Veronese Bell Ringers Host English Guests in Unique Exchange Weekend
From today until August 11, throughout the province of Verona, you will hear the bells ringing in a rather unusual way. The cause of this unexpected ringing will be a group of English bell ringers attempting to learn how to ring the Verona bells, as part of the annual exchange between the Associazione suonatori di campane a sistema veronese (Veronese System Bell Ringers Association) and the Associazione suonatori di campane delle diocesi di Bath e Wells (Bath and Wells Dioceses Bell Ringers Association), in the scenic county of Somerset.
History and purpose of the exchange
The trip echoes a previous “mission” by eight of our bell ringers who last year traveled to England for the same purpose, visiting nearly thirty bell towers over seven days and learning English-style bell ringing techniques. Now, the Veronese group is hosting their Anglo-Saxon guests, and during their brief week-long stay, they will explore the entire province, ringing bells and admiring the historical and natural beauty of the Scaliger territory.
Schedule of activities
They set out this afternoon from Cisano, a hamlet of Bardolino, where they will get accustomed to our bells. Tomorrow morning they will be near Pigozzo and Mizzole, while in the afternoon they will move toward Corrubio and Roverè. Tuesday offers a trip to Verona, including a visit to the S. Nicolò concert; in the afternoon, the group will head to Bovolone and Mazzantica. Wednesday’s activities are confined to the afternoon, between Costermano and Lumini.
Thursday features the classic trip to Venice. On the final day, Friday, the group will split their time between the morning visit to the Pantheon of S. Maria in Stelle with a bell ringing school at the local bell tower, and in the afternoon, they will be guests at S. Zeno in Colognola and Mambrotta. The evening will conclude with a grand farewell dinner attended by the highest authorities of the Veronese association.
Thanks and technical considerations
The collaboration of the various hosting bell towers was essential and extensive, ensuring that each location had a playable bell tower, competent bell ringers for proper instruction, and often a full dinner. But why teach bell ringing to people who are already bell ringers? The reason lies in the fact that in England, a ringing system is used that, although similar to the Veronese, has notable differences.
Fundamentally, it involves bells that complete full rotations (like ours), but they are significantly faster, and equipped with a very particular device (the stay) which allows the ringers to leave the bell “at rest” (with the clapper in the bottom position and the bell at the top) without having to hold it. This means bells are ready for the next performance without needing to be reset to the “concert” position.
Moreover, the English ringers perform only sequences of notes from minor to major, although they can vary this rigid pattern by altering the succession of bells, but the core idea remains that of a mathematical series with very strict and unavoidable changes executed at incredible speed and memorized by the ringers. No music here—while in Verona, the music is loud and clear!
Teaching activities and tradition
Our English guests will be taught the “Pange Lingua“, “L’Ave Maria“, and many other sacred pieces from Gregorian tradition. Not to mention the specifically written motifs for bells!
Undoubtedly, this group will also be captivated by our land and traditions just as much as D.G. Astridge, the creator of the exchange, was. His premature and tragic passing could not stop the power of a dream.
