Track 11 : The sound of Re-tuning a church bell originally cast in 1870. Adjusting the bell clamp, rotating the bell, testing the bell pitch, scraping metal off the inside edge of the bell to change the partial tones of the bell. Tuning by Ben Kipling, Whitechapel. 2:13
Whitechapel Bell Foundry is Britain’s oldest manufacturer, established in 1570 (a link has now been traced back to 1420). I spoke to Ben Kipling who was to tune the bell I recorded for the vinyl record. He mentioned that they had moved into the current premises in 1870. The foundry has cast such famous bells as Big Ben’s (1858), the Great Bell of Montreal and the original Liberty Bell (1752) sent to America.
I recorded the sounds of tuning a bell for the vinyl record and asked Ben a few questions about the foundry and the bell tuning and making process. You can hear his and general manager Mark Backhouse’s answers here.
[audio:https://dl.dropbox.com/u/24724168/soundsofmaking/whitechapel.mp3 | titles=Whitechapel Bell Foundry]
