The bell is a low sound. Acoustics of bell ringing: methodological aspects of interpretation

SOUNDS OF INDIVIDUAL BELLS:

BELL RINGS:

BUY BELLS

Bells "Universal"

SOUNDS OF INDIVIDUAL BELLS:

BELL RINGS:

BUY BELLS

Bells "Pyatkov and Co"

SOUNDS OF INDIVIDUAL BELLS:

BELL RINGING:

BUY BELLS

Bells ringing Orthodox Church

1. Blagovest- one of the most ancient bells of the Orthodox Church and is called so because it brings good, joyful news about the beginning of the Divine service. This ringing also announces the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Liturgy and the reading of the Gospel in other services. Blagovest can sound either independently or as part of other bells.
2. Bust - funeral (funeral, wire) bell. Expresses sadness and grief for the deceased and consists of two parts: directly canonical (as such a search) and free (trezvon).
3. Chime- more complex compared to blagovest and search. It also consists of two parts: canonical (i.e. the chime itself) and free (trezvon). Classically, chiming involves ringing each bell in turn (one or several times each), starting with the largest one and ending with the smallest one (sometimes with a full blow), and this is repeated many times.
4. Two ringing- a small ringing of all the bells. Consists of two parts. There should be a short pause between parts. The two-ringing is performed during the All-Night Vigil (before Matins) and expresses the joy of the Nativity of Christ.
5. Trezvon- the most complex in comparison with other canonical ringing, but it is also the most musically striking expression of bell ringing, since trezvon in its form is not limited by church statutes and therefore differs both in the composition of the bells used, and has a varied form of execution, rhythm, texture and instrumentation.
6. Everyday ringing- this is the same ringing, but less solemn, less bright. The everyday ringing during Lent, when abstinence and repentance are necessary, deserves special attention. The largest bells are not used during ringing. If there is only one bell in a church, it is used for both holiday and everyday ringing.
7. Ringing to All-night vigil - consists of three bells: bell, trezvon and dvuzvon. Before the service begins, the bell and trezvon sound. At the beginning of the reading of the Six Psalms, a double ringing sounds. Before reading the Gospel, a peal should sound. At the beginning of the singing “My soul magnifies the Lord...” there is a gospel, consisting of 9 beats. After the service during great holidays, or if a bishop served, a trezvon is required.

Counter ringing

Bells were adopted for Orthodox worship many centuries ago. With the development of bell casting and the widespread dissemination of church bells, bell ringing became one of the most characteristic elements of Russian Orthodox worship. From the time of the princes, from Ancient Rus', the most fateful events in the history of our Fatherland, our Church are marked precisely by the ringing of bells. The ringing of bells accompanied every person throughout his life; this world of bell sounds was as natural for everyone as, for example, sunlight or a blow of wind. Church bells and church ringing are a great spiritual shrine; bell traditions must be carefully preserved for posterity. The article discusses methodological aspects studying the acoustics of bell ringing and the possibility of their inclusion in the system of modern music education.

Prerequisites for the emergence of the scientific study of bell ringing

The sound of a bell cannot be described in one note. Even two or three notes are not always possible. The human ear easily perceives that the bell sounds in a particularly complex way: not at all like the sound of other ringing objects and instruments. At the same time, it cannot be said that our predecessors did not imagine bell harmony at all. Let us at least remember the harmonic structure symphony orchestra, when orchestral instruments represented bells in the operas of Glinka and Mussorgsky. Intense sound combinations, dissonances, some sighs and bursts: all this very accurately depicts the characteristic bell sound. If bells sounded simply, then each bell would be associated with a certain tone, the pitch and duration of this sound would be described by a certain note. But bells always produce a consonance that does not completely obey the rules of the classical musical harmony, this tart combination of sounds helps the listener to detach himself from the sounds of familiar everyday music.

On the other hand, the sound of a bell can always be distinguished, for example, from the sound of an orchestral gong. And this difference will be that the ringing of a bell is not at all a chaotic set of sounds and overtones. The most beautiful bells have always been valued precisely for the harmony of their sound. Amazingly accurate harmonies in Rostov the Great literally make everyone who listens to these ringings at the famous belfry freeze with delight.

It would seem that a contradiction arises: the sound of the bell does not fit into the usual musical framework, and at the same time, the bell being out of tune is not at all a sign of a good or traditional bell.

This contradiction would be insoluble if the bells did not have such a huge variety of constituent tones. Consonantal combinations of various groups of tones and the presence of discrete overtones that are not associated with any of the consonances allow the attentive listener to be as if in motion, constantly “looking at” the sound of the bell. A person’s hearing tries to find harmonic support for itself in the bell system, and at the same time, the impression of the ringing is enriched by a “bouquet” of individual overtones.

It is necessary to study the sound of a bell dynamically, and not just by analyzing spectral “casts” at some point in the sound of the bell.

Sound and acoustics of bells

The vibrations of solids are much more complex than those of an air resonator of the same shape, since there are more types of vibrations in solids. Thus, waves of compression, bending and torsion can propagate along a metal rod. Therefore, a cylindrical rod has many more vibration modes and therefore resonant frequencies than a cylindrical air column. Moreover, these resonant frequencies do not form a harmonic series. The xylophone uses the bending vibrations of solid bars. The ratios of the overtones of the vibrating xylophone bar to the fundamental frequency are: 2.76, 5.4, 8.9 and 13.3.

