When the bells chime in the new chapel Bell Tower, the Sacred Heart community will hear four new and unique
Eijsbouts bronze bells cast in the Netherlands. The largest bell will weigh 1500 pounds and will measure 41 inches in diameter; the smallest will weigh 447 pounds and be 27 inches in diameter. All four bells will be cast the old-fashioned way, by pouring molten bronze into molds and then cooled.
“We chose these particular bells because we wanted a traditional European peal, a more ancient sound to remind us that we’re citizens of the world,” says Sister Margaret Palliser, OP, S.T.D., assistant vice president for mission.
Despite this traditional manufacturing process, Sacred Heart’s Chapel bells will benefit from the latest technology: instead of pendulum-style clappers, the bells will have steel and bronze “strikers,” clappers that can be moved electromagnetically using a control panel inside the Chapel, allowing for varied single- and multi-bell ringing.
Masses and other appropriate events in the Chapel will be accompanied by music from an organ designed and manufactured especially for Sacred Heart by master craftsmen at Casavant Fréres. Based in Saint-Hyacinth, Québec, Casavant Fréres is one of the oldest and best-known pipe organ builders in the world.
The first organ built by Claver and Samuel Casavant in 1880 was a manual mechanical action instrument. During the next 25 years, the Casavant brothers built 110 mechanical action instruments, mostly modestly sized two-manual organs, but also some larger instruments with as many as 82 stops.
For centuries, organs always had mechanical key and stop action, until changes in musical demands from composers and performers beginning in the late 19th century compelled organ builders to develop other forms of action. During this period, many builders, including Casavant, invented new types of key action, including tubular and electropneumatic forms.
In the mid-20th century, strong interest in early music developed throughout the world, and scholars conducted research to understand and replicate authentic performances, leading to the use of historical instruments. The Organ Reform Movement fostered an intense interest in historical organs, which motivated builders to build new organs with mechanical key action. With study and experience, many organ builders and performers realized that mechanical action offered multiple benefits, despite the fact that the keyboards need to be located fairly close to the pipes.
“For most churches, this is now seen as more desirable,” explains Dr. John Michniewicz, director of Sacred Heart’s Academic Music Program. “The organic feel of having a close, tactile connection between the individual keys and the pipes is musically quite advantageous. When you press a key, you are directly pulling a metal tracker that physically opens a channel for air to enter a pipe. You can really feel the nuances of touch and articulation that are immediately affecting the musical sounds coming out of each of the individual pipes. With mechanical action, the pipes can speak with a much more clearly defined character and presence. And mechanical action itself is actually more reliable and long lasting, since there are many fewer parts to wear out or need replacement over time.”
In response to the revived interest in mechanical action organs, Casavant Fréres resumed building them in the early 1960s. Since then, they have designed and built over 200 mechanical action organs like the one being created for Sacred Heart, which will be constructed and tested in Quèbec before being dismantled and rebuilt in Sacred Heart’s new Chapel.
“A fine, well-constructed organ is an inspiration to see and hear and, even more, to sing with,” says Dr. Michniewicz, who currently directs the University Concert Choir, 4 Heart Harmony, and Campus Ministry’s Liturgical Choir in numerous events both on and off campus. As a solo artist, he has performed in both Europe and America, including recitals on the great organ at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. He accompanied American choirs of the Pueri Cantores during their performance at the Basilica of San Gerusalemme in Rome in a special millennium concert on January 1, 2000.
In Europe, Dr. Michniewicz explains, many of the important churches have beautiful freestanding choir organs located near the altars that are specifically used to lead the singing of the congregation and to accompany the choir. “This is our model for the Sacred Heart Chapel organ,” he says. “Because of the full and natural acoustic sound that a pipe organ produces, it encourages and supports singing. This will be a huge benefit to the choirs on campus, as well as in its use in Eucharistic and other liturgies, and other special events that will take place in the Chapel. This will be a fantastic instrument that will help draw people of all faiths into the Chapel, involve them in the community, and let them participate in a song of praise to God.”