Russian orthodox bell ringing

Olesya

Jedi Master
For the last two of days I was listening a lot of Russian orthodox bell ringing. Here's the description and history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_bell_ringing It is something I'd like to share and ask about your experiences with it.

A need (I don't have any other word to describe it) to listen bell ringing came about very suddenly after I re-read some comment I posted on Sott page and laughed at myself because the way I wrote it. And then, I suddenly remembered a feeling that I once had while living in Kiev, when on a crisp autumn morning I heard the bells singing from St. Vladimir's Cathedral. I don't really know how to described it, maybe, something like, feeling of lightness, purity, joy and longing. I couldn't find on the internet anything close to what I heard at that time, but here are some examples of bell ringing.

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a9OBFB2lcA

_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGd_MaYYuS8

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8ZApYCAfUo

There are a lot of different styles and schools of bell ringing. Maybe, someone has good examples of the old style bell ringing without all modern electronic stuff, maybe, of some small village churches bell ringing? One more interesting thing, osit, is that the largest bell is called "blagovest", i.e. that what transmits "blagaya vest'" or something that transmits true knowledge, osit. The most amazing part for me was is that in old style bell ringing this type of bell is played while being inside the bell. I wonder what might be the effects of that...
 
This is beautiful. I love, always love it, to listen to bells. There is the remembrance of my infancy, where I went for holidays near a monastery. But these bells are different, I mean, the sound of it, the rhythm. I really don't know if listening those bells every hour can be a good idea. :halo: But bells are a very important symbol and it is too bad that in small villages there is no more bells. What is very interesting too is the story of the people who were responsible of doing this work. There is always a sort of contempt, as playing the bells were not important at all. When it is the contrary. We, in this modern world, have forgotten the importance of the sound of bells.

It is the first time I hear Russian Orthodox bells, thanks to share it .
 
That's really beautiful! I like to sit near Dvina river here and listen to the bells ringing. It's quite relaxing.

Here are some examples of Vitebsk churches' bells ringing.
_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI5-AoyMhjk
_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xdtcLURtmI
And this one also offers a panoramic view of the whole area with several churches together. Quite beautiful, actually.
_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfFDsmfyWbY
 
How relaxing are all these sounds!

Here you have the bells of Montserrat, the famous Monastery where I went every September when I was a kid, with all the family and all the joy to be so high in the mountain, so free and joyous like a gazelle. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAPv4CdpiLw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJ4PeGnRqc
 
Cool. I've always found bell ringing traditions fascinating.

There's a murdery mystery written by Dorothy Sayers about bell ringing called "The Nine Tailors".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Tailors

Stranded in the Fenland village of Fenchurch St. Paul on New Year's Eve after a car accident, Wimsey helps ring a nine-hour peal of bells overnight after Will Thoday, one of the ringers, is stricken by influenza....

In some parishes in England the centuries old tradition of announcing a death on a church bell is upheld. In a small village most people would be aware of who was ill, and so broadcasting the age and sex of the deceased would identify them. To this end the death was announced by telling (i.e. single blows with the bell down) the sex and then striking off the years. Three blows meant a child, twice three a woman and thrice three a man. After a pause the years were counted out at approximately half minute intervals. The word teller in some dialects becomes tailor, hence the old saying "Nine tailors maketh a man".

The bell used in the novel for the announcement is the largest (tenor) bell which is dedicated to St. Paul. Hence "teller Paul" or in dialect "tailor Paul". Sayers is here acknowledging the assistance of Paul Taylor of Taylor's bell foundry in Loughborough, England who provided detailed information on all aspects of ringing to her.

Also, an episode of "Midsommer Murders" about another bell-ringing murder.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0647499/

In the village of Midsomer Wellow, someone is killing off the bell ringers of the parish church, in the week before a big bell-ringing competition.
 
Thanks Laura for these two novels, I love British stories!

If you like bells you would like also to know how a bell was made, during the Middle Ages. In his splendid movie Andrei Rublev, by Tarkovsky, one of the stories of the movie is about the construction of a bell. It is an incredible story and also a very instructive one. The scene is made as if we were in that time, and we can see how the creation of a bell was epic. To do a bell you need all four elements, fire, earth, air, water. You can feel the importance of life in the act of create a bell. Because it is really a creation. A piece of art made by men and earth, together, for God.

This is the last part of the bell story of this marvelous movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyi3diimL_8
 
Thank you Keit and Loreta for posting the links. Catholic bell ringing does sound very differently, osit. And just to clarify, I was listening to the bell ringing for a long time, because I was looking for specific sound 'zvon'. It was actually was very tiring.