One example of a fluctuating solid The one that produces musical sounds is a bell. The sizes of bells can vary - from a small bell of several hundred grams to multi-ton bells on Christian bell towers. The larger the bell, the lower the sounds it makes. The shape and other features of bells have undergone many changes during their centuries-long evolution. Very few enterprises are engaged in their production, which requires great skill.

The pitch of a bell is not determined by the fundamental frequency, but by the dominant note immediately after striking. It corresponds to approximately the fifth overtone of the bell. After some time, lower overtones begin to dominate in the sound of the bell.

For many centuries, bell foundries have been looking for a solution to the questions of what should be the proportions between size and weight, the thickness of the walls in different sections, what shape the bell should be in order to obtain a harmonic sound, that is, one in which additional tones (overtones) are harmoniously combined with the main one, creating a single beautiful whole. All practical findings were carefully recorded, tables of sizes, masses, and metal composition were compiled. This information was often kept secret. The main tables were made in the 16th century. But only in the 18th century. It was possible to find the “correct” shape of the bell, in which it sounded especially harmonious: the base was significantly expanded and the lower part was expanded, giving it the appearance of a pointed massive “lip”.

A type of Russian bell was developed. The diameter of the bottom part equal to height bells, and the diameter of the upper part is half the diameter of the lower one. (Note for comparison: the Chinese bell is more compressed at the bottom and produces a dull sound.)

A few words about the “language” of the bell. The “tongue” is made of iron. Its mass is usually 1/25 of the mass of the bell (for large bells this ratio is smaller). The shape can be different: it depends on the method of exciting the sound - whether they swing the “tongue” or swing the bell; The first method is Russian, the second is Western European.

When the tongue of the bell hits the wall of the bowl, an elastic vibration occurs, which is the sum of many natural vibrations of the sound frequency. The walls of the bowl have areas of rest and areas of vibration. Each section of the bowl has its own vibration frequency. This means that the vibrations of the bell bowl represent vibrations of individual sections of the bowl.

There are two styles of bell ringing. The first is that, tuned exactly to the modern tempered scale, the bells give a melodic pattern of some kind ready theme, with the rhythm of the ringing naturally corresponding to this theme, playing either a component or a subordinate role. The same will have to be said about the specific timbre of the bell. Sometimes a melodic pattern consists of the repetition of some simple figure or interval ( for the most part– minor third or major triad). But both this figure and the interval are within the tempered scale, and the rhythm here, just as in the first case, plays either a composite or a subordinate role.

“This is a Western European type: it was brought to Russia by the talented, but completely devoid of a sense of Russian style, Fr. Aristarchus of Israel (born in 1817). The main flaw of the Western style is that it entrusts bells with a task that is inappropriate for them, which is incomparably better and more expedient to entrust to human voices and orchestral instruments. A melodic figure or even a whole melody on a bell can only have the meaning of a grotesque baroque, which we see, for example, in the performance of their melody by chimes or carillons... The impression here is similar to that produced by pictorial-perspective techniques in icon painting, or, even worse, - a moving doll or an automaton (approximately the same as if you were planning, for example, sculptural works Catholic churches communicate movement or introduce cinema into worship),” notes V. Ilyin’s article “The Aesthetic and Theological-Liturgical Meaning of Bell Ringing.”

The second style of bell ringing is one that emphasizes timbre, rhythm, and tempo. As for the sound material itself, its role here turns out to be quite special. The melody, in the proper sense of the word, recedes into the background or completely disappears. Consequently, harmony in the special meaning of the word as a result of the combination of themes and melodies also disappears. In the “second style”, instead of melodies and harmonies in the proper sense, a rhythmically sounding, specific timbre of a bell appears. Timbre, as is known, is determined by overtones. In bells, the overtones sound extremely loud and, as a result, create not only the appropriate timbre, but also characteristic overtone dissonant harmonies. Different weights, sizes and other factors in a set of bells give and various combinations overtones while maintaining the dominant tones. This also determines the unity of the artistic concept that runs through all the music of this set of bells. This music can be called rhythm-overtone or rhythm-timbre music. Let us note, by the way, that unity is given by the powerful mass of the beat of the large bell, which rarely sounds at strong times; it plays a role similar to a pedal or an organ point (especially if a certain tone clearly sounds, which, however, should not be exaggerated. The bell should always be, so to speak, overtone-out of tune. There should also be so-called beats – causing impressive vibrations and peals of sound). All this is intensified and enlivened by rhythm, dynamics (strength) and agogy (speed, tempo).

Some aspects of the impact of bell ringing on humans

The sound waves coming from the bell have a kind of healing power. This is not just a subjective conclusion - a number of studies have been conducted that have shown the ability of bell ringing to cleanse the surrounding space of harmful formations. The bell strikes excite ultra-light particles (microleptons) that surround any object. The microlepton fields generated in this way break rigid molecular bonds and remove harmful isotopes, which leads to healing and even rejuvenation of the body; it is also capable of destroying cancer cells formed in the body. O. N. Ulyanova in her work “Physical basis of treatment with bell ringing” writes:

“A group of Russian scientists from the Laboratory of Biosphere Phenomena of the Institute of the Lithosphere, under the leadership of Doctor of Biological Sciences F. Ya. Shipunov, first drew attention to the fact that bells are capable of “working” as energy generators in the ultrasonic range. The bells emit a huge number of resonant waves and thereby cleanse the space.”

