History and Goddard Chapel Instruments
Wednesday, May, 1st, 2019 Past Announcements
Chime ringer in Goddard Chapel, 1948
The Carillon
A carillon is a set of tuned bells arranged so that music can be played on them. The 25 carillon bells were donated at three different times. The first bell was given by the class of 1898 on their tenth reunion in 1908. In 1926, Eugene Bowen donated nine bells. In 1966, a further fifteen bells and the first carillon mechanism were donated in honor of the first provost of Tufts University, John Tilton. Today, the 25 bells (F, G, then A to g’ chromatically) are playable from an electronic keyboard console made by the Verdin company of Cincinatti, Ohio, which also enables the recording of anything from a sequence of chimes to an elaborate tune. Usually the carillon plays a hymn tune at 5:00pm daily, which is chosen and recorded monthly by the music director of the chapel. Notes for the tune (and lyrics when appropriate) may be found on the chaplaincy’s website.
The Organ
The chapel organ is original to the space and was dedicated at the same time as the building in 1883. While it has undergone maintenance and restoration (most recently in 2003) the tonal specification has not been altered significantly from when it was new, and the few alterations were done in the style of the original instrument. The organ was designed, built, and installed by the Hook & Hastings firm of Weston, Massachusetts. Their largest and most conspicuous instrument was installed in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in 1875. The Goddard Chapel organ has 976 pipes over sixteen stops and is a tracker organ, that is to say it is fully mechanical other than the wind being supplied by an electric blower.
The specification of the organ is as follows:
Couplers: Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Swell to Great, Swell Octave to Great
Features: Great manual forte and piano registration with foot switches, typical of the maker.
The Piano
The piano in the chapel is from around 1985s, a 6’10 ½” model B grand from America’s most famous and well-respected piano maker, Steinway & Sons. It is an excellent instrument for accompanying worship as well as choirs, chamber music, and solo playing.