Bell Chiming

Chimes can be defined as “bell tunes” – rhythmical peals of a number of bells sounded in a certain sequence, in order to produce a melody. The essential differ­ence between Slovenian-style chiming (pritrkavanje) and the version generaliy known outside the Slovenian ethnic territ­ory (calied carillion in English and French, Glockenspiel in German, kolokolnie zvony in Russian) consists in the fact that our chimers (as a rule, one per bell) produce the tunes by directly striking the clapper against the circumterence ot the bell: it is a group performance, making use of ordinary bells in any belfry. Carillion, on the other hand (known, tor instance, in Swit­zerland, France, Belgium, England, North ltaly, the Soviet Union, etc.), is a one-man performance on a set of bells specially arranged and tuned tor this purpose, rung with the aid of machinery, usually includ­ing a manual. In short, Slovenian-style chimers (pritrkovalci) are true folk artists, while carillion, players are professional or semi-professional musicians, playing either adaptations of compositions tor other instruments or original compositions specially intended for this instrument.

The generally accepted technical term tor Slovenian-style chiming is pritrkavanje, though there are numerous local terms in the various regions. In Upper Carniola the alternative expressions are potrkavanje, nabiranje, priudarjanje, klenkanje; in Lower Carniola, klenkanje, potrkavanje; in the White March, klenkanje, linganje; in lnner Carniola also pinkanje; in the Coastal Re­gion, natolkavanje, toklanje, tenklanje, trankanje, kantkanje, klempananje, klepetanje, kompelanje, etc.; in Slovenian Venetia also tamburanje, škomponotanje, mortelanje; in the Resia Valiey, klotananje, tintinanje; in Styria, prtrkavanje, trijančanje, trojančanje, v klenk zvonenje; in the Raba Valiey, klonkanje, klonckanje; in Carinthia, nabijanje, prtrkavanje, zgone bijejo, s pengelnom pobijajo, etc. Various derivations of these terms are used to designate Slovenian-style chimers, e. g. pritrkovalec, potrkač, nabijavc, tenklar, klenkaš, tonkaš, etc.

The peals ot bells have always had a number of functions in everyday life; they invite to the divine service, strike the hour, warn of fire and other calamities, announce the death of a local, or even try to dispel a hailstorm, etc. Slovenians have always shown a special affection for bells and chimes: the sound of a bell is com­monly compared to a human voice, and vice versa. In the past (for instance, during World War 1) the locals often secretly re­moved bells from the belfries and hid them in the ground to prevent the enemy from refounding them into cannons. History does not record a single betrayal of the hiding-place of a bell! Every village is proud ot its bells and bell-ringers, and claims they are the tinest in the country.

Slovenian-style chiming (pritrkavanje) is a folk art typical ot the entire ethnic territ­ory, except tor the Slovenian-speaking vil­lages of Austrian Carinthia; but even there the older villagers remember the habit and the local expressions connected with it. It is impossible to establish the origins of Slovenian-style chiming. Reliable sources testify to its popularity in the 19th century; but the custom can be probably dated back to the 16th century. Further research may disclose more details. There is a sub­stantial difference between normal bell-ringing and chiming. A bell-ringer sounds the bell by pulling a rope (in modern times this is often done by an electric motor). A pritrkovalec, on the other hand, climbs the belfry, accompanied by his collea­gues, and strikes the clapper by hand against the edge of the bell; since the clapper tends to be heavy, the hand is often assisted by some kind of gadget: the bellmay be propped up by poles, or the clapper might be attached to the edge of the bell by a chain or a cord, etc. (cf. our images). Various local terms are used to designate the clapper, of bell­tongue: kembelj (standard Slovenian), knebelj (Styria), žvenkelj, štremfelj (Lower Carniola), žvenku, rigel (Coastal Region), kladivo, betica (Triestine Karst), jezik (Slovenian Venetia), etc. In some regions, especialiy in Styria, the accepted method is to strike the outside of the bell by a mallet (caliud kladiv or kij in Styria, tukci in Slovenian Venetia).