The phenomenon of resonance occurs when the frequencies of the driving force coincide with the natural frequency of the oscillatory system. The therapeutic effect is based on the frequency vibration of various sounds that resonate with individual organs or the entire human body as a whole. Shatunov proved: fully active bell ringing kills bacteria within a radius of seventy kilometers and harmonizes space. The unique spiral-shaped trajectory of sound resulting from striking a bell turns out to be detrimental to many pathogenic microbes. Due to the specific distribution of sound wave power, the structures of microbial cells resonate and are crushed. Even microorganisms such as the hepatitis virus and anthrax spores die. In addition, according to the scientist, if you take the pre-revolutionary number of bells in Russia and calculate the potential of their radiation in the ultrasonic range, it turns out that this potential will be such that a medium-range missile would deviate its trajectory.

In our world, everything is in a state of vibration, so every cell, every organ or system of the body has its own “healthy” resonant frequencies. Resonance manifests itself in the ability of sound vibration, through wave vibrations, to excite a similar vibration in the corresponding organ or part of the body of the body.

“All bells are capable of producing infrasounds, that is, sounds with a frequency below 16 Hz. These sounds, inaudible to the human ear, which are the components of bell ringing, create impressions of globality, strength, and power, complementing the usual colorfulness. Taking into account the resonant frequencies of individual human organs: 0.5-13 Hz (vestibular apparatus), 4-6 Hz (heart), 2-3 Hz (stomach), 2-4 Hz (intestines), 6-8 Hz (kidneys), 2 -5 Hz (hands). The low spectrum of bell ringing affects the human body and his psyche,” notes O.N. Ulyanov in the work “Physical basis of treatment with bell ringing”.

The middle spectrum affects processes in the human circulatory and lymphatic systems. Specialists know the therapeutic effect of increasing the osmotic movement of liquid in the zone of vibroacoustic influence of low power. Using the middle spectrum of ringing, many oncological diseases, blood diseases and thyroid diseases can be treated. It is believed that the medium spectrum of bell ringing has a positive effect on the restoration of the body poisoned by toxic substances. We can conclude that bell ringing should be used in the treatment of problematic social diseases such as drunkenness, smoking and drug addiction. Naturally, such treatment in this case can complement traditional methods of bringing people in trouble out of a state beyond their control. What is important here is the effect of sound waves on the human cerebral cortex and nervous system. The ultrasound spectrum affects the treatment of infectious diseases and enhancing human immunity. The inaudible ultrasonic vibrations created by the bell have a destructive effect on pathogenic microbes due to alternate compression and discharge in the cytoplasmic structures of their cells. In this case, great pressure arises inside the cells, which leads to inactivation of enzymes, coagulation of proteins, mechanical rupture of the cell membrane and cell death. Since ultrasonic waves are air environment quickly fade, the sterilizing effect of the sound of the bell is most clearly manifested in close proximity from the bell.

In 1991, a unique musical instrument was created - a belfry made of flat bells (bil), which has no analogues in the world and is capable of creating pure and harmonious sounds of amazing beauty. Immediately, this amazing musical instrument attracted the attention of many specialists and scientists, thanks to which, to date, many studies have been carried out that confirm the fact of the beneficial effects of acoustic vibrations emitted by flat bells on humans and experience has been accumulated in the use of flat bells for the purpose of correcting various deviations in health person. Distinctive feature The purpose of a round beater is to configure it in such a way that it is capable of simultaneously emitting the sound of two tones with similar frequencies. In our works, we partially touch on the issues discussed in the article; we also consider certain features of the spectral picture of bell ringing. However, systematic scientific research The possibility of including the acoustics of bell ringing in the system of modern music education has not yet been explored.

Thus, the experience accumulated to date in the use of bells for the purpose of correcting deviations in health status and the research conducted convincingly indicate the beneficial effects of bell ringing on human health.

The human body, which has received a wave effect with the help of acoustic beats, finds the lost reference signal and in the process of performing the adjustment, liberation from structural mismatches occurs, the achievement of a state of inner peace, and the acquisition of physical, energetic, mental and spiritual health.

Bibliography

1. Davidenkova E.A. Evolution of methods for multidimensional scaling of musical timbre. Izvestia Uralsky state university. 2010; No. 6 (85); part 1: 151 – 156.

2. Davidenkova E.A. Problems of parameterization of verbal assessments of musical timbres. Bulletin of Oryol State University. 2011; No. 2 (16): 123 – 127.

3. Davidenkova E.A. Timbral aspects in modern music. Modern audiovisual technologies in artistic creativity and higher education: materials of the All-Russian scientific-practical conference. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise, 2010: 36 – 40.

4. Gorbunova I.B., Zalivadny M.S. Musical theoretical views of Leonhard Euler: current meaning and prospects. Bulletin of Leningrad State University named after. A.S. Pushkin. 2012; T. 2; No. 4: 164 – 171.

5. Gorbunova I.B., Zalivadny M.S., Tovpich I.O. A comprehensive model of the semantic space of music and interaction prospects music science and modern music education. Scientific opinion. 2014; 8: 238 – 249.

