World-Famous Carillonist to Reawaken City Hall's Musical Bells

The carillon - or the collective sounding of tower bells in musical harmony - will resonate across Cape Town for the first time in decades.

The highly acclaimed and world-renowned carillonist, organist and conductor, Uli Leykam, will perform in Cape Town on Thursday, 09 December at 13:15. Leykam will deliver a musical recital using the historic 39-bell carillon that is housed in the bell tower of Cape Town City Hall.

The vintage bell chiming installation is operated by an antiquated array of wooden levers and pedals and requires enormous skill to play. It has stood silent for so long that its melodious tones will be a completely new experience for the younger Capetonian generation.

Background
The carillon, known in Dutch as klockenspel, dates back to 13th Century Europe when monks rang tower bells in different tones to call the faithful to prayer, sound the alarm, herald special occasions, or mark important developments - both merry and mournful.

The evocative sound of the carillon went on to resonate throughout Europe and other (mainly Western) countries, including South Africa, over subsequent centuries. In the process, the carillon became an important facet of the cultural lives of communities, and a symbol of their civic and national pride. The bells of the typical carillon are usually housed in church, town and city hall towers, or in free-standing towers known as campaniles.

The Cape Town City Hall carillon is dedicated to the lives lost in the World War 1 almost a century ago.

Uli Leykam
Ulrich 'Uli' Leykam is a world-acclaimed carillonist, organist and conductor.

He graduated as a concert musician in 1980, after studying sacred music in Bayreuth and Duesseldorf under the (organ) tutorship of Viktor Lukas and Almut Roesler.

Leykam, who has been the musical director of the Melanchthonkirche at the Osterkirchen parish in Duesseldorf since 1974, has performed all over Europe and in Israel. As a conductor, he has received several awards in international competitions.

Apart from his involvement in many contemporary music world premieres, Leykam has featured widely on CD, radio and television.

As the leading official carillon expert at Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland, he is regularly consulted by parishes all over the German Rheinland region on the establishment, repair and refurbishment of carillons and other church bells and chimes.

His current project is the large, 'new age' carillon at Melanchthonkirche, which recently had its world premiere as the first instrument of its kind to use the newly-developed technology (see below) which Leykam helped to implement in collaboration with physicist Klaus Wolter.

The 'new age' carillon
During his visit to Cape Town, Leykam will be accompanied by German scientist Klaus Wolter, who has developed a new technology that is poised to revitalise and enhance the age-old art of the carillon.

Wolter's invention (which has a worldwide patent pending) enables carillon bells to be played concert-piano-style on a standard five-octave midi-keyboard. This innovation is years ahead of the traditional, physically taxing pedal and lever system.

Ushering in a new chapter in the more than 800-year history of tower bell music, the versatility of Wolter's invention enables the user (a musical arranger who understands the dynamics of the bells) to play a wide repertoire of music to suit virtually any national, civic, sporting, corporate or other occasion of significance. This would include, for example, the National Anthem, Shosholoza and other iconic South African tunes, as well as the anthems of visiting heads of state, dignitaries and international sports teams.

Issued by:
Communication Department
City of Cape Town