this poor dark land with a voice from above, Unite our hearts in our fragmentation with bonds of the strongest chains,” was heard, and a small ringing wild bell flower became the prototype of today's symbol of the unity of all Christians around their Temple. In the 7th century, Pope Sabinian officially introduced bell ringing into Christian worship, and three hundred years later, Pope John XIV established the rite of baptism of the bell: it was sprinkled with holy water, given a name, and dressed in a baptismal shirt.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, bells are divided into three main groups: large (evangelist), medium and small bells. The evangelists have a signaling function and are mainly intended to convene the faithful to worship. The evangelists can be divided into 5 types:

holiday bells;

Sunday bells;

Lenten bells;

Polyeleic bells;

Everyday (simple day) bells.

Holiday bells are used on the Twelfth Feasts, the feast of Holy Pascha, at the meeting of the bishop. The rector of the Temple can bless the use of the holiday bell on other days, for example, the consecration of the throne in the temple. The festive bell must be the largest in the set of bells. Sunday bells are used on Sundays and on great holidays. In the presence of a festive, Sunday bell should be the second in weight. Lenten bells are used as an evangelist only during Lent. Polyeleos bells are used on the days when polyeleos services are celebrated (in the Typicon they are marked with a special sign - a red cross). Simple day bells are used on weekdays of the week (week). In addition to the blagovest, large bells alone (without other bells) are used when singing "Most Honest." at Matins and to "Worthy." at the Divine Liturgy. Blagovestniks are also used for chimes, busts, and chimes. Thus, the use of one or another type of evangelist depends on the status of the service, the time of its completion, or the moment of the service.

The group of evangelizers can include the so-called hour bells, in which the clock "beats".

Middle bells do not carry special function and serve only to decorate the ringing. Independently, the middle bells are used for the so-called ringing "in two", which is carried out at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in Great Lent. In the absence of middle bells, ringing "at two" is carried out on ringing bells. Middle bells are also used for chimes, busts, chimes.

Small bells include ringing and ringing bells.

Ringing bells, as a rule, are light weight bells, with ropes attached to the tongues, which are tied together. It turns out the so-called ligament. There can be at least 2 bells in a bunch. As a rule, a bunch consists of 2, 3 or 4 bells.

Ringing bells are heavier than ringing bells. There can be any number of ringing bells. The ropes (or chains) that the ringer presses when ringing are attached at one end to the tongues of the ringing bells, and at the other end to the so-called ringing column.

Through the use of small bells, a chime is made, which expresses the triumph of the Church, and also indicates the performance of certain parts or moments of the Divine Service. Thus, one peal is rung for Vespers, two for Matins, and three for Divine Liturgy. The trezvon also marks the reading of the Holy Gospel. The chimes occur with the participation of the evangelist

In Rus', bells (from the Middle Latin clocca) sounded shortly after the adoption of Christianity in the 10th century, but firmly entered church use in the second half of the 16th century. Since then, the bell ringing has become a kind of symbol of Russian folk piety. In prayers for the consecration of the bell, God's blessing is requested so that those who hear the ringing gather in church, strengthen in piety and faith, and courageously resist "all the devil's slander", defeating them with prayer and doxology.

1. 2. Classical bell as a musical instrument.

Medium-sized bells and bells have long been included in the category of percussion musical instruments with a certain sonority. Bells come in various sizes and all tunings. The larger the bell, the lower its tuning. Each bell makes only one sound. The party for a medium-sized bell is written in the bass clef, for a small-sized bell - in the treble clef. Bells of medium size sound an octave above the written notes.

The use of a bell of a lower order is impossible, due to their size and weight, which would prevent them from being placed on a stage or stage, since a bell weighing 2862 kg would be required for a sound in the first octave, and for a sound an octave lower, the bell of St. Paul's Church in London, weighing 22900 kg. There is nothing to say about lower sounds. They would have demanded the Novgorod K. (31,000 kg), Moscow (70,500 kg) or the Tsar Bell (350,800 kg). Bells are used in symphony and opera orchestras for the special effects associated with the plot.

From the end of the 19th century, theaters began to use cast bronze bells with rather thin walls, not so bulky and emitting lower sounds than a set of ordinary theater bells.

In the 20th century, not classical bells were used to imitate bell ringing, but the so-called orchestral bells in the form of long tubes. A set of small bells was known in the 18th century, they were occasionally used by Bach and Handel in their works. The set of bells was subsequently provided with a keyboard. Mozart used such an instrument in his opera The Magic Flute. Currently, the bells have been replaced by a set of steel plates. This very common instrument in the orchestra is called the metallophone. The player hits the plates with two hammers. This instrument is sometimes equipped with a keyboard.

A set of bells (of all sizes) tuned to a diatonic or chromatic scale is called chimes. Such a set of large sizes is placed on the bell towers and is in connection with the mechanism of the clock tower or the keyboard for playing. Chimes were used and are used mainly in Holland and the Netherlands. Under Peter the Great, on the bell towers of the church of St. Isaac (1710) and in the Peter and Paul Fortress (1721) chimes were placed. On the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the chimes have been renewed and exist to this day. Chimes are also in the Andreevsky Cathedral in Kronstadt.

A carillon is a musical instrument whose sound source is bells arranged in a chromatic row from two to six octaves. The bells are fixed motionless and they are struck by tongues strengthened inside. Now in Russia there are many mechanical chimes, but no carillons. Carillon is an instrument adapted for playing equal-tempered music, music based on traditional melodies and harmonies. in Western Europe and North America it has deep roots. In Russia, chimes became widespread, but the carillon did not become widespread. This is not surprising, since here in folk and church music there are very strong original traditions, different from Western European ones.

1. 3. Bells - "the language of the earth."

The existence of bells, their functions, their use since ancient times in Rus' in its various regions and regions had, on the whole, the same character.

A bell can tell a lot. After all, he was sad and happy together with Russia, together with the Russian people.

The bell call sounded powerfully and menacingly in the years of disasters. The quiet good news filled the soul with joy. The ringing of bells greeted Alexander Nevsky returning with a victory to his native land; regiments of Dmitry Donskoy from the Kulikovo field; the troops of Ivan the Terrible after the capture of Kazan; Militia of Minin and Pozharsky; soldier of Suvorov. A loud bell called the sailors of the brave "Varyag" to take their places according to the combat schedule in the Russian-Japanese war.

The bells rang when meeting a distinguished guest or superiors. The "Dvina chronicler" repeatedly mentions the ringing of bells, describing the meeting in Kholmogory and Arkhangelsk of Peter I in 1693: ". July on the 28th day. tsar. Petr Alekseevich. deigned in his first campaign with his neighbors to come on board to the city of Kholmogory. And as soon as ships appeared near the Kostroma volost, and then there was a call in the cathedral with one bell, until the ships landed on the shore against the city. And how he deigns to sit in a carriage and march through the city. then all the bells will ring in the cathedral. And tomorrow. sailed to the city of Arkhangelsk along the Dvina river past the settlements. And as they sailed by settlements, then there was a ringing in all parish churches at all bells. And I ring all the former that evening and night until 5 o'clock. Bell ringing accompanied almost the entire stay of Peter I in Arkhangelsk.

The bells announced the fire, and this was their integral function in the wooden northern villages, for which fires were a frequent and devastating disaster.

At the bell towers, the bells announced the approach of the enemy, for example, during the years of the Crimean War, permanent guards were appointed on the bell towers, so that at the first appearance of the enemy, the guard sounded the alarm.

The bells hung on the lighthouses, there were belfry beacons. At the Church of the Ascension of the Lord on Solovki, “a wooden dome is located above the bell tower. and on top of the dome is a wooden lantern with glass, which serves as a beacon. Reinecke in the "Hydrographic description of the White Sea" mentions a turret with a bell at the lighthouse on Cape-Ostrov, "which rings during fog." The memory of such a function of the bells has been preserved in popular rumor.

They beat the bells so that a lost person could go to the ringing of housing. This is how bells were used in almost all Russian villages.

Another important function of the bells was the measurement of time. IN public practice the very order of church bells already served as a signal of the times. Starting from the XVI century. tower clocks on bell towers with special clock bells also appear in large numbers.

Finally, the bells announced important state or local events.

