English Bells & Carillon
N.B. Special licencing conditions apply to this library; please see below.
For commercial installations such as Campaniles or church towers, we are able to supply specially designed hardware (including clock synchronised automation) plus full installation facilities with suitable speakers etc. Please contact us for further details.
A peal of 8 bells based on F#. The bells are situated in one of the highest parish churches in England at 1200' above sea level. These bells were originally sampled for use by the BBC and have been regularly broadcast on radio either as stand alone or as part of an instrumental ensemble.The ring is well known and is considered to be particularly fine. Considerable time was spent in finding a ring suitable for sampling since most are to be found in the centre of towns where traffic and other noise makes it impossible to achieve any usable sample. Ringing bells in the middle of the night is generally not accepted either. Initially, we tried sampling the bells as struck by a leather hammer but this was not effective. The only way in which we could achieve the true sound of a ringing bell was to allow each bell to fall and strike as they would in real life and hope that we would not catch a second strike as the bell stopped swinging. This required great skill by the bell ringer together with numerous attempts for each bell sample. We have also included some noise samples of the frame, pulleys and ropes which can be used as required.
MP 3 Demos
(Diatonic 8 in F# -Long Sustain).
https://hidrive.ionos.com/lnk/CwJgKiJ5
(Diatonic 8 in F#) 40 changes on 6 bells with narrower stereo separation.
https://hidrive.ionos.com/lnk/U1pgqjpH
(Diatonic in G) As above but with original stereo separation
https://hidrive.ionos.com/lnk/leJgq5z1
(Carillon 61)
https://hidrive.ionos.com/lnk/IyJgKpLc
(Carillon 61)
https://hidrive.ionos.com/lnk/64JAq2AS
There are several separate sets in the library as follows:-
All samples are at 48k-16 bit
1. Diatonic 8 Bell set based on the original 8 bells. There are 3 sustain settings Long, Medium and Short plus a separate "Hour Bell". The bells are mapped to the centre of a 5 octave keyboard (F# below middle C to F# above). The Diatonic sets have been created so that players will not deviate from the original bell notes. Playing a note which is NOT in the diatonic scale will produce no sound. In addition the Diatonic 8 set has 10 sound effects covering rope noise, frame noise and click.
2. As above but with all samples pitch shifted up a semitone and mapped from G below middle C to G above. This has been done to assist those who have difficulty handling the F# Major scale.
3. Chromatic 12 Bell set based on the original 8 bells using advanced random pitch shifting processing. There are 3 sustain settings Long, Medium and Short plus a separate "Hour Bell". The bells are mapped to the centre of a 5 octave keyboard (F# below middle C to F# above). Adjacent samples are different rather than merely being pitch shifted up a semitone from the adjacent sample.
4. As 3. but with all samples pitch shifted up a semitone and mapped from G below middle C to G above.
N.B. The above 4 libraries retain the original tuning of the bells (slightly sharp of A440).
5. A 61 note carillon created from the original 8 bells. Long and short sustain versions plus Sub Octave, Unison Off and Octave couplers. The "Hour Bell" has been retained. The samples in the Carillon library have been retuned to A440 as closely as possible so that they can be used as part of an Hauptwerk organ. However, due to the nature of bells, there will be some minor tuning differences to the tempered scale on some notes.
N.B. For purchasers of the larger Concert Series libraries, the basic Chromatic set and the Carillon are included for free.
£50.00
IMPORTANT
The above set is for personal home use and research ONLY. Where the bells or a carillon are to be used in a public environment, different licencing conditions and libraries apply. An annual usage charge or one off payment terms are available. For commercial suppliers of hardware bell products various terms are available. Please contact us for further details.