The chime tunes are called viža, štiklc, štuki, komad, etc. The principal strokes, which produce the basic melody, are cal­led žvak, štih (Upper Carniola). The “re­sponse” strokes, which compose the tune in interplay with the principal strokes, are called odbivanje or obiranje, while the strokes merely adding to and embroidering on the melodic pattern are calied gostenje or glestenje (Coastal Reg­ion), drobljenje, drobit or drobnat. Depending on the method of interplay, chime tunes can be roughly divided into two groups:

1. AII the bells play an equal role, and their successive strokes produce an “un­embroidered” melody (cf. our examples 7, 10, 16, 17, 19, 24, 25).
2. Some ot the bells play the basic melodic pattern (consisting of principal strokes and “response” strokes), while one of the bells plays the “embroidery”. There are two subdivisions of this group:

a) “Flying tunes” (leteče viže), where one of the bells (said to be “flying”) is rung with a cord, producing the basic rhythm, while the remaining bells are struck by hand (5, 23, 37).
b) “Standing tunes” (stoječe viže), where ali the bells are struck by hand. This is, in fact, the regular practice.

An unwritten law of Slovenian-style chim­ing says that two bells must never be struck at the same tirne. If this happens inadvertently, the general opinion is that the performance is a flop. Only in some regions (Styria, the Triestine Karst, etc.) exceptions are permitted if the musical pattern demands it (3, 8, 9). The variety of the tunes depends on the number of bells available. The range of melodic patterns can be further increased by the use of mallets. In Marsin (Slovenian Venetia) the clappers are exceptionally long, and de­signed to be struck in two fashions: either by clapping the tip ot the bell-tongue against the edge of the bell, or the root of the bell-tongue against the upper section of the bell. The two distinctive sounds produced in this way add to the variety of the tune. The quality of the performance depends on the talent, skill and musical ear of the bell-ringers. Often the perfor­mers are past-masters of their art, and can distinguish and remember a wide re­pertory of melodies. Some of them have invented their of systems of musical nota­tion. Anton Božič of Vipava, for instance, uses the following system:

He uses a red dot to designate the fourth bell (first line trom top), a grey dot tor the third bell (second line), a black dot for the second bell, and a blue dot for the first bell (third and fourth lines). Roman numerals divide the tune into four sections, of which each consists of fix units (marked by con­secutive Arabic numerals). The principal strokes are marked by dots placed under the corresponding Arabic numeral, while the “embroidery” is indicated by dots placed on the intermediate vertical lines. In a more conventional way, the same tune could be recorded as follows:

Franc Bonča ot Hraše near Smlednik uses vair-coloured geometric figures: a circle for the fourth bell, a rhombus tor the third bell, a rectangle tor the second bell, and a square for the first bell. In his notation (here reproduced in black and white) the “Evening Bell” tune of our item 24 can be recorded as follows:

The performers are usually men or boys (or exceptionally, in more recent times, girls) who have learnt this folk art either in the local belfry, under the guidance of older practitioners, or at home, by practicing on a suspended scythe, a set of cow bells, etc. Just like folk songs, the art of chiming is handed down from generation to genera­tion, and there are famous families or groups of performers. The tunes, too, are transmitted from generation to generation. Some of them are named after their rhyth­mical patterns, e.g. v eno, v dva, v pet, po pet (17), ta gosta v pet, navadna sedem (6), v osem (34), v enajst (15), etc.; others are called after place names, e.g. Vipavska, Vrhpoljska, Šmihevška, Barnaška, Zagrebška, Radegunšek (33), Komends­ka, etc., or after a folk composer, e.g. Božončkova, Kovačeva, Luigi Kampanon, Kahnetov (30), etc.; occasionally a tune is named after a folk dance, e.g. štajeriš, špicpolka, polka, osem marš, potresavka (14). Some ot the tunes have quaint names, such as “Getaway Hag” (bejšba­ba), (36), “Old Hag” (stara baba), “Pope’s Tune” (papeževa, 31 ), “Bosnian’s Tune (Bosanc), “The Last Fad” (ta nova), “The Fig”, (figa), “The Spinster” (samica), “Bishop’s Tune” (škofova), “Slow Dor­mouse” and “Quick Dormouse” (poča­sen polh, 8, and hiter polh, 9), “Evening Bell” (večerni zvon, 24), etc. Over the last tive years, a tune called Radecki marš or simply Radecki (16/c) has gained wide popularity; it is adapted trom the well-­known Radetzky March by J. Strauss (1804-1849).

