carillon

American  

[kar-uh-lon, -luhn, kuh-ril-yuhn] / ˈkær əˌlɒn, -lən, kəˈrɪl yən /

noun

1. a set of stationary bells hung in a tower and sounded by manual or pedal action, or by machinery.

2. a set of horizontal metal plates, struck by hammers, used in the modern orchestra.

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carillon British  

/ kəˈrɪljən /

noun

1. a set of bells usually hung in a tower and played either by keys and pedals or mechanically

2. a tune played on such bells

3. an organ stop giving the effect of a bell

4. a form of celesta or keyboard glockenspiel

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verb

1. (intr) to play a carillon

Etymology

Origin of carillon

1765–75; < French: set of bells, Old French car ( e ) ignon, quarregnon < Vulgar Latin *quadriniōn-, re-formation of Late Latin quaterniōn- quaternion; presumably originally a set of four bells

Explanation

If you wake up in the morning to bells coming from a nearby church tower, the instrument that is being played is a carillon. A carillon is simply a set of bells in a tower. The Old French ancestor of this word is carignon. The car part of this word traces back to the Latin word for "four," so a carignon was a set of four bells. Today, however, a carillon can have many many bells. Though you might picture someone playing it by pulling giant strings one after another, it is usually played by a keyboard that controls the bells. Some play automatically, with notes etched into a metal roll like you might find on a player piano (also called a pianola).

Example Sentences

Charles Semowich, who plays the carillon inside the 392-foot tower at Riverside Church, said he hears occasional screeching outside his window.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2024

The final gesture comes as a surprise: a sudden, brilliant cascade from opposite ends of the keyboard toward the center, a carillon from the beyond.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2022

“We have so much distance to the audience. Especially in Holland, the carillon was suddenly an instrument for everybody. It was the only instrument people could go to concerts of because it was outdoors.”

From Washington Post • May 11, 2022

The bells were part of a carillon that accompanied chants inside the church, said Franciscan friar Father Stephane, the Custody's liturgist.

From Reuters • Dec. 21, 2021

Above the wheel is a carillon of bells, and to one side a rosette which might be a fly or a model sun.

From On the Origin of Clockwork, Perpetual Motion Devices, and the Compass by Price, Derek J. de Solla (Derek John de Solla)