Love for the bell ringing was manifested, as they say, at different levels, from a commoner to a king. Ivan the Terrible every day at four o'clock in the morning went to the bell tower to preach the gospel. It happened that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Tsar Fedor called themselves:

The ringing of copper rushes, buzzes over Moscow,

The king in quiet clothes is ringing:

Does he call back the former peace

Or does conscience bury forever?

But often and measuredly he beats the bell,

And the people of Moscow listen to the ringing

And prays, full of fear,

So that the day passes without execution.

There was a special charter for ringing, which indicated which bells to ring on weekdays, which on holidays. During the days of Great Lent, the blagovest was made in the average simple day bell, and on Easter they struck the great campan.

“They call“ in all seriousness, in all campaigns, ”they call with extraordinary sound power. In this force, everything disappears: the cannon firing that has begun, and the singing of choirs in the processions that have appeared. Only one ringing is heard, a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bcandles is visible at once and, as it were, fiery snakes moving between the candles of a crowd of thousands.

It is a well-known custom on Easter week to let everyone into the bell tower, and the ringing on these holidays, as a rule, continued all day. Perhaps only the lazy did not ring the bells on Easter.

These are some of the most significant functions of bells in the public life of Rus'.

For the Russian people, the sounds of the bell were a voice from heaven. The ringing involuntarily tore all thoughts and thoughts from the earth and carried them to the heavenly heights, filling the heart with a joyful bright feeling, as if heavenly harmony, echoes of a distant paradise, were pouring into it.

2. The Art of Bell Ringing

2. 1 Types of bell ringing

Let it flow from his copper mouth

Only the message of the eternal and holy.

And time touches every time

In flight before him with a wing.

F. Schiller

Together with Orthodoxy that came to Rus', “ringing” very quickly and forever takes its rightful place in cultural life our ancestors. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (1185-1187) we read: "For him in Polotsk the bells rang early in the morning at St. Sophia's, and he heard that ringing in Kiev." In the lives of the very first Russian saints, “a great ringing is constantly mentioned, resounding over the city.” The ringing of bells has been an integral part of the life of the Russian people for centuries and was perceived in traditional Russian culture as the "voice of God".

Russian bell ringing is unique: it is based on rhythm, tempo and timbre. Hence the main advantage of the bell is its euphony. The American campanologist Edward Williams called Russian bells "ringing prayer".

Bell ringing performs certain functions in church life:

Calls the faithful to worship

Expresses the triumph of the Church and worship,

Announces the time of the most important parts of the service.

The ringing depends on the status of the service (hence the names of the bells that are used: holiday, Sunday, daily, hourly).

There are several types of ringing: blagovest - single strikes on a large bell, enumeration - one strike on the bells from small to large, chime - alternate strikes on the bells from large to small, and trezvon - several bells ringing simultaneously.

Blagovest with measured blows to the big bell announces the beginning of the service. This is the oldest of the bells and is so named because it brings good, joyful news of the beginning of Divine service. Blagovest is performed as follows: first, three rare, slow, drawn-out blows are made (until the sound of the bell stops), and then measured blows follow.

Busting is a death knell. It represents successive strikes on each bell, starting from the smallest to the largest, followed by a general strike on all the bells at the same time. Such an enumeration of bells is repeated in "circles" for as long as the charter requires, at the end of the enumeration a short chime follows.

The slow enumeration of the bells, from the smallest to the largest, symbolizes the growing human life on earth, and the simultaneous strike of the bells means the suppression of earthly life by death. Joy in the future life with Christ is expressed, at the conclusion of the mournful enumeration, by chiming.

The chime consists of striking each bell in turn, starting from the largest to the smallest, from one to seven times each. The charter determines the number of strokes depending on the purpose of the ringing, for example, the removal of the Cross is accompanied by a chime of three strokes, the Blessing of Water is seven.

Trezvon is the most complex in comparison with other chimes, it is the most striking expression of bell ringing. In addition to the liturgical "capital" charters, there is a bell-ringing succession here, which is not described in books, but is no less important than literary instructions for bell-ringers, so the training of bell-ringers requires no less guidance than mentorship from icon painters or church singers and readers. ringing all the bells, then a small break, and a second ringing all the bells, again a small break, and the third time ringing all the bells, that is, ringing all the bells three times or ringing in three steps.

There are unshakable rules for ringing:

The constancy of the rhythm of the evangelist.

The ban on the performance of melodies (any chants, voices, etc.).

The constancy of the tempo of the ringing.

Hierarchy of bells: evangelist, large and small ringing, ringing.

Following the style of the "song fund" of the local tradition.

Of course, each experienced ringer formulates these rules in his own way and is free to vary the chants and arbitrarily choose the general construction of the chime. However, the bell ringer is called upon to follow the traditions he has been trained in.

The development of types of trezvon is closely connected with the formation of Russian church choral singing, which has passed big way from the strict znamenny mono-chant of the 16th century to the three-part chant of the 17th century. Most likely, the formation of trezvon as a polyphonic type of ringing also occurs in the 17th century. Groups of bells are distinguished, which perform various functions in the "bell orchestra". The smallest bells are called trebles or bells. They perform small rhythmic figures. The largest ones - bass bells - set the pace for the ringing and create its basis, the middle bells or altos lead the melody.

On the basis of the canonical ones in Rus', an extensive genre system of bells has developed: everyday, Lenten, water-blessing, wedding (or accelerating), oncoming and, of course, festive ones, among which are great, medium, red. Red chimes require a large number of bells, which are mainly cathedrals, Lavra and large monasteries.

Bell ringing - one of the most striking features of Russian life - had not only liturgical significance. They welcomed distinguished guests, gathered people at the veche, announced recruitment, announced a wedding, death or execution, warned of the approach of the enemy and a fire, showed the way to travelers, gave time signals. The chimes were "blizzard", "full", "veche", "siege", "call signs", "military", were used as a musical instrument.

Having fallen in love with the church bell ringing, the Russian Orthodox people connected with it all their solemn and sad events. Therefore, the Orthodox bell ringing serves not only to indicate the time of Divine services, but also serves as an expression of joy, sadness and triumph. Hence, various types of ringing appeared, and each type of ringing has its own name and meaning. Bell ringing in Russia has always had local features. The belfries sounded differently in Moscow, in the North and in the Urals. Surprisingly beautiful bells were born by local traditions. Church bells have come a long way of development, absorbing all the experience of folk art. By the beginning of the 20th century, each region of Russia, each diocese had its own established canonical system of ringing within the framework of the all-Russian tradition.

2. 2. Aesthetic and theological meaning of bell ringing

Bell ringing is a symbol of church spirituality. Cold metal, cast according to the rules of art, cutting through the layers of air with its vibrations, echoes in the human heart with high, clear, sober voices - it warms it spiritually.

The vibrations of the bell ringing create the same images in the spiritual and material world as the light of the sun penetrating the layers of the ether and the radiance of candles and chandeliers. However, the basic pure idea of ​​bell ringing has been subjected to improper interpretations and even distortions in the history of church art.

There are two styles of bell ringing. The first is that tuned exactly to the modern tempered scale, the bells give a melodic pattern to some ready-made theme, and the ringing rhythm naturally corresponds to this theme, playing either a composite or a subordinate role. The same must be said about the specific timbre of the bell. Sometimes the melodic pattern consists in the repetition of some simple figure or interval (mostly a minor third or a major triad). But both this figure and the interval are within the limits of the tempered scale, and the rhythm here, just as in the first case, plays either a composite or a subordinate role. This is a Western European type: it was brought to Russia by the talented, but completely devoid of a sense of Russian style, Fr. Aristarchus of Israel, born in 1817. The main vice of the Western style is that he entrusts the bells with a task that does not correspond to them, which is incomparably better and more expedient to entrust to human voices and orchestral instruments. A melodic figure, or even a whole melody on a bell, can only have the meaning of a baroque grotesque, which we observe, for example, in the performance of their melody by chimes or carillons. The melody played seriously on bells (and even with liturgical purposes) gives the impression of something extremely inappropriate, dead, false, artificial and far-fetched. The impression here is similar to that produced by pictorial-perspective techniques in icon painting or, even worse, by a moving puppet or an automaton (approximately the same as if they intended, for example, to convey movement to the sculptural works of Catholic churches or to introduce cinema into worship).