It's curious, osit, that Laura posted two to stories about bell ringing and murder. And this is off topic but at the time I was also thinking a lot about Vladimir Putin's lonely stroll through the streets of St. Petersburg http://www.sott.net/article/264906-On-my-own-Vladimir-Putin-walks-alone-through-the-streets-of-St-Petersburg and what it might mean, probably, because I also read that "after the catafalque of his coach left the Judo Centre, the president started walking in the direction of Vatutin Street." _http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/835456.html And there is a mystery about the death of general Vatutin who died under suspicious circumstances right in the middle of the World War 2. So, I was thinking how the present situation regarding Putin may correlate to what was happening at that time.

Now, I would like to give an example of completely different style of bell ringing from Meteori monastery in Greece. What is interesting, osit, there is almost no low notes producing bells here.


More on the Russian style bell ringing in " When to Ring the Bells in the Orthodox Tradition" _http://people.opposingviews.com/ring-bells-orthodox-tradition-7938.html
Ringing the bells in the Orthodox Catholic Church dates back to the 10th century, and has many meanings as well as methods of use. Primarily famous in the Russian Orthodox Church, the types of bells used for ringing differ from those used in Western Catholic Churches such as those in England, France and Greece and are rung in three intents: calls to worship, announcements of events and expressions of joy.

HISTORY OF BELL-RINGING IN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

In 988, the Rus (what the Vikings living in Russia were called at that time) embraced Christianity on a widespread scale. The first concept of bells to Orthodoxy came from Greece but they were sematrons- flat pieces of metal or wood that were struck with mallets. Gradually, bells replaced sematrons in the 15th century and, instead of the melodious ringing that was present in Western Catholic churches, focused more on rhythm and harmony in their ringing. There are six different ways of ringing the bells: Blagovest, one bell rung once; Zvon, ringing all the bells; Dvuzvon, ringing all the bells twice with an interval of silence between ringings; Trezvon, like Duzvon but rung thrice; Perezvon, ringing the bells in succession starting with the smallest; and Perebor, the same as Perezvon but starting with the largest bell.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Orthodox Catholics were originally called to worship at the church by means of the sematron but bells soon became de rigeur. For ordinary services, the type of ringing used is Blagovest; when two services are performed on the same day, the first Blagovest is longer and slower than the second. Once Mass has finished, Trezvon (all the bells rung three times) is used. Divine services call for a slight modification of the Blagovest where each striking of the bell occurs only once the previous sound has completely died away. Bell-ringing for these occasions can be further subdivided into ordinary and lenten, where the former employs fast ringing on both sides inside the bell, and the latter, where the ringing is slower and only on the inside of one side of the bell.

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF EVENTS
Bell-ringing changes widely when used in conjunction with special events such as all-night vigils and funerals. During solemn occasions, such as funerals, Perebor is the chosen method of bell-ringing as it represents the deceased's transition from birth to death. Ringing on each bell occurs once the previous sound has died away, and commences with ringing all the bells at once to signify the end of the person's life on earth. At all-night vigils, the bells are rung a total of six times at various points throughout the service: Blagovest and Trezvon before the service, Druzvon before the reading of the Hexapsalmion, Zvon before the reading of the Gospel, Blagovest during the Magnificat, and Trezvon at the end of the vigil.

EXPRESSIONS OF JOY
At its roots, bell-ringing is supposed to represent the joyful side of Orthodox Catholicism and is used during preordained times to express this joy. For example, Blagovest is rung throughout the Eucharistic Canon during liturgy, Trezvon is rung during the Blessing of the Cross, Blagovest is rung for hierarchical masses as the hierarch nears the church, and Trezvons are rung for all processions, such as those occurring on Easter morning. Perezvons are usually reserved for twice-yearly occasions, Good Friday and Great Saturday.

So, it appears that different cultures use bell ringing for different purposes. And, probably, it's just remnants of some technology of the ancients used to induce certain emotional and mental states.
 
Olesya said:
Now, I would like to give an example of completely different style of bell ringing from Meteori monastery in Greece. What is interesting, osit, there is almost no low notes producing bells here.

It's absolutely magical! Thank you for sharing.
 
Keit said:
Olesya said:
Now, I would like to give an example of completely different style of bell ringing from Meteori monastery in Greece. What is interesting, osit, there is almost no low notes producing bells here.

It's absolutely magical! Thank you for sharing.

I agree, it is beautiful and gives a sort of mental peace. Not everyone like the sound of bells. I remember that Rabelais hated them because for him the sound of bells was synonym of order, discipline, formation, education, school, classes.... Power.