6. Gorbunova I.B. Information Technology in music. Volume 1. Architectonics of musical sound: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions. Russian state ped. University named after A. I. Herzen. St. Petersburg, 2009.

7. Gorbunova I.B. Information technologies in music. Volume 2: Musical synthesizers: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions. Russian state ped. University named after A. I. Herzen. St. Petersburg, 2010.

If our ancestors were born, lived and died under bells, then some kind of genetic memory of their sound and unique uplifting power probably remains in us.Note. The most famous, widespread and, obviously, accurate assumption is that the Russian word “bell” comes from the German “Glocke”, which is translated as “bell”. But some scientists believe that this name comes from the old Russian word “kolo” (“circle”, “circle”).

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Modern medicine has come to the conclusion that bell ringing successfully treats a number of mental and psychosomatic diseases. The sound of bells is a very powerful healing agent.

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Sounding bells, in addition to frequencies audible to the human ear, emit ultra- and infrasonic waves.

ATTENTION! An audio recording cannot transmit either INFRA- or ULTRASOUND (due to the limitation of its frequency range). Therefore, in relation to the infra- and ultrasonic characteristics of sounding bells, we are talking only about the “live” sounds of bells.

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Swedish scientists back in the beginning. 70s XX century were the first in the world to discover that the sounds of a bell, containing resonant ultrasonic radiation, kill pathogenic viruses (in particular, typhus, hepatitis and influenza, etc.) literally in a matter of seconds.Note. More recently, a group of Russian researchers led by Academician F.Ya. Shipunova found that the bells “work” as energy generators in the ultrasonic range, thereby destroying the pathogenic environment.

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Modern domestic physicists A. Okhatrin and V. Iskakov, having studied the characteristics of sound waves emanating from sounding bells and their impact on the surrounding space, came to the conclusion that the sounds of a bell excite the so-called. microleptons are ultra-light particles that surround any organism (and even objects). The resulting microelectronic fields remove isotopes harmful to health, having a rejuvenating effect on the human body. It is not for nothing that during epidemics for many centuries in Europe (including in Rus') there was a rule - to ring all the bells all day long.

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It has long been known in Rus' that ringing bells kills germs and bacteria and drives out rodents, but only now scientists have realized that this happens thanks to the ultrasound emitted by the sounding bells. /Irradiation with low doses of ultrasound is now actively used in the food industry, in astronautics (for sterilizing spacecraft before their flights to other planets), etc. The ultrasonic spectrum (more than 25,000 Hz), with its proper therapeutic use, accelerates the treatment of infectious diseases and improves human immunity./

Note. Scientists have found that the activity of microbes that have “listened to” the ringing of bells or choral singing drops by an average of 40% (the secret of this lies in the ultrasound emitted by the sounding bells).

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It is known that bell ringers do not suffer from colds.

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In 2005, the Ural Worker newspaper published an article that cited the following fact. The broth with pathogenic bacteria was placed under a sounding bell. As a result, the reproduction of microbes (and this was visible under a microscope) first stopped, and then they died completely.

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In the 16th century, the body of Novgorod Metropolitan Afonius stood under the bells in the church of the Spaso-Khutyn Monastery for 11 weeks, unburied without signs of decomposition.

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Using a mathematical experiment, it was proven that the radiation of a bell in free space in its direction represents a volumetric CROSS.

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Science has recognized two sacred symbols of Orthodox Rus' - the CROSS and the BELL RING - as the most powerful sources of a still little-studied type of energy.

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“The bell emits a huge amount of resonant ultrasonic radiation, which spiritually and physically cleanses the space. Within the biosphere there is a sound sphere created by the Creator, which man has recently transformed into a noise sphere, chaos. Sound is healing for every living cell, but noise destroys it. To enhance the sound sphere, bell ringing was created. Where it exists, the symphony of Nature is felt, and life there is maintained at the maximum level.<…>But let's return to the ringing of bells. There is a set of certain sounds that form the so-called dominant seventh chord. If you tune a bell to it, the sound begins to nourish a person so that the need for food practically disappears. In addition to feeding the body with bioacoustic energy, bell ringing can also destroy the painful environment in which various viruses develop. For example, influenza viruses, jaundice and the like simply die, unable to withstand bell therapy! All this can be easily verified experimentally. If Petri dishes are placed under 6-octave bells, then sterilization will occur during the ringing: proteins will coagulate in the cells, turn into crystalline structures and become safe for humans. It’s interesting that each type of virus dies only in its own specific sound range” (F.Ya. Shipunov, Academician of the Institute of Biosphere of the Russian Academy of Sciences).

Note. “In the Yelokhovsky Cathedral, scientists measured the radiation of the domed cross during the celebration of Easter. With the beginning of the Divine Service, it increased by an order of magnitude: several kilowatts per second were emitted from every square centimeter - colossal energy! It is known that the vertical part of the cross receives cosmic radiation, and the horizontal “re-radiates” it onto the surface of the Earth.<…>The cross is one of the most powerful devices for replenishing vital forces on Earth, and only a bell can compare with it” (F.Ya. Shipunov).