The second style of bell ringing is that timbre, rhythm and tempo come to the fore. As for the sound material itself, its role here turns out to be quite special. The melody, in the proper sense of the word (theme according to the intervals of the diatonic or chromatic scale), recedes into the background or disappears completely. Consequently, harmony in the special meaning of the word also disappears, as a result of the combination of themes-melodies. In the "second style", instead of melodies and harmonies in the proper sense, a rhythmically sounding, specific bell timbre appears. Timbre, as you know, is due to overtones. In bells, the overtones sound extremely loud and, as a result, create not only the corresponding timbre, but also characteristic overtone dissonant harmonies. Different weight and size, and other factors in the set of bells give different combinations of overtones, while maintaining the dominant tones. This also determines the unity of the artistic conception that runs through all the music of this set of bells. This music can be called rhythm-overtone or rhythm-timbre music. It is worth noting that unity is given by a powerful mass of the measure of a large bell that rarely sounds at strong times; it plays a role similar to that of a pedal or an organ point (especially if a certain tone sounds clearly, which, however, should not be exaggerated. The bell should always be, so to speak, overtone detuned. All this is enhanced and animated by rhythm, dynamics (power) and agogics (speed, tempo).

Under such conditions, the bells play perfectly independent role. Their musical and metaphysical task is reduced to the maximum animation in the appropriate kind of inert, inorganic matter, the highest type of which is undoubtedly metal. In the ringing of bells, she begins to live in her own way, but for real. This real sound of a bell has nothing to do with a mannequin of singing carillons. And the lively, sometimes even, as it were, dancing figure of a bell ringing, full of a peculiar, important solemnity (precisely due to the combination of a lively dance rhythm with a powerful rumble) - is the answer of inorganic matter to the divine call.

The bells are also capable of giving other, opposite moods, but not by playing "sad melodies", but by a rare, lonely ringing of small, or better than medium, bells, their periodic combination at weak tact times.

Rhythmic-timbre and rhythmic-overtone bell ringing in all its richness, splendor and royal splendor is known only to Orthodox Russia.

The taste for bell ringing, the richness of bell compositions (ringing patterns) and the understanding of the meaning of the language spoken by the bell fully corresponds to the height, depth and beauty of the Orthodox Russian liturgy, in which bell ringing, along with znamenny chant, constitute an essential moment. The purity and passionlessness of the bell ringing, with all its brilliance, liveliness and expressiveness, its pure spirituality and immaculate clarity, looking into the very heart, caused him special hatred during the years of political unrest in Russia.

2. 3. Healing with bells.

The prayer from the "Rite of Blessing the Bell" also speaks of its positive impact on the biosphere: "On the hedgehog of its ringing, be quenched and calmed down and stop all the green wind, (.) and all harmful harmlessness, and ill-dissolved air"

The magic of the bell and the ringing of bells penetrated into folk medicine. There is a legend that a broken bell hanging on one of the bell towers of Solvychegodsk is the same bell that at one time informed Uglich about the murder of Tsarevich Dimitri, was whipped for this and exiled to Tobolsk. The people considered this bell miraculous. A certain M. K. G-vich describes a magical rite: “Almost every day one could hear the dull sound of this bell: this is a peasant, climbing the bell tower, washing the tongue of the bell, ringing several times, and taking the water home in a “tueska” (local vessel) as a remedy against childhood diseases” Bell , outraged the people, the "protector" of an innocent murdered baby, carries a power that can help sick children, heal them. It turns out that the ringing of a bell contributes to a faster splitting of negative energies and a more complete removal of them from the human biofield. Observations of the clairvoyant healer Olga Ermakova showed - the ringing of a bell generates exceptionally positive energies of white and green colors in space!Therefore, it is not surprising that the ringing of bells used to save even epidemics in Russia.

Now we almost always hear the ringing of bells when reading healing prayers. “Russian researchers back in the 70s of the last century found that such ailments as causeless anxiety, fears, nervousness and insomnia are perfectly healed by bell ringing. The conclusions drawn (but not evaluated by the state) were simply amazing. It turns out that the audio recording of the raspberry ringing has a calming effect on even the most violent mentally ill. A audition musical works, performed on bells, cures the most severe types of depression and other mental illnesses. Perfectly cures insomnia and crimson church bells.

3. Production of bells

3. 1. Bases for casting bells

Demand for bells creates supply. The Laurentian Chronicle mentions Russian casters in Kyiv in 1194. Later, in the Moscow state, bell craftsmen were registered with the sovereign's Cannon Yard, since work with bells was considered a matter of the same national importance as armament. The first private bell production in Russia was launched at the end of the 17th century in the county town of Sloboda, Vyatka province. In the 19th century, bells were cast at two dozen factories - in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Valdai, Tyumen, Kostroma, Yeniseisk and other cities.

If we trace the occasion for which this or that bell was cast, we can identify several groups.

There are bells cast in memory of historical events. A striking example of this kind is the Blagovestnik bell, now exhibited in the Solovetsky State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve. This bell was cast "according to the highest decree in the name of the Solovetsky monastery" at the Charyshnikov factory in Yaroslavl, in memory of the war of 1854. The top of the bell is crowned with the image of the orb. Orb, one of the symbols of royal power, tells us that the bell is a royal gift. Analogue-power "Tsar Bell". The text is full of naive faith in “the intercession of heavenly powers: “Wonderful is God in his saints. In the summer of 1854 July, on day 6, under the rector, Archimandrite Alexander, two English steam 60-gun frigates "Brisk" and "Miranda" approached the Solovetsky Monastery, and one of them fired several shots at the monastery with cannonballs, after which, from two monastery three-pound cannons, they answered as follows fortunately, they damaged the frigate and forced the enemy to retire the next day. On July 7, after refusing to surrender the monastery and surrender to prisoners of war: for nine hours both frigates continuously bombarded the monastery with bombs, grenades, buckshot, even three-pound red-hot cannonballs, and, despite the intercession of the saints of God, the Solovetskaya monastery remained intact.

In a frame of the same shape and size as the frame above in the above text, there is an image of the scene of the bombardment of the monastery. Enemy ships are shelling the monastery, flying cannonballs and a battery are visible, reflecting the attack. The scene is transferred dynamically, details are carefully developed. The convex relief of the images is successfully located on the complex surface of the bell, occupying a significant part of it. The image of the bombardment and the story about it are located on opposite sides of the bell.

Especially for the bell "Annunciation" in 1862-1863. a bell tower was built in the monastery, called the "Royal" (not preserved). Bell "Annunciation" - a kind of monument to the courage of the northerners. The realistic scene of the shelling of the monastery, depicted on the bell, the cannonballs and cannons that were on the bell tower, could not but cause admiration for the heroism shown by the defenders of the monastery, their courage, which the church so eloquently described as "God's protection."

Bells and chimes played various roles in public life and in folk culture. We will mention some of these functions.

Often there are bells cast in commemoration of the dead. Here is an example of an inscription on one of them: “This bell was built from its inzhivation and attached to the Solvychegodsky Vvedensky Monastery in July 1738 for the excellent gentlemen Barons Alexander Grigorievich and the Stroganov brothers for the commemoration of their forefathers. Lit this bell at Salt-Vychiy with a sounding board in the suburb. The bell weighed 70 pounds. The casting of bells in commemoration of parents was customary in Russia. It was believed that each blow to such a bell is the voice of commemoration of the deceased:

Known bells cast "according to the vow". Here is the story of D. A. Butorin, a hereditary Pomor from Dolgoshchelye, reproducing the events that happened somewhere at the end of the 19th century. “The Nenets couple had only girls for seven years, and the father, a baptized Nenets nicknamed Severko, made a vow to the church of St. Peter and Paul in the village. Soyan, in which he was married, that if a boy is born, he will donate a bell to the church. Ten months after the vow, a boy was born. Severko sold the herd of deer and entrusted the craftsmen Deryagin and Melekhov from the village. Kimzha to cast a bell. In 1907, the bell was cast and hung on the bell tower of St. Peter and Paul".

Each Russian bell is cast on a specific occasion or by order. Most often, the appearance of a bell in a parish was an act of charity. Bells were given to churches, cathedrals, monasteries not only by tsars and members of the royal family, not only by the richest merchants (for example, the Stroganovs), but also by small and medium merchants, wealthy peasants.

