TORONTO -- A choirmaster is giving new life to five historic church bells in Montreal with hopes of one day orchestrating a full musical concert for the city.
The century-old bells were at risk of being destroyed due to water damage that infiltrated the church’s bell tower. The bells were too costly to undergo a complete restoration and water damage risked destroying the bells.
Instead of moving the giant bells into storage, however choirmaster André Pappathomas was given permission by the Archdiocese of Montreal to move them inside the church.
Although Pappathomas has no religious ties to the church, it’s an ideal setting for the composer to rehearse with a piece of history.
“It's not necessarily a religious visit, it's a lieu with echo, it's a lieu with spiritualizations, place of a elevation of the voice and the spirit,” Pappathomas told CTV National News.
Combined, the five bronze bells weigh nearly 9,000 kilos and are adorned with mustached gargoyles from the early 20th Century. Moving the historic artifacts inside would not only prevent further damage but would also give the bells new life.
The church bells were melted in France sometime in the early 1900s and rang in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Montreal for nearly a century.
Percussionists use mallets to strike each bell at various places to project different sounds from the instruments. Each bell emits a different note or octave depending on where they are hit, and together they form chords. Despite nearly a century of weathering, the bells are still capable of playing full musical compositions.
“Imagine the harmonization we could build with every bell – we can create some magic,” said Pappathomas.
“It’s like they try to tell you something – hey listen to me,” said Pappathomas.
Traditionally the bells would call worshipers to church, but Pappathomas has different plans: a concert featuring the old bronze bells he hopes will inspire visitors from far and near.