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In 2003, for the first time in Russia, a unique healing session using church bells was held in an oncology clinic in Arkhangelsk. The new treatment method was called BELL THERAPY. The performance of the master of bell ringing was blessed by Bishop Tikhon of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory. According to the famous master of bell ringing - Arkhangelsk bell ringer Vladimir Petrovsky (it was he who, with the blessing of Bishop Tikhon of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory, conducted this session), back in the beginning. XX century The following scientific explanation has been found for the healing effect of bell ringing. As a result of the sound of the bell, special microparticles that are smaller than an atom are formed in the surrounding air. They are the ones who have a purifying effect on the air and living organisms. / Music program This “experimental” bell therapy session was compiled especially carefully (it was based on canonical church bells)./

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Currently, at the Columbia Medical Center (USA), in addition to chemotherapy and surgical methods, the music of Tibetan silver bells is used in the treatment of oncological diseases. It turns out that the sounds of these bells have a significant healing effect on humans (especially for cancer). Secret healing properties the ringing of bells and bells is that they “emit” sounds of very high frequencies in abundance (including ultrasound), in moderate doses they can work simply miracles (with the “correct” influence of ultrasound, and coming specifically from bells and bells , any infections and cancer cells die in the human body.

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The influence of the bell is great on state of mind a person, on his psyche. For many years now, psychiatrist from St. Petersburg A.V. Gnezdilov, who works in a specialized hospice for the so-called. terminally ill people, successfully heals a number of mental illnesses in his patients with the sound of bells (he has already cured hundreds of patients).

Note. In his book “The Path to Calvary,” psychiatrist Andrei Gnezdilov talks about how patients who are expected to die in a week or a month and know about it have a very special feeling - the so-called. melancholy of death (if the pain can be relieved with medications, then this melancholy cannot be relieved by anything). The author claims that he has found a unique remedy for this terrible condition: he brings bells into the ward, and each patient finds his own among them, rings it (as a result, the melancholy of death, albeit for a short time, “let go” of the person).

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There are known cases of healing of the “possessed” under church bells. /Related crazy man they placed it under the evangelizing bell and struck both edges of the bell with force several times. After such a session, if not a complete recovery of the patient, then at least symptoms such as aggressiveness and causeless anger were eliminated (albeit temporarily).

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The ringing of bells can save a person from stress state, help him quickly undergo psychotherapeutic rehabilitation and return to normal life (including after suffering extreme nervous shocks).

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Experts say that “contact” with bells makes even an introverted person sociable (one of the main functions of bell ringing is convening and uniting people).

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Under the influence of the bell ringing, any headache goes away. In the Tolgsky convent (near Yaroslavl), any pain is still treated by applying the sore spot to the sounding bell.

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Listening and, most importantly, perceiving the sounds of bells, a person tunes into the bright, spiritual, sublime.

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The Russian Center for Bell Art, together with scientists, doctors and highly qualified bell-makers, is ready today to create healing belfries. The Center has developed several methods of bell therapy and options for “portable” (portable) belfries that can be installed in any room (they are elegant and fit into any interior).

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If the sound of an individual bell is unique, then the voice of a belfry consisting of several bells represents a whole “atmosphere” of sounds, often difficult to predict due to the complex interaction of individual spectra. By using predominantly bells of one group or another in a ringing composition, it is possible to create appropriate emotional moods in listeners (this is, in part, what church bell ringers do, depending on the nature of the holiday and the Divine service).Note. The bell tower is a kind of “mini-orchestra”, which, according to Orthodox tradition, is conventionally divided into 3 groups of bells: small (bell ringing), medium (bell ringing), large (blazing bells). In open space, the ringing of bells can be heard 60 kilometers or more away (the sounds of the large bell, the evangelist, are heard farthest away).

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For universal medicinal purposes, canonical bell ringings are especially valuable.

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Low tones of bells affect a person more favorably than high ones. In connection with this circumstance, Rus' has long loved to cast massive bells - weighing hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds (for example, the Assumption bell on the bell tower of Ivan the Great - the largest sounding bell of all modern Christendom). Of course, when making the heaviest bells there was also an element of prestige: the greater the weight of the bell, the higher the importance of the temple itself.

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For more than 1,000 years in a row, the arrival of the New Year in Japan has been heralded by 108 bells ringing out from temples at midnight. According to Buddhist beliefs, a person is burdened with 108 harmful passions. And every strike of the bell New Year's Eve drives away one of these misfortunes.

Note. The number “108” can be called very “mysterious”. The fact is that modern physics and color science also mention the number “108” in their research - in connection with the number of “octaves” identified by scientists in the spectrum sunlight(there are exactly 108 of them). We can venture to assume that these magical 108 octaves are also able to “fit” into the “global” musical and sound spectrum.

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Scientists have recently discovered that the Sun “hums” like a bell. From the depths of this heavenly body Every few minutes infrasonic waves emit into space. Their frequency is too low for our hearing, but the devices pick up these vibrations (obviously, these ultra-low frequencies of the sounds of the Sun, not distinguished by our hearing organs, are still perceived by our body as a whole).

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In the West there is such a science as CAMPANOLOGY. Campania is the region in Italy where the first bell in Christianity appeared, therefore the largest bells in Western European churches are called campaniums (in Rus' - “heavy”). So, CAMPANOLOGY studies everything related to bells, incl. the impact of their sounds on human physiology and psyche. IN Russian Federation none yet educational institution there is not even a faculty of campanology.