The melodic patterns ot chime tunes range from simple one-beat tunes (e.g. 1, 2) to complex, highly inventive composi­tions (e.g. 16/a, b). The “canon” pattern is fairly frequent (6, 22, 23/a). In some reg­ions the rhythm is diversified by dynamics and speed changes (e.g. 4, 30), while in others the stresses are fairly uniform (16, 18). The most frequent times are 4/4, 3/4, 4/8, and sometimes 6/8 (36); occasionally there are complex rhythmic structures, such as 4/4 + 3/4 (6, 22) or 3/4 + 2/4 (24), or even more intricate combinations (27). The performers enjoy their art, therefore they do not spare any efforts to perfect it. They can practise for hours on end. Usu­ally the chiming makes a profound impact both on practicioners and listeners. Per­formances take place on major religious holidays, on the occasion of church fairs, confirmation, first mass, etc. Since World War II, they also celebrate New Year, May Day or even a performer’s enlistment in the army, etc. Before the last war, chiming competitions were frequent; they have survived into our own days. Since 1982 Slovenian divinity students have formed a special Chiming Club, which organizes regional and national encounters of per­forming groups (the 1984 encounter was staged at Crngrob) and helps to keep the tradition alive.

So far there is little literature on Slovenian­-style chiming. One of the first handbooks on the subject was Slovenski pritr­kovavec, Navodila za pritrkavanje cerk­venih zvonov po številkah, by Ivan Merci­na (Gorica, 1926), consisting of an introduction and 243 examples of chiming tu­nes, unfortunately recorded in a rather complicated and bewildering numerical notation. General discussions of the art can be found in Slovenska ljudska glasbi­la in godci (Maribor, 1972) and Ljudska glasbila in godci (Ljubljana, 1983) by Zmaga Kumer. There are also shorter articles and reports in various newspapers and magazines. The author of the present text has lectured or reported on this folk art various ethnographic conventions, both in Yugoslavia and abroad.

The tunes presented here are recorded conven­tional musical notation. The figures at the bottom of the lines mean: 1 = largest and lowest-pitched bell, 2 = medium-sized bell, 3 = smaller bell, 4 = even smaller bell, 5 = smallest and highest-pitched bell. A special list gives the precise values used in the various localities. A met­ronomic indication, such as quaver = 90-112, means accelerando. The basic tune is marked by crotchets, the “response” tune by quavers , the “embroidery” by quavers or semiquavers, * means a mallet stroke (e. g. 8, 9). A “flying” bell is marked by a semibreve or minim (5, 23, 37). In the case of melodic variations only major changes are indicated.

The figures added under the musical nota­tion represent clapper strokes. In the case of tunes where ali the bells play an equal role, the figures are arranged in a single line (e.g. 7, 10, 16, 19, 24, 25, 36). A dash ( -) represents a pause. A smaller figure over a dash means the bell playing the “embroidery” part. The exponent “x”, in combination with a figure means a mallet stroke. A circle around a figure stands for a “flying” bell. If two figures are written one atop of the other, two bells are sounded at the same time.

The heading of each transcription gives the name of the tune and the home viliage or town of the performing group, followed by the place and date of recording as well as the consecutive number of the tape in the files of our Section (T 782/1,2). At the bottom of the transcription the names of the performers are listed in alphabetic se­quence, followed by their respective year of birth. A broken line (—– ) indicates that the data are incomplete or irretriev­able. In special cases explanations are added.

I wish to thank all who have in any way helped with the preparatory work or with the production of this record. In particular, I must thank the sound technician Matjaž Culiberg tor his expert conversion from tape to disc as well as his retouching of certain technically deficient field record­ings. My most cordial thanks are, of course, addressed to all the performers, named or unnamed. At the same time I must present my excuses to all who could not be included in this selection, for the simple reason that the records in our files total more that 3000 minutes, of which only 42 minutes could be chosen for our record.

I sincerely hope this record will be an encoragement to all our folk musicians who strive to preserve this unique, typical­ly Slovenian folk tradition.