3. 2. Casting of bells in Russia

In tsarist Russia, bells were cast by 25 enterprises. Russia has always surpassed all countries in size and weight of its famous bells. Bells weighing over 1000 pounds were available at many monasteries. In 1760, a bell was cast in Moscow in 3351 pounds. It crashed in 1812, and in 1817 a new one was cast - in 4000 pounds (Bolshoy Uspensky). There is a bell of the same weight in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In the 17th century, bells remarkable for their melodious ringing were cast: Savvino-Storozhevsky in Zvenigorod and Simonovsky in Moscow.

Bells and handbells cast in Russia were considered the best in the world.

And our Russian masters created them. In 1530, Ivan Afanasiev cast a bell for Novgorod, which had never been there before; its ringing, according to the chronicler, was used "for a terrible sounding trumpet."

Andrey Chokhov cast the Reut bell in 32 tons 700 kilograms.

In 1819, Yakov Zavyalov cast a bell weighing 58 tons and 165 kilograms for the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in Moscow. And, finally, on November 25, 1735, the casting of the Tsar Bell weighing 201 tons 924 kilograms was completed. Lil this bell Russian master Ivan Fedorovich Motorin with his son Mikhail. The height of the bell is 6 meters 14 centimeters, and the diameter is 6 meters 60 cm. The Tsar Bell is an amazing work of Russian art. It is unparalleled in the entire world in both size and weight.

We should also mention here the remarkable master-virtuoso of this ringing, Alexander Vasilyevich Smagin (born 1843). The technique of casting bells reached an extraordinary height in Russia, the magnitude of which, without comparison, leaves behind not only Europe, but the whole world. The first mention of bells in Russian chronicles dates back to 1066 (5). In 1533, a bell-announcement of 1000 pounds was cast in Moscow. At the same time, a virtuoso chime appeared. In 1688, the bell "Sysoy" was cast in Rostov, weighing 2000 pounds.

The stunning increase in the weight of Russian bells in the 16th-17th centuries was also deeply symbolic. : "Bear", 1500 - 500 pounds, "Swan", 1550 - 2200 pounds, Big Assumption Bell, 1654 - 8000 pounds, "Tsar Bell", 1735 - over 12000 pounds. Let's pay attention to the dates - that was the time when the Russian state was growing and getting stronger. And the ringing of giant bells, resounding for many miles around, was a symbol of the growing power of our state, he called the people to unity and loyalty to the Motherland.

By the beginning of the 1930s, all church bells in Russia were silent. Most were destroyed. In 1933, at a secret meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, a plan was even established for the procurement of bell bronze. It was allowed for technical needs, but not only - high reliefs were cast from 100 tons of church bells for the new building of the Lenin Library.

A small part of the bells has been preserved in museums and private collections, a few have been sold abroad. In the USA, at Harvard University, there were unique bells of the Danilov Monastery, the bells of the Sretensky Monastery in England. Russian entrepreneur Viktor Vekselberg brought his new humanitarian project to life. He decided to return 18 bells of St. Danilov Monastery to Russia. The best Ural copper smelters melted an exact copy of St. Danilov's bells. To achieve the desired sound, they must be made according to old technologies. The bells have recently returned to Russia.

At the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century, the art of bell ringing is experiencing a rebirth after a long-term ban. New churches are being built, for which more than a dozen enterprises are already casting bells, schools of bell ringers have been created. And although the revival is not always a simple matter, I would like to believe that the ringing of bells will soon again become an integral part of Russian life. Finally, on June 11, 1989, the bell foundry of the Vera company was founded in Voronezh. By the middle of 2008 the bell foundry is almost the only one in Russia. The city plans to open a museum of bells. On July 19, 2001, the Big Annunciation Bell was cast at Vera LLC in Voronezh in the name of ap. Andrew the First-Called for the Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. Its weight is 875 p. The bell will replace the old St. Andrew's bell of Valaam, destroyed in 1947. .

3. 3. Casting of bells in the Urals

During the stormy Peter's transformations early XVIII century, the development of the natural pantries of the Urals began. In a short time, over two dozen blast furnaces and more than 60 copper-smelting furnaces began to operate at several “delivered” plants. On October 15, 1701, Peter's firstborn, the Kamensky plant, came into operation, producing 557 pounds of iron by the end of the year. Only this plant from 1702 to 1709, that is, before the Poltava battle, produced 854 artillery pieces with a total weight of more than 38 thousand pounds, and more than 27 thousand pounds of shells for them, and it was here that Peter I prepared the defeat of Charles XII on the banks of the Vorskla. Interestingly, the wonderful craftsman Ivan Fedorovich Matorin, who gained fame back in 1694 by casting cannons and bells, was involved in the launch and problems of the Ural state-owned factories.

At the beginning of the 90s, enthusiasts of the bell foundry and the first new bells appeared in the Urals. The partnership "Pyatkov and Co" in Kamensk-Uralsky was founded in 1991 by metallurgical engineer Nikolai Pyatkov, decorator Andrey Vorozheynikov and foundry master Modest Oschukov.

The Pyatkov brothers had to start virtually from scratch. They made the first castings in the evenings, secluded in their home workshop. It was still under the communists, in the late 70s. Nikolai and Victor live in the ancient city of Kamensk-Uralsky. In 1990, they left the local metallurgical plant, where they worked as foundry workers, rented production space and began to cast bells. The art of casting was learned from books, adopted experience in those countries where the tradition of casting bells has not been interrupted since the Middle Ages - in Germany, Holland, Austria. The composition of bronze for all bells is approximately the same: 4/5 copper and 1/5 tin. It depends on the caster what the grain of the metal will be. With the same form, the sound of the bells may be different. It took the Pyatkovs five years to learn how to get the grain they needed. – The sound of a bell should be powerful, velvety, long, and this is determined, first of all, by the quality of the bronze, that is, by the microstructure of the metal. And the right tone is provided by the right profile, says Nikolay Pyatkov. According to unwritten rules, a small bell, weighing up to 50 kilograms, should sound for at least 10–12 seconds, and a large, one and a half ton, for at least a minute. Everything that falls short of these standards is melted down.

In 1991, the partnership "Pyatkov and Co" took a bank loan of 2 million rubles for the construction of its enterprise. The building is almost ready, and the launch of the first bell factory in Russia is a matter of the coming months. If today the Pyatkovs cast a maximum of one and a half ton bells, then in the new workshops they will be able to cast three tons. The Pyatkovs carry out orders for 50-60 churches a year, located in different parts of the former USSR: from Anadyr to Klaipeda. Even the new bells for St. Basil's Cathedral were commissioned to be cast by the Pyatkovs. More and more orders are received by the partnership from abroad, it even has its own distributor in America. By the way, prices there are 5-6 times higher than in Russia.

The Pyatkovs are probably the best, but by no means the only bell manufacturers in the Urals. Sergey Dneprov, a historian by education, has been engaged in the restoration of church utensils for many years. In 1992, he registered his private enterprise Blagovest in Yekaterinburg, which specializes in casting bells.

The bell and its tongue are made of different materials. Bronze, copper, steel and cast iron. The bell will strike, and then there is still some kind of rumble in the air, the vibration is long. Like an echo. Very beautiful. Decorations on the outer side of the bell are strictly limited. There will be a lot - there will be the wrong sound.

The craftsmen of the Pyatkov & Co. Partnership use only pure, certified source material - copper and tin (the Urals have long abandoned the use of broken bells, copper and tin recycled materials). This helps to achieve a very high quality casting, which gives a stable sound and increased reliability of the bells. Interestingly, the bells are also given a quality guarantee: 1 year for ordinary bells and 5 years for bells additionally hardened using a special technology at the Bell Center.

The cost of the bell is usually set at the rate of 300-400 rubles per kilogram. However, even bells close in tone and sound can vary greatly in weight, not to mention the richness and beauty of the ornament. A significant part of the price falls on the metal itself, more precisely, on the copper included in the alloy. She must be highest purity. Any admixture greatly degrades the sound.

Once, a priest, who felt that he was given a too high price, was invited by the foundry workers to the workshop. He did not last long there - he jumped out with a scorched beard and said: “It really is a hell of a job. Let's pay the bill."