From the history of bells and bell ringing

The voice of the bell has always been and will be understood “without words” - after all, it calls to human soul. They called people to a meeting with a bell, woke up the freezing people with a special “blizzard” ringing, with an alarm or alarm - they announced a general misfortune and called for help, with a solemn “voice” they greeted kings and victors.

Everything flowed in Rus' to the sound of bells. major events– both in the life of the country, city, village, village, and in life individual person: his birth, wedding, departure to another world invisibly permeated the clean, harmonious bell sounds. How many lost travelers both literally and figuratively the saving bell brought us to the light of God!

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The predecessors of bells - bells - were familiar to many peoples even before the birth (or adoption) of Christianity. The priests of Proserpina in Ancient Athens rang bells during the consecration and purification of victims, during prayers. In Delphi - during the sacrament of Bacchus. They rang the bell at funerals and used the ringing to drive away evil spirits and shadows of the dead from houses. The ancient Jews sewed small bells onto the clothes of the high priest (their sounds were symbols of God's word). Only in clothes with “bells” could the high priest “approach” God, make sacrifices and pray for the people. In Buddhist temples, bells were hung outside and inside to cleanse the temple space from evil forces. But in Muslim countries there were no bells in mosques. For example, the Turks have a belief that the ringing of bells disturbs the peace of souls in the air (the first thing the Turks did after they captured Constantinople was to break the bells.

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Slavic paganism immediately accepted the ringing of church bells. Bells in the mind Slavic peoples became a symbol of heavenly thunder, which could both punish and have mercy. Weddings in Rus' were unthinkable without bells and church bells. It was believed that ringing not only created a festive mood, but also gave young people health, children and wealth.

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Initially, before the appearance of bells in Rus', a more general method of convening believers for Divine services was determined by the 6th century, when they began to use beats, candii and rivets. /Bila and candia (they are sometimes also called flat bells - in contrast to tulip-shaped ones) - these are first wooden boards, and then metal plates, riveting - iron or copper strips bent into a semicircle (both were hit with special wooden hammers) . And only at the end of the 10th century. the bells appeared.

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Russian church bells have always attracted attention with their harmony, power, and beauty. Divine services in churches, cathedrals and temples traditionally begin and end with the ringing of bells. This has always been the case and this is still the case today. The bells always arrange their voices in canonical harmony: evangelist, ringing and ringing. Even if the voices of the bells are slightly different in notes (“out of tune”), then all together, in a single selection, the bells seem to “educate” each other, sound harmoniously, as one whole (the wave of bell ringing sways as if all this miracle was not created by human hands, but by itself).

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Our Soviet people, even in the most “godless” communist decades, woke up and fell asleep to the ringing of bells - to the striking of the Kremlin chimes. Not many people then realized that the country of the Soviets “lived” by... the ringing of bells. For us these were “exact time signals”, “voice of Moscow”, etc., but the fact remains: every day bells were heard from the loudspeaker throughout the vast country.

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Until the 90s. XX century There were no official bell-ringing schools or centers in Russia. On Bright Week, everyone who wanted to ring was allowed into the bell tower, and at that time the bell ringer watched the children, gave advice, helped, and if any of them showed abilities, he took him on as his student. The revolution of 1917, throwing down the bells, “buried” this tradition. Those churches that miraculously survived remained “voiceless.”

Note. Even now, rising from the ruins, many bell towers remain “silent”. Thus, in Moscow by the beginning of the 3rd millennium there were over 300 parish churches, two thirds of which were subject to restoration. Less than half had bells and beats, and even then they were mostly randomly selected. For example, in the Moscow region, quite recently, a completely depressing picture was observed: a rare church had a bell ringer who was skilled in his craft (self-taught people climbed the belfry). 90s XX century can rightfully be called the time of the revival of bell ringing in Russia. The time has come when the efforts of individual enthusiasts who came together were crowned with success.

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From time immemorial, Russian people have treated the ringing of bells with reverence, remembering the divine origin of its sound. It is not for nothing that the sound of the bell, announcing the reading of the Gospel, is called the gospel. As if by a voice from heaven, it frames the entire church service. The Divine Liturgy begins and ends with measured strikes on the largest bell. The ringing of bells makes a person involved in the temple action even when he is outside the walls of the church (cathedral, temple). The bell calls for prayer and action, making you forget, at least for a moment, about everyday worries, problems, troubles and remember God.

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Orthodox ringing has always been based on rigor and simplicity, but no one forbids, within the framework of existing canons, the exercise of creativity (the bell ringer is his own composer, performer, and improviser). His task is to highlight the ringing in such a way as to “show” today, for example, the Assumption, and tomorrow – the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (with the help different strengths beats, tempo and rhythm to convey peace and sorrow, jubilation and anxiety). But the first thing a bell ringer should remember when standing on a bell tower is that he is the connecting link between the temple and Heaven and that church bell ringing is an equivalent temple sacred act (after all, the Divine service begins and ends with it).

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Traditionally developed special types ringing: bells, wired bells (funeral), everyday bells, wedding bells, counter bells and, finally, holiday bells, among which there are great, medium, red and special form- ringing. Trezvon is the most difficult to perform, but the most musically striking. It consists of 3 parts connected into a single whole (and its name itself comes from the merger of the phrase “three bells”). The red ringing of all the bells (“all the heavy”) amazes with its power and beauty on the Great Holidays.

