Bells will be ringing

UW Carillon chimes in during sesquicentennial

At work 85 feet above Observatory Drive, carilloneur Lyle Anderson works the keys of the 63-year old carillon housed in Carillon Tower. One of only three carillons in the state, UW’s musical tower will add its tuneful voice to Wisconsin sesquicentennial celebrations this summer.

No bell worth its clapper will be silent May 29. At least, not in Wisconsin. It’s Sesquicentennial Day, and the air will ring from Prairie du Chien to Ashland to De Pere.

Of course, the Memorial Carillon on the University of Wisconsin- Madison campus will chime in — in fact, Gov. Tommy Thompson will try his hand on a veteran carillon bell, removed 25 years ago during a renovation of the tower, according to Lyle Anderson, current carillonneur and artist-in-residence in the UW–Madison School of Music.

During the moment in question, which will occur statewide at high noon, Anderson himself will be ensconced in the 63-year-old obelisk, doing his part in the effort.

May 29 will be only part of what promises to be a full week for Anderson and the UW–Madison carillon; on May 27 he will perform music of mostly Dutch composers for the ninth biennial Interdisciplinary Conference on Netherlandic Studies, hosted this time by UW–Madison. Anderson says he’ll be including the first four intermezzi that the late Leen’t Hart composed for four Dutch cities in 1968.

On the other hand, during his usual Sunday concert May 31, Anderson’s fare will have a decided Wisconsin flavor. “On Wisconsin” will be among the offerings, as will pieces by UW–Madison faculty members Joel Naumann and Anderson’s predecessor, emeritus carillonneur John Wright Harvey.

On the job 80 feet above the pavement for about a dozen years now, Anderson gives about 40 such free public Sunday afternoon performances every year. With a B.A. in linguistics and French, and an M.M. in music history from UW–Madison, Anderson took electives from Harvey, who still plays the tower keyboard every now and then.

Sixteenth-century Europe erected the first carillons, then operated by clockworks. Humans began to supplant machine-run carillons in the 1600s, although Anderson says clockworks continue to be common, usually assisted by computer chips. UW–Madison’s Memorial Carillon, designed by Arthur Peabody, was a gift of the Classes of 1917-1926. It is one of three in Wisconsin, the others being at Marquette University in Milwaukee and First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Green Bay.

Anderson says a rather profound paradox lies at the core of every carillon: “It’s the only ‘folk’ instrument that must always be played publicly, yet also must be played in the comparative solitude of the tower.”

Sunday carillon concerts begin at 3 p.m. at the tower in front of the Social Sciences building. For more information about the Memorial Carillon’s summer season, contact the School of Music, 263-1900.