It’s not worth talking about dull, simply buzzing (or rather, “mooing”) or clustered (“pot-and-basin”) sounding bells, which today, unfortunately, the Russian market is literally flooded with, it’s not worth talking at all. We should only talk about singing bells. The bell should sound: the first is, of course, loud, and the second is beautiful! The beauty of the sound is determined by the strength, duration and combination of tones selected by the caster, because by its nature the bell is a polyphonic instrument. Only flawless metallurgy can allow all the tones required for a normal bell to sound clearly, distinctly and loudly. The most easily extracted sound in the spectrum of the sound of a bell is a buzz. The loudest of the subsequent tones is the one for which the “skirt” is responsible, where the blow falls. The higher the profile height and closer to the crown is the zone responsible for a particular tone, the more difficult it is for the caster to make it “sing”. the main task masters is to “swing” the upper dome, the most distant from the place of impact, responsible for the so-called (in European terminology) fundamental tone.

In Europe, campanologists begin counting the clearly audible tones of the bell spectrum, not in order from the buzz tone, but from the second highest, which is called the main (or prima). The rest, respectively, are the unteroctave (down) and third, fifth, oboroctave (up). All intervals in relation to the fundamental tone of the “correct” bell must be harmonic according to classical musical concepts and correlate with frequencies as 0.5:1.0:1.2:1.5:2.0. This is how the European octave bell Sol#M, weighing 9 tons, sings (with a stable sound, 4-6 seconds after the strike), and this is clearly caught by the "naked" ear:

Sol#B – Sol#M - SimM – Re#1 – Sol#1

The variety of profiles chosen at one time by Russian masters speaks of complete freedom from European dogmas. Our surviving bells are very different in overtones, and according to the criteria of world campanology, all of them are non-harmonic bells, although for us, Russians, they sound very beautiful and correct. This is understandable - the idea of ​​harmony in each national culture own. This is how the bell, which is cast by Pyatkov and Co., today is similar in weight and size, sings. Sol#B:

G#B - F#M - CIM - F1 - G#1

The total interval of the sounding spectrum is the same 24 semitones, but the combination of tones is completely different. The "main" tone is lowered down two semitones to a minor seventh to the undertone. This is followed by a fifth, and at the top, instead of a fourth "Re # 1 - Sol # 1", we clearly hear the third "Fa1 - Sol # 1", easily confirmed by simply tapping alternately the zones (again, European terminology!) of the oboroctave (skirt) and fifth (between icons and top ornament). As a result of such “corrections”, the bell is perceived by ear a whole octave below its European counterparts and has its own absolutely recognizable and unique timbre. According to statistics, bells of this type were in the greatest demand in old Russia. However, just like today!

From the very beginning, the Urals began to focus on the casting of melodious bells, completed in bell towers of 6-10 pieces. The bells produced by them weigh from 8 to 660 kg. As a result of purposeful work, by the mid-1990s, the Pyatkov & Co Partnership had become the recognized leader in Russian bell manufacturers. Kamensky bells are installed on the bell tower of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, on the bell towers of the Church of All Saints on Kulishki (opposite the monument to Cyril and Methodius on Slavyanskaya Square), in the gate church of the Donskoy Monastery. In the summer of 2002, specialists from the Moscow Bell Center installed a new belfry with Ural bells in Greek monastery Ksiropotam on Athos, and in 1995 craftsmen from the Pyatkov & Co. Partnership cast a large set of bells for the Epiphany Cathedral in Irkutsk, but since this cathedral was still being renovated, the Siberians presented the finished bells as a gift to the Cathedral of St. Innocent of Irkutsk in Alaska.

Proof of the impeccable quality of the bells produced by Pyatkov & Co. are numerous diplomas of various exhibitions and fairs. The first "high-profile" works of the Ural casters were the bells for St. Basil's Cathedral and the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, the city chimes of Yaroslavl, Veliky Novgorod and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg. Today, the total number of churches in Russia, neighboring countries, as well as the United States, Canada, Greece (Athos) and Eastern Europe, singing with the voices of the Ural bells, has long exceeded one thousand. In 1995, for the exceptional contribution to the revival of the traditions of bell casting, the enterprise was awarded the Gratitude of the President of Russia.

The bells of the Association are highly appreciated by specialists, they have been awarded many awards and diplomas at exhibitions and festivals of bell art. Partnership "Pyatkov and Co" is the only Russian enterprise accepted by the European Bell Manufacturers Club. Its technology is the closest to the traditional method of casting bells into clay ceramics, and the quality of the bells meets the European standard. “Churches and monasteries are being restored, and more and more bells need to be cast,” says Nikolai Pyatkov. - But small premises and outdated equipment of state factories do not allow producing the required number of bells. Therefore, in 2001, the Partnership had an idea - to build its own bell foundry, designed according to a special project, which includes production buildings, a design office, a conference room, a canteen and even a museum. The productivity of the new enterprise will be several times greater. The weight of the bells can be increased to 10 tons (600 poods), and casting “in reserve”, to the warehouse, will enable churches and monasteries to buy ready-made bells and select belfries on the spot according to euphony and in any way. The idea is already being implemented.

4. Bell towers

4. 1. Bell towers and belfries

The temple often has a special extension for placing bells, called a bell tower or belfry. Before the start of mass construction of high-rise buildings, bell towers were the tallest buildings in any locality, which allowed you to hear the bell ringing even when you are in the most remote corners of a big city.

Historically, there were two types of such structures: the belfry and the bell tower. The first is a wall with openings for hanging bells, the second is a multifaceted or rounded tower (often tiered), inside which bells are hung, and the sound propagates through the auditory openings in the form of windows, often the entire width of the bell tower. Thus, the ringing from the bell tower spreads horizontally in the same way, but from the belfry - not the same. A complex complex connecting both of these species is also possible. For example, in Suzdal, the belfry of the Spaso-Efimevsky Monastery is a two-tiered bell tower, docked with. belfry-wall.

How did it happen that, having a long history, bell ringing was not comprehended in Russia as instrumental music, and a belfry with a selection of bells - as a musical instrument? The ringing was used as an instrumental accompaniment to the service in Orthodox Church which was one of its main functions. Recall that in the Orthodox service, unlike the Catholic, there is no instrumental music, and the ringing was not considered “music”.

In this regard, there are interesting origins the custom of christening bells, giving them human names and nicknames, and other manifestations of anthropomorphism.

The belfry, or bell tower, from a musical point of view, began to represent a kind of musical instrument, or rather, a kind of orchestra from the original musical instruments-bells. The sound of bells has all the properties of musicality, but each bell, as a musical instrument, not equipped with devices for changing the pitch, can produce only one sound. certain height, as a result of which the bell tower, with a limited number of bells, can be musically used in a very limited number of harmonic combinations. An ensemble of bells would be very close to a horn orchestra in terms of technique, if more numerous bells were well chosen and harmoniously tuned. On our bell towers, the latter is not noticed at all, and therefore their ensemble, with rare exceptions, is very far from clear musical harmonies. A lot of artistic flair is required of bell ringers in order to give at least some musical contours to the chaotic sea of ​​​​the sounds of our large belfries and thereby impart interest and meaning to the masses of heaping and intertwining sounds.

The comprehension of the bell tower as a whole is observed in the most subtle people of different social groups. Therefore, one should take into account not only folk testimonies, but also the statements of writers and musicians. The bell ringer P.F. Gedike, brother of the famous composer, said that not a single bell could be removed from the bell tower of the Sretensky Monastery, where he rang and organized the selection himself (this, according to him, would be tantamount to removing a key from a piano) .

4. 2. Ural bell towers

There are many famous and unknown bell towers in the Urals. For example, the Nevyansk Tower, as if created in order to amaze the imagination. Historians have never found a single document or eyewitness account of who designed it. But there are legends, and according to one of them, the architect of the Nevyansk beauty was a visiting Italian architect. Then it was fashionable to invite foreigners. Say, the master erected the Ural miracle like a leaning tower in Pisa.

The Nevyansk Tower was built in 1722-1732 in the style of Russian hipped bell towers. The base of the tower is a square with a side of 9.5 meters and a height of 57.5 meters. The deviation of the tower from the vertical is about 1.85 m.