Bell ringers have a concept called euphony. The bells for the bell towers were always selected in such a way that all together they formed a harmonious “ringing choir”. If any bell was dissonant with the others, falling out of the general order, it received the apt nickname “ram”, “dissolute” and, as a rule, was excluded from the ringing. For bell towers, 3 groups of bells are usually selected: large - evangelistic bells, medium - ringing bells and small - ringing bells. As for the sound and tonality of bells, this depends on their weight, shape and quality of casting: 100 identical bells cast in the same production will sound differently (the pouring temperature and how the metal cooled are also affected).

Note. The voice of each bell is unique, and they are often given nicknames for this very reason. For example, the evangelistic bell of the Rostov Kremlin is called “Swan” (it received this name for its guttural sound), and its sweet-voiced neighbor is called “Red” (for its velvety sound). The bell bearer of the Kremlin belfry is named “Bear” (for its drawn-out, thick bass).

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Russian Orthodox bell ringing is significantly different from the bell ringing of other faiths. If the ringing of Western Europe contains melodic and harmonic foundations (Carellon bell organ), then this is practically absent in Russian ringing. The basis of Orthodox ringing is rhythm and character. The bell ringer, thanks to his inner instinct, sense of rhythm, excellent knowledge of the scale and mastery of the performance technique, based on the Rules, prayer and personal worldview, can convey joy and tranquility, deep sorrow and triumph of the spiritual content of the church service through the ringing of bells. In the souls of believers seeking peace with the Lord God, the ringing of church bells awakens a bright, joyful and peaceful mood. The Orthodox ringing contains a wondrous power that penetrates deeply into human hearts. Having fallen in love with the ringing of church bells, the Russian Orthodox people connected all their solemn and sad events with it. Therefore, the Orthodox bell ringing serves not only as an indication of the time of the Divine service, but also as an expression of joy, sadness and triumph. This is where they came from different kinds ringing, each of which has its own name and meaning.

Orthodox bell ringing is divided into 3 main types: 1) good news; 2) call back, search;3) the actual ringing.

Blagovest is measured striking of one large bell. This ringing announces to the believers the good news about the beginning of the Divine service in the temple. /Blagovest can be festive, everyday and Lenten./

Chime is a process of bells going from the largest bell to the smallest (or vice versa) with a different number of strikes on each bell. /There are 2 main chimes: funeral and water-blessing./

The ringing itself is a characteristic rhythmic ringing using all the main groups of the bell scale. /The ringings of this group include: festive ringing (trezvon, two-ringing), everyday ringing, as well as ringings composed by the bell-ringer himself (the latter are the result creative work and self-expression of the bell ringer).

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The fate of bells, like people, is different. Among them there are also long-livers (for example, the Nikon Bell, born in 1420, from the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, which is still in use today).

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Before installation on the belfry, a rite of consecration is always performed over the bell: they sprinkle holy water on the outside and inside and read prayers. Blessed and created by true masters of their craft, a bell will certainly live for a long time and overshadow people with a “sounding” cross - a volumetric sound wave moving simultaneously horizontally and vertically.

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It is believed that with the first strike of the bell ringing for matins, the power of all “night evil spirits” disappears.

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In Medieval Europe, on nights such as All Hallows' Eve and Beltane Night, also known as Walpurgis Night, when witches were believed to be infesting the area, villagers would ring church bells to keep witches from flying over the village. The townspeople, in turn, were also awake and aggravated the noise by rattling pots, pans and ringing all their city bells. “Witches” at trials “confessed” that they flew through the air to Sabbaths on the backs of demons, but were thrown to the ground when the sound of a church bell was heard in the night.

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In Rus', the bell became a symbol of statehood and at the same time of the broad Russian soul (probably, some “strings” of the Russian soul are adequately reflected in the ringing of bells). It is interesting that Russian bells are fundamentally different, for example, from Dutch ones (in particular, Malinsky ones). /Malin is a Dutch city in which the bells, famous for their euphony, rang (this is where the raspberry ringing came from). Dutch bells have a more precise, toned (like a string) sound. The Russian bell, in turn, plays the entire chord (which is why a very wide range of sounds is produced in one strike of the Russian bell).

* * * Church bells are not for concerts. This has been the case for a long time: bells are a spiritual testimony to the whole world, a symbol in bronze, and their ringing is a symbol in sound. It is not for nothing that bell ringing is called the “voice of the Church,” and this voice calls for spiritual Revival and Repentance. And it is inappropriate for church bells to idly broadcast from bell towers (ringers do not even have the right to rehearse in the bell tower, ring outside of school hours or for the amusement of the public).

Bell ringings are performed only according to church canons: at a certain hour, in a certain way. But there is one week in the year when (not at the same time as a church service) one is allowed to ring in plenty, to the joy of the whole world. This is Easter Bright Week. It should be remembered that a church bell is a shrine that must always be protected and honored. Ringing is the decoration of a temple (cathedral, church), and let it always be magnificent.

The legacy of ancestors. Bells

The bells are Slavic tradition, borrowed by both yellows and Christians.

That’s why the ringing was called crimson, because This ancient image, i.e. The ringing of Heaven, and the owner of Heaven is Svarog, and the tree of Svarog, in addition to beech, is also raspberry. In Omsk, in the Temple of the Veda of Perun, there was a Belfry, i.e. where is the bell? This is the part between the Sanctuary and the hipped Dome.

