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Charles Hazlewood

Harry Beney

Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Music: Classical: Early Music

07/12/2011

BBC Four - Come Bell Ringing with Charles Hazlewood

Charles Hazlewood devises and performs a unique musical experiment using church bells.

Charles Hazlewood devises and performs a unique musical experiment using three separate church towers and 30 handbell ringers gathered from across the eastern counties.

For over 1,200 years church bells have called the faithful to worship, helping people celebrate triumph and commemorate tragedy. But the fact that they are one of the largest and loudest musical instruments in the world is often overlooked.

This is something musical innovator Charles Hazlewood wants to change - he wants to see if church bells can be used to make original music in their own right.

Choosing Cambridge for his musical experiment, Charles immerses himself in the world of bells and bell ringing. He tries his hand at ringing church bells, handbells and even a carillon - an instrument which resembles an organ made out of bells. He discovers why church bell ringing sounds the way it does and tries out some radical techniques - pushing the boundaries, he re-rigs a whole church tower so it can play a tune.

At the culmination of his investigations Charles devises and performs an extraordinary piece of music which involves three separate church towers and 30 handbell ringers gathered from across the eastern counties.

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