The temple was erected in 1824-1830, 13 fathoms from the inclined tower. In the middle of the 19th century, the temple was actively expanding, a bell tower was being built. And this bell tower has one interesting legend.

They say that either the new owners, or the priest, who was directly involved in the construction of the bell tower, put one interesting condition: so that the bell tower was certainly higher than the Demidov tower. It was with this in mind that the new bell tower was built. However, when the bell tower was built, it still turned out to be lower than the tower, then it was decided to erect a spire with a cross on the top of the bell tower. Only in this way the bell tower became higher than the tower. Today this bell tower is the highest bell tower in the Middle Urals and its height is 64 meters.

During the years of Soviet power, the cathedral was completely destroyed. In 1922, jewelry made of gold and silver was seized, and copper bells were removed in the 1930s. In 1932 the temple was closed. The owner of the temple was a military mechanical plant, whose managers demolished the bell tower, dismantled the dome, vaulted ceilings and practically destroyed the temple. In 2003 the temple was restored.

Another example is the Maximilian church-bell tower of the city of Yekaterinburg (Appendix No. 10.) Before the revolution, the church was called Maximilian - after the main chapel, consecrated in the name of the Great Martyr Maximilian. The 77-meter building of the Russian-Byzantine style with five domes was the tallest building in pre-revolutionary Yekaterinburg. Its history as a bell tower that stood opposite the Holy Spirit Church, which lost its belfry as a result of a fire, began on September 21, 1847 with the laying of the foundation stone by Bishop Jonah of Yekaterinburg. In the interior - 32 by 24 and a half meters - an altar was built in the name of the Great Martyr Maximilian, and under the stone belfry - an underground church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It must be said that this type of structure - the temple-bell tower - is rarely found in church architecture.

The temple-bell tower was originally designed by the famous Ural architect Mikhail Malakhov - apparently, this was his last work in Yekaterinburg. Work on the project continued with great difficulty for six whole years: either the Synod did not approve the documents sent, or the parishioners were not satisfied with the size of the temple. Therefore, according to some information, the author of the final version was the famous St. Petersburg architect V. E. Morgan. But the project was authentically approved by Emperor Nicholas I. The temple accommodated up to three thousand parishioners. Construction took 29 years, and the consecration took place on July 24, 1876. It was performed by the Bishop of Yekaterinburg-Vassian. On the bell tower of 10 bells, with a total weight of almost 24 tons, there was also a 16-ton bell: its exact weight is 16,625 kilograms - and it was the fourth most important in all of Russia. The Ural giant bell was inferior only to the two bells of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin (65 and 19 tons) and the main bell of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg (28 tons in weight). Its sound was heard on Shartash, in Palkino, on Uktus and, they say, even in Aramil. The latter is quite possible, given the height of the temple and the low-rise pre-revolutionary Yekaterinburg buildings. It was from this bell that the Maximilian Church received its second name among the people - "Big Chrysostom". In 1922, the Bolsheviks seized all church valuables from the temple - about 16 kilograms of silver salaries from icons, as well as 234 precious stones that also adorned the icons. A vegetable storehouse was located in the basement of the temple. In 1928, bells were thrown from the church, and on February 17, 1930, the church was closed by the authorities.

Currently, the temple-bell tower is being restored. The dome project is currently being developed by Chelyabinsk contractors. With historical dimensions, the restored temple will be the tallest temple building in Yekaterinburg and its environs. Today, the construction of the Temple is entering its final stage. The builders promise to complete the remaining 20 m of the bell tower within the next month. Today, the largest bell has already been brought to the construction site and will be installed by the end of the week. Like its prototype, it weighs 16 tons. The bell ensemble itself will increase to 15 bells, all of them were cast near Kamensk-Uralsky.

And here is the story of a completely inconspicuous bell tower in the village of Bichur, Artemovsky district, Sverdlovsk region. Founded in 1878. The parish was opened in 1888, formed from the villages of Bichurskaya and Kostromina. Prior to this, the village was part of the Antonovsky parish. Bichurskaya wooden church, built at the expense of the people and consecrated on December 18, 1888 in the name of St. Modest, Archbishop of Jerusalem. The wooden church was built on the eve of the First World War, in 1908. Old-timers remember her twenty-three-pound bell. The church was closed in 1931, the bell was broken.

The fate of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Sinyachikha, Alapaevsky district, is completely different. Its construction began in 1794. They consecrated it in 1923. According to local legend, the church was built by an Italian. But, according to experts, the temple was erected by a Tobolsk architect, since this church is a rare example of the so-called Siberian baroque. In 1969 the church was taken under state protection. Now it is the center of the Nizhnesinyachikha Museum-Reserve. Unfortunately, the church is inactive, it now houses a museum. Inside the church itself it is very quiet and cozy, on stands there is a collection of bells.

The Holy Trinity Church of the city of Irbit was built in 1835 at the cemetery in connection with the decree of the Holy Synod of 1771, which prohibited the burial of bodies at churches within the city. The only church in Irbit that did not close during the years of Soviet power.

Bells are one of the essential accessories of an Orthodox church. In the “rite of blessing the bell” it is said: “For all who hear its ringing, whether in days or in the night, be excited to glorify the name of Your Holy One”

The old bells of the temple were bought at the factory of the merchant Gilev and his sons in 1907. Gilyov Petr Ivanovich was the owner of a bell foundry in Tyumen, founded in the 1840s. The plant existed until 1917. Bells weighing from 20 pounds to 1,000 pounds or more were cast at the factory by fifteen hired workers. Worked to order for all provinces and regions of Siberia, the Urals, Turkestan. traded widely finished products at the Irbit Fair.

In 2005, a long-awaited event took place in Irbit - "the return of the raspberry bell". The belfry was replenished with seven new bells skillfully made by Pyatkov's Kamensk-Ural company. Donations for this good cause were collected, as is customary in Rus', by the whole world.

Work settlement Krasnogvardeysky (Irbitsky plant) - Holy Trinity Church, stone, one-altar. It was built at the expense of the factory owners Yakovlev. It was consecrated in honor of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in 1839. It was expanded in 1895, a new bell tower was built. Closed in 1930 and was later destroyed. Now in the new Holy Trinity Church in the village of Krasnogvardeisky, built in 2004 at the expense of parishioners, there is also a belfry. It has five bells cast in Voronezh and Kamensk-Uralsky. The ringing of bells can be heard throughout the area.

There are many bell towers in the Urals, and we also have room for bell ringing. At the hour of the summer vigil, the noisy bustle of work ceases, and bell music softly plays in the sky, giving the beauty of acoustic phenomena of a higher order. This music can be heard in many places in the native Urals. In the forests and on the shore of the lake or along the river, every quiet evening you can enjoy a symphony pine forest and ringing in a distant temple.

5. Bell ringing in the Urals

5. 1. Church bells - space for the artist

Musical forms, very elegant in their completeness, undoubtedly exist in the art of our bell ringing; that these expositions and developments, as works of folk art by talented ringers, should be recorded and examined by our theoretical musicians. Virtuoso violinists, pianists, trumpeters, etc. know what it means to "be in a good mood" during a performance. In these happy moments for the artist - everything works out. The instrument obediently obeys and excites the soul of the performer to the expression of high sincerity. And the ringer is "in shock"! The bell tower is, after all, a plain organ and, at the same time, an excellent hand instrument. And here there are all means to deliver happy moments to the artist in order to be exactly "on the beat." Bells - powerful, but together and really sensitive to impact. They have "their will", but they also obediently sing their hymns.

No less interesting are a number of techniques that our bell ringers use in the form of inserted melodies and partial figurations during the second parts of the bells. No matter how varied these techniques are, they still have, so to speak, "their own school", their own series of unwritten rules. From the drawings here you can find a lot in common with our "small chants" and with folk songs, especially with "chastushkas".

But if such rarely heard chimes require the availability of talent and technique, then even in less complex chimes it is easy to catch the expression of the deepest, most touching feeling. For example, the "wire" chime, when the deceased is taken out of the church, really corresponds to the occasion and touches the listener.