Bells can be a comic character in some movies. This bell is from one of the beautiful movie based on the books by Giovannino Guareschi, Don Camillo, the sympathetic stories about a priest against a communist mayor of a little village in Italy. In that scene you have the communists that bring a "communist" bell to show to the village how Stalin is a good person and how to be a communist is a good idea. But the priest does not like communists campanas... I put this scene just to laugh a little. Nothing serious, I hope I am not making noise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBBK3X6Lm2I


But even if we can laugh about bells, they are a very important symbol for everyone, specially in little villages not just because they are related to the church but because they are like the voice of the village that unit, call, remember, advise.
 
My impression of the bells, as I have grown in the orthodox tradition, is that their purpose is to call for presence, for self remembering. Whenever you hear them live, it brings some sort if attention into the body, makes you alert and relaxed and it brings you back to the rarely thought and feeling of a higher purpose.
 
edgitarra said:
My impression of the bells, as I have grown in the orthodox tradition, is that their purpose is to call for presence, for self remembering. Whenever you hear them live, it brings some sort if attention into the body, makes you alert and relaxed and it brings you back to the rarely thought and feeling of a higher purpose.

Yes, I agree. Esp. the second example had a very energizing effect. Quite different to the Catholic ringing that sounds hypnotic to me.

I wonder if the bell ringing tradition is connected to the tradition of "Tibetan singing bowls", just in a different form.

In addition to their traditional usage for meditation, Tibetan singing bowls are used for deep relaxation, stress reduction, holistic healing, Reiki, chakra balancing, and World music. Many people find that the rich blend of harmonic overtones which the bells produce have a direct affect upon their chakras.

Playing the bells usually causes an immediate centering effect. The tones set up a "frequency following response" that creates a balancing left/right brain synchronization.
_http://www.bodhisattva.com/about.htm

M.T.
 
Minas Tirith said:
edgitarra said:
My impression of the bells, as I have grown in the orthodox tradition, is that their purpose is to call for presence, for self remembering. Whenever you hear them live, it brings some sort if attention into the body, makes you alert and relaxed and it brings you back to the rarely thought and feeling of a higher purpose.

Yes, I agree. The examples have a very energizing effect. Quite different to the Catholic ringing that sounds hypnotic to me.

I wonder if the bell ringing tradition is connected to the tradition of "Tibetan singing bowls", just in a different form.

In addition to their traditional usage for meditation, Tibetan singing bowls are used for deep relaxation, stress reduction, holistic healing, Reiki, chakra balancing, and World music. Many people find that the rich blend of harmonic overtones which the bells produce have a direct affect upon their chakras.

Playing the bells usually causes an immediate centering effect. The tones set up a "frequency following response" that creates a balancing left/right brain synchronization.
_http://www.bodhisattva.com/about.htm

M.T.
 
Just imagine that by 1917, there were 20 bell plants in Russia! The church bells were among the major symbols of Christianity here alongside with the Russian icons. People believed that the bells could protect them from evil spirits and even from the plague. The icons were believed to protect from wars. The bells and the icons were the most sacred objects, the symbols of faith for the Russian people.

From Wikipedia:

After the Bolshevik Revolution, the Soviet Union severely persecuted Christianity. Numerous bells were destroyed and during certain periods the production of church bells all but stopped.

It is true, after 1917, the church bells became most hated by the new Bolsheviks' government. By 1930 all the church bells went silent in Russia. Many of them were destroyed. Some of them were sold abroad - this is how the Harvard University got our unique bells from the Danilov Monastery. The bells from Sretensky Monastery were sold to England.

In 2004, after over 70 years, the Harvard University returned the bells to the Danilov Monastery: the project was financed by one famous Russian businessman. This is basically how these bells were saved from destruction by the Bolsheviks.

edgitarra said:
My impression of the bells, as I have grown in the orthodox tradition, is that their purpose is to call for presence, for self remembering. Whenever you hear them live, it brings some sort if attention into the body, makes you alert and relaxed and it brings you back to the rarely thought and feeling of a higher purpose.

I agree, thanks edgitarra. Also, for me the church bells are like the camertone for our souls: they invite us to resonate in harmony, remind us how it sounds and help us to tune in, if our inner bells "forgot" the pure sound.

Minas Tirith said:
I wonder if the bell ringing tradition is connected to the tradition of "Tibetan singing bowls", just in a different form.

I think there might be some intuitive connection between the two. Our famous Russian scientist, explorer, philosopher and artist Nikolai Rerich, who spent many years in India and Tibet, found many striking parallels between Buddhism and the Russian Orthodox Church and predicted that one day they will merge into one big teaching. One such similarity seems to be the bronze singing.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain the production of bells resumed in Russia, and has experienced a surge of activity as many of the churches that were destroyed are being rebuilt. One such new chapel is being biult here nearby, so I'm hoping to listen to this magic music soon. :)
 
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