I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last Sunday in Lent and next week is already Palm Sunday! During the Sundays in Lent, instead of an opening hymn accompanied by the organ, we have been using processional introits based on Gregorian melodies, interspersed with handbell peals written by Carl Crosier.
LCH’s five octaves of handbells were cast from the foundry of Petit and Fritsen at Aarle-Rixtel, Holland, and of course, had to be custom-made to fit the tuning of our organ (A=444). In contrast to English handbells which have major third overtones, our Dutch bells have a strong minor third overtone, which makes them sound like tower bells. The bells were purchased in 1980 after about a ten year period of always borrowing bells from other churches such as Trinity Lutheran in Wahiawa, Kokokahi in Kaneohe and St. Andrew’s Priory. The bells cost $8,000 plus $2,000 in shipping and funds were raised via a Buy-A-Bell program. By the way, the Petit & Fritsen Foundry no longer makes handbells.
For the dedication, Carl wrote a setting of Psalm 98 using all 61 bells! We had 61 members of the congregation, each with a bell in hand, stand in a huge circle while we performed this piece. As I remember, there were four massive chords in the refrain, reminiscent of the tone clusters by Olivier Messiaen. Suffice it to say this piece has never been performed again.
In contrast to standalone, solo handbell choirs which are found in other churches, we at LCH use the bells liturgically–the bells are always used in combination with voices, mostly as punctuations to chant to help maintain the pitch, in the style invented by composer Peter Hallock.
In addition to the five-octave set, Carl and I personally purchased a two-octave set of Petit and Fritsen bells which we used to take with us when we gave liturgical handbell workshops on the mainland.
In my previous life (1983-1989), I was the handbell teacher at St. Andrew’s Priory and taught 17 handbell classes a week! The girls became very proficient at ensemble ringing, and went to handbell conventions on the mainland. We even played for the governor! After 6 years of daily ding-dongs, though, I got ding-donged out! My successor was (no kidding!) Pam Bell.
[…] So I wrote blogs on The First LCH Compline, the Rudolf von Beckerath organ, how we got the Petit and Fritsen handbells, Carl’s mentors Peter Hallock and Edith Ho, the St. Matthew Passion, our musical travels and […]
Last year I obtained a two-octave (C5-C7) set of Petit & Fritzen bells in very bad shape, and I’m in the process of having them restored. It seems they are nickel-plated brass, and I was wondering if your church’s bells were also nickel-plated; I’m trying to figure out whether the plating is original to the bells, or added on later, since it if is added on by a later owner, I would have it removed while the bells are being serviced. Thanks – Jim Massey, organist/director, Redeemer Lutheran, Bartow, FL
Dear Mr. Massey, The person who knows about our sets of Petit & Fritsen handbells is Marlowe Cowan of CBR Handbell Repair in Ankeny, Iowa. I would suggest that you contact him. By the way, he and his wife have a viral video, and I wrote a blog post about it here: http://insanity.blogs.lchwelcome.org/2011/06/25/the-secret-of-a-long-life-and-a-happy-marriage/
Thanks for the info! At present the bells are sitting at A&T Bells in north GA, waiting for the mechanisms to arrive for restoration. – JM
My church owns a small set of Petit and Fritsen handbells (1 and 1/2 octaves). We’ve had them for about twenty-five years. Some of the pads are worn. How can I replace them. I understand that the company no longer exists.
Thank you.
Frank Rippl, organist/choirmaster,
All Saints Episcopal Church, Appleton, WI
Hello, I am a bell technician for Marlow Cowan here in Ankeny, Iowa. Are you still looking for your bells to be refurbished? If so, I can refer you to my boss as we work on lots of P&F bells.
What is the value of a set of P&F bells F4-C7? I found a set and have no idea of the value. The owner would like to sell them.
Hello Lynn,
I saw your message about a set of Petit & Fritsen handbells. Are they still available for sale?
Thank you for this post. I am learning about our 3 octaves of Petit-Fritsen just now. The company does exist and Frank Fritsen wrote me a lovely note that they would replace one of our cracked bells. In terms of refurbishing, he didn’t know of anyone but Malmark or Schulmerich who might look at the whole set. I am glad to know of the company in Iowa. Thank you!
Hello,
Can you tell me what a 2 octave set of the Petit-Fritsen bells are worth? Where is the best place to buy a storage case? Aprox cost of a case? They do have the leather handles and all seem to be in good shape. We have an all metal case with the name Aarle-Rixtel..Holland on the metal nameplate, but the case seems very archaic and not padded.
What is the best way to clean the brass finish?
Thank you
Ruby Oian
Check out the comments below for contacts for P&F handbells.