After the 1st part of the ringing, consisting of repeated repetition of this period, the 2nd part of the ringing "in all" follows. But in this 2nd part, those enumerations of small bells, which are so perky and cheerful in other ringings, are no longer audible. The very incoherence of the chords in the 1st movement, often heard on discordant bells*, does not hurt the ear of the listener, who is carried away in this ringing by its original rhythmic contrasts. Connoisseurs here appreciate the bell-ringing artist for the diminuendo that is difficult to make on large bells - for the uniform increase in pauses during enumeration, and - for the strength of the unified strike "in all". Connoisseurs also appreciate the second part of this ringing, after the former Largo. Here an experienced bell-ringer, in the so-called "wire", must at first have a very moderate speed and the themes of the "mortuary" chime must be carried out more than once. Good ringers sometimes produce in this ringing the strongest impression. Skilful pauses and loud chords in the first half hit the first ones directly. They are full of deep tragedy. In the second part - a spiritual wound is healed by an unusually appropriate "quiet" ringing. Carrying away the deceased, moving away from the ringing, the listener involuntarily receives the impression of a long, conciliatory diminuendo.

But how good is the post-wedding ringing - the so-called "accelerating"! How much fun, how much spicy humor! His Allegro molto always has a very long introduction. The ringing begins with a long stroke from the small bells, to which one is added every two measures, forming together a powerful crescendo, ending in full ff, when struck at the "largest". Here - a break with a huge pause and immediately then a long ff of the whole second movement. What cheerful cheerfulness, what solemnity! This ringing usually ends with a glib conclusion something like this:

If, after these examples, we recall the plans for Lenten peals, the “collective chime” for the procession, the plans for special peals, for example, the enumeration for the “exaltation”, for the “12 Gospels”, etc., then we must admit that we have long-established special call forms. Forms "small" do not allow any changes in themselves. In "large forms" - the bell-ringer-artist is given full scope and therefore these chimes, for example accelerating, oncoming, chiming, funeral (in its 2nd part), should be classified as "free art".

The musicians will not waste time and will not regret if they decide to delve into the Russian bell ringing. If they delve into the inexhaustible wealth of bell tolling, they will only be surprised at the power, the inexhaustible wealth in the existing inheritances and open the way for a brilliant Russian future.

5. 2. Ural ringers

You can probably call a bell a musical instrument, but the harmonica, melody, and richness of the bell's sound surpass any musical instrument. Overtones: main, upper and lower - this is a whole acoustics, this is a sounding atmosphere. Not a single string, not a single key gives such a sound, and this is the strength of the bell. The consecrated bell carries the grace of the Lord. There is such a legend. Bishop Pavlin the Merciful, returning after the service, lay down on the grass to rest and in a dream saw angels ringing the bells. Waking up, he saw wild flowers above him - bells, very similar to those bells that angels rang. Bishop Peacock of Nolan ordered the caster to cast bells in the image of field bells. Peacock the Merciful canonized as a saint, he is known as a zealous temple builder and a Christian poet, he died in 431. Who patronizes the ringers? Probably, Saint Peacock the Merciful.

In the bell towers of a large composition, with several large bells, several people are ringing - bell ringers. This ringing is always only the loudest confusion, in which the details of the melodic and rhythmic ringing are lost. It is known that the tongues of large bells do not change the speed of their swing for the simplest reason: they are heavy and subject to the laws of the pendulum. Therefore, the simultaneous ringing of 4-5 such bells produces only rhythmic dissonance and a hindrance for the bell ringer-artist. Artistic ringing is possible only in small bell towers, where all the bells are subject to the will of one bell ringer.

We have hundreds of talented bell ringers. All of them convey, according to legend, old, of course, works by quite a few artists of ancient Russia and add their inspirations to them. There are also ardent lovers, blooded hare. There is a story about some soldier who amazed the Bulgarians with the skill of ringing the bells sent from Russia. Absolutely stupid ringing at St. Kral in Bulgarian Sofia angered this artist, and he, unexpectedly for himself, suddenly gave a "bell concert" in the Bulgarian capital. But then the "history" came into play. Although the impression was obviously very strong, it did not penetrate the Bulgarian bell ringers to the essence of bell art. And there are still no good bells in Bulgaria. However, there is nothing to be surprised. After all, the Bulgarians had bells only a quarter of a century ago, while we have been ringing bells for several hundred years. It is clear that church bells have long become our folk art.

Historically, Rus' has never had a centralized school of ringers. The training took place locally, the tradition passed from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth. Now there are centers in major cities, Good bell ringers work in those places where bell art will develop later, they travel around the country, like Vladimir Maryanovich Petrovsky. He also worked in Yekaterinburg, Kamensk-Uralsky, Magnitogorsk. Bishop Tikhon of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory blessed him for this. He has been playing chimes since 1985 and was previously a professional musician.

In order to become a bell ringer, it is not necessary musical education. The main thing is the sense of rhythm. Well, in order for a person to be an Orthodox believer, the priest of the temple where this potential future bell ringer goes to sends him to bell rings courses. Women can also be bell ringers - this was decided in the 20s of the 20th century, when, after the civil war and the first purges at the All-Russian Church Council, they realized that there were a catastrophic shortage of men. True, women have called before - in monasteries. Age doesn't really matter. All you need is physical training. That is, theoretically, even a 13-14-year-old teenager can start studying. Ringing is a stream of revelations from Above. To be able to convey it to people, the ringer must have patience and humility.

In the Urals, the wind rose is located so that the wind usually blows from the west. And temples usually stand in such a way that the ringer sits (or stands) on the bell tower facing the west, that is, the wind. So the physical training of the bell ringer is a separate conversation. And in the heat, and in the cold, and in the wind. Before my eyes - snow, rain, drops, hail. And the ringer is always at his post.

Priest Dmitry Bazhanov is the head of the courses of Orthodox bell ringers in the Yekaterinburg diocese. Dmitry Bazhanov is a wonderful specialist. It can control 12 bells at the same time, so that each bells has its own melody. He began to practice the art of ringing at the age of 12. I made a belfry out of clay pots in my grandfather's garden. And studied. Prepares ringers in the Sverdlovsk region.

This is the situation in the bell class of the Church on the Blood. Silence is maintained in the class during services. There is really no soundproofing. Again the same concrete-whitewashed walls. Everything is very simple, strictly. A pair of icons, a candle burns in front of them, on the wall - church calendar and photographs of course participants during classes, some old desks (they were donated to the temple), flowers in a vase. All. Well, and, of course, the belfry is a special building for study. Before the ringing lesson short prayer, are baptized

Now there are not enough ringers in Yekaterinburg, so the cadets are very much expected. There are a lot of people who want to master this art: both adults and teenagers. They take three months. Then an exam, then a year of practical training. And then there's the professional development exam. To be a bell ringer, it is not necessary to be at the church as at work - from morning to evening. A person can be a student, a businessman - anyone. And on weekends and holidays, come according to the schedule to call the church. The most difficult thing is to ring the small bells - they are called trills. The peculiarity of the Ural bell school is that they ring with the help of such a special wooden handle. Small bells are attached to it with ropes (by the way, special ones, not everyone will do, special elasticity, strength and tightness are needed).

Concerts, competitions and festivals of bell ringing have become traditional in the Urals. June 24 at the Church-Memorial on the Blood in the name of. All the Saints in the Russian land who shone forth took place a competition of bell ringers. The increase in the number of churches in the Urals with a complete set of bells, the development of bell-ringing art and the growth of interest in it led to the holding of this competition. The courses of Orthodox bell ringers, which began their work in December 2006, taught the art of bell ringing to 35 people. There are currently 4 students enrolled in the course. More than 60 people from 34 parishes of the diocese took part in the competition. Orthodox bell ringers include students and businessmen, university professors and civil servants, lawyers and musicians, programmers and the military. And, what is most surprising, there are representatives of the weaker sex among the masters of bell ringing. The competition has become not only a kind of competition, but, above all, a creative workshop where you can exchange experiences, hear the assessment of your work and get good advice. The skill of the bell ringers was assessed by an authoritative jury, which included experienced active bell ringers of the Yekaterinburg diocese and instructors of Orthodox bell ringers courses.

A striking example of the return of bells to the Ural land is the bell ringing festival “Bless the Urals!”, which took place in July 2008 in the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg as part of the Royal Days. Residents and guests of Yekaterinburg were able to hear the bell ringing performed by the Ural ringers, as well as the ringers of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (Moscow). Perhaps the brightest moment of the holiday was the joint performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture by the combined military orchestra and the masters of bell ringing. Archbishop of Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursk Vikenty, as well as senior patriarchal ringer, ringer of the Moscow Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior Igor Konovalov took part in the opening of the festival. The opening ceremony also saw the awarding of the laureates of the Orthodox bell ringers competition, which took place in Yekaterinburg in June. The festival ended on Friday, July 18, with a big bell-ringing concert in the city of Alapaevsk.

On July 24, 2008, the fourth All-Russian festival of bell music "Kamensk-Uralsky - the bell capital" was also held in Kamensk-Uralsky. Masters of bell ringing from all over Russia came to the ancient Ural city. The best ringers showed their skill and talent, exchanged their accumulated experience and secrets of craftsmanship. Thanks to the festival, Russian church bell ringing is being revived. It introduces the inhabitants of the city and the Ural region to the history and traditions of the Church. The euphonious festive ringing of bells flows through the picturesque city streets. A calm atmosphere reigns in the Ural city and its environs. From the very morning and throughout the day, residents and visitors enjoyed the ringing from all the city's bell towers.

Hundreds of Kamensk residents and guests gathered on the main city square of Kamensk-Uralsky near the chapel in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky to listen to the whole variety of the language of bells. Especially for the festival days, a mobile bell tower was installed on the central square, where the best bell ringers of Russia from different cities of the country: Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Rostov the Great, Yaroslavl, Veliky Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and others, demonstrated their skills in turn. Yuri Smirnov, the ringer of the church in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos from the city of Kamensk-Uralsky, has been doing good and charitable deeds for ten years. Hearing the melodious ringing of a bell for the first time, Yuri could not resist and tried to ring it himself. One of the main participants of the festival was the bell weighing 18 tons, which was "born" at the factory of Kamensk-Uralsky "Pyatkov and Co" - this is the second majestic campan made at the enterprise. The first, weighing 16 tons, will soon be installed on the belfry of the Great Chrysostom Church in Yekaterinburg. The second giant, which debuted at the festival, will travel across Russia to the Holy Trinity Monastery in the city of Alatyr. The best bell-ringers of the country sang festive bells each in their own way. The highlight of the performances was the program of the Arkhangelsk master Vladimir Petrovsky, who has been making bells for twenty years.

The festival in Kamensk-Uralsky gathered many guests. Mitred Archpriest John Agafonov and his assistant Archpriest Yevgeny Taushkanov came to listen to the ringing of bells. The festival program was varied and rich. The choir "Russian singers", the boys' choir "Inspiration" and the ensemble of Russian folk instruments performed before the audience.

Each region has developed its own special traditions of bell art for centuries. Festivals, competitions in the Urals personify the triumph of Orthodoxy, encourage the people of the Urals to be creative.

Conclusion

It was interesting for the author to work on this topic: he had to read a lot, make excursions to the bell foundry in Kamensk-Uralsky, to the temples of Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha, the cities of Yekaterinburg, Artemovsky, Irbit; to interview N. G. Pyatkov, to talk with clergymen, to conduct a sociological survey of believers. Completing the research on the topic, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. Bells. For many centuries they accompanied the life of Christians with their ringing. They measured the course of the day, announcing the time of work and rest, the time of wakefulness and sleep, the time of fun and sorrow. Bell ringing served as a measure of righteousness and goodness.

2. Bell ringing can be figuratively called the language of Orthodoxy. On the days of the Great Holidays, he reminds us of heavenly bliss, on the days of fasting - of reconciliation, repentance, and our humility.

3. The ringing of bells heard from afar is a whole symphony - this is a colossal Aeolian harp, giving the most delightful impressions. In the soul of a believer, seeking peace with the Lord, church bells give rise to a bright, joyful and peaceful mood. Even modern medicine has established that bell ringing has a beneficial effect on our body, increases immunity, and activates vitality.

4. They say: an icon is a prayer in colors, a temple is a prayer in stone, a bell is a prayer in sound. Those who have not learned to pray have a way out. Stop for a minute and listen! The bell speaks to you It speaks about the fate of the Russian people, about the fate of Russia, about your fate!

5. Unlucky Ural chimes in the 20th century. Temples collapsed - the creations of human hands, bell towers directed upwards fell, and bells perished with them. And not only the wars were the reason. More terrible was human ignorance, hypocrisy, militant anger at everyone and everything.

5. But time has passed, and the Urals begin to understand that, having lost its roots, the tree will not survive. And bell ringing is one of the mighty roots of our national musical culture. And how good it is that bells are being cast again in the Urals and the art of ringing has been revived and has become a truly national property!

6. Can this art be understood now? Is it commensurate with our time? And, finally, is this art ecclesiastical or secular? To understand this, we need to remember our past, our history, understand the life sources that have nurtured and nourished the art of bells in Russia and the Urals for centuries, visit modern competitions, festivals of bell ringing.

7. The material of the work can be used in the lessons of world art culture, music, as material for excursions, for conversations at class hours, as material for the school museum of local lore.

The sound of the bell resonates in our soul. And the soul awakens from sleep, and is reborn for the spiritual, moral life. A person may be sinful, deaf to other people's suffering and pain, but sooner or later a desire to purify his soul will awaken in him: he will hear the distant, but insistent call of bells.

A bell is an instrument, a source of sound, having a domed shape and, usually, a tongue that hits the walls from the inside. At the same time, in various models, both the dome of the bell and its tongue can swing. In Western Europe, the first version of the bell actuation is the most common. In Russia, the second is ubiquitous, which makes it possible to create extremely large bells (“Tsar Bell”). There are also known bells without a tongue, which are beaten with a hammer or a log from the outside. The material for most bells is the so-called bell bronze, although bells made of iron, cast iron, silver, stone, terracotta, and even glass are known.
The science that studies bells is called campanology.
At present, bells are widely used for religious purposes (calling believers to prayer, expressing the solemn moments of worship), in music, as a signaling device in the fleet (rynda), in the countryside, small bells are hung around the necks of cattle, small bells are often used in decorative purposes. The use of the bell for social and political purposes is known (like the alarm, to call citizens to a meeting (veche)).
The history of the bell goes back over 4000 years. The earliest (XXIII-XVII century BC) found bells were small and were made in China. In China, a musical instrument was also created for the first time from several dozen bells. In Europe, a similar musical instrument (carillon) appeared almost 2000 years later.
The earliest known Old World bell to date is an Assyrian bell in the British Museum dating from the 9th century BC. e.
In Europe, early Christians considered bells to be typically pagan objects. Indicative in this regard is the legend associated with one of the oldest bells in Germany, bearing the name "Saufang" ("Pig production"). According to this legend, pigs unearthed this bell in the mud. When he was cleaned and hung on the bell tower, he showed his "pagan essence" and did not ring until he was consecrated by a bishop. However, the `impious` names of bells do not necessarily indicate their negative spiritual essence: often it is only about musical errors (for example, on the famous Rostov belfry there are `Goat` and `Baran` bells, so named for their sharp, `bleating` sound, and, conversely, on the belfry of Ivan the Great, one of the bells is called `Swan` for a high, clear sound). In medieval Christian Europe, the church bell was the voice of the church. Quotes from the Holy Scriptures were often placed on the bells, as well as a symbolic triad - `Vivos voco. Mortuos plango. Fulgura frango` (`I call the living. I mourn the dead. I tame the lightning`). The likening of a bell to a person is expressed in the names of the parts of the bell (tongue, body, lip, ears). In Italy, the custom of 'christening the bell' (corresponds to the Orthodox consecration of the bell) is still preserved.
The belief that by hitting a bell, a bell, a drum, you can get rid of evil spirits, is inherent in most religions of antiquity, from which the bell ringing "came" to Rus'. The ringing of bells, as a rule - cow, and sometimes ordinary frying pans, boilers or other kitchen utensils, according to ancient beliefs that exist in different regions of the planet, protected not only from evil spirits, but also from bad weather, predatory animals, rodents, snakes and other reptiles, drove out diseases. To date, this has been preserved by shamans, Shintoists, Buddhists, whose services cannot be imagined without tambourines, bells and bells. Thus, the use of bell ringing for ritual and magical purposes is rooted in the distant past and is characteristic of many primitive cults.