In order to cast a bell, you need to know Charian arithmetic well. This is a special art. And first of all, the bell was cast in the ground. The Old Believers continued to make bells for themselves using ancient technologies, and after the Nikon split they went into the taiga and hid the bells and the secret of casting them from the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Russian Orthodox Church has never had and does not have bells with “crimson ringing.” Nikon brought from Greece not only new stupid books, but also bells. They were called "remakes". They were cast not in the ground or in special mathematical measures, but simply in a factory. That is why their ringing was always called not raspberry, but church.

The bell was divided into 4 parts from bottom to top: Nav, Yav, Glory and Rule. And each part has a certain thickness. Depending on the ringing, the Slavs distinguished: celestial, celestial, divine, ancestral, worldly bells.

Valdai bells

The roads in Russia are long and difficult. How to control a racing troika if you have to hold a horn in one hand and honk into it, as is done in Europe? The Siberian Highway is not the Vienna Woods, there is no time for ceremonies. Therefore, the Russian coachmen whistled and shouted to clear the road, until some bright mind came up with the idea of ​​tying a small bell to the middle of the arc. This happened approximately in the second half of the 18th century. They called the bell a coachman's bell or a bell.

The coachman's bell is just a signaling instrument: heard from two miles away, it warned everyone about the approach of a cart or carriage. But as an exclusively national phenomenon, in a short time and for many years it became a part of Russian life, one of its symbols, legendary and poeticized.

The most famous coachman's bells were made in Valdai. The city of Valdai, which received its status in 1772, stood (and stands) in the middle of the busiest and most comfortable highway of the Russian Empire - between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city was destined to become one of the centers for the production of horse-drawn transport, horse harness, including coachman's bells.

By the middle of the 19th century, about a hundred forges and three bell factories operated in the city of Valdai. The factory of the Usachev merchants, which closed only at the end of the 20s of the twentieth century, in best years produced products worth 40 thousand rubles.

It was the Valdai craftsmen, starting in 1802, who began to make inscriptions along the lower edge of the bells, which is called the “skirt,” recording the year, place of casting, and the name of the master or customer.

In the 19th century in the Russian Empire, bells were cast in the cities and villages of Vyatka, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Tobolsk provinces - mainly near the road that led from Moscow through the Urals, Siberia (to the East). And, of course, every master, every workshop or bell factory contributed something of their own. Private and museum collections contain coachman's bells - under-arc, under-neck, Valdai, Siberian, Shadrin, buckwheat, smooth, faceted, with a lattice, with a roller, carved, with an ornament or inscription.

The inscriptions on the bells were playful, parting, and edifying: “Whom I love, I give,” “Buy, don’t be stingy, ride, have fun,” “Gift of Valdai,” “Ring, console, go quickly,” “I ring a lot, the road is more fun.” , “There is no profit, but fame is good”, etc.

The production technology of coachman's bells differed from the casting of bells bigger size: both smelting furnaces were used by others, and coal. And kvass was present in the recipe - it was added to the molding soil, and bells made of low-grade copper were clarified in the kvass grounds. But the main thing was to correctly formulate the alloy. Foundry masters were guided by their own experience and recipes, secrets passed on to them by their mentors.

Perhaps that is why their foreign colleagues were not able to cast the same ringing bells. They copied the products of Russian masters, right down to the inscriptions in Russian, and sold them as originals - it was a profitable business...

Coachman's bells quickly gained popularity, and there were so many of them that in 1836 a Senate resolution was passed that prohibited the use of bells on private or civilian carriages. Only postal police and zemstvo police officials could have bells while on duty.

And then the people remembered the bells. Small spherical bells with one or more pellets inside have been used since time immemorial as amulets, decorations, and buttons. After the ban on bells on private trips, they began to hang clusters of bells instead - on the arc, on the shafts, on the bridle straps.

Bells were made of copper, iron, bronze, silver, and they were stamped, forged, cast. For the bells that were hung on the horse’s neck, a special leather “frame” was made - a lasso. Up to three dozen bells were attached to it. Sometimes one or more quiet bells were added to the lasso.

The bells have a quiet, cooing sound, which is why they were called coos. And also – pozvontsy, balabonchik, gormotunchik...

At the end of the 19th century, private horse-drawn transport different types and suits (the prohibitions worked poorly) were sometimes “voiced” by two or three dozen cooing bells and several ringing bells. All this was carefully chosen in harmony: the largest bell on the arc was the soloist, the “singing” bells hanging on the sides echoed it, and the bells accompanied it.

Bells

BELLS- an instrument that imitates the sound of coachman's bells and bells. Unlike a bell, a bell is a hollow ball in which a metal ball rolls freely, hitting the walls when shaken and producing a sound. Bells have a duller and shorter sound than bells, but they sound in any position. By shaking the bells or hitting them on his knees, the player produces silvery sounds, reminiscent of the sound of the bells of the Russian troika.

Their unique sound evokes joyful, bright feelings in the soul of every person. And although we have not used them in everyday life for a long time, about a century, the love for bells and bells lives in us and is passed on from generation to generation at the genetic level. Even in ancient times, our ancestors used bells, attaching them to clothes as a talisman. During excavations in Novgorod, bells were discovered in all layers - from the 10th to the 16th centuries.

Bells were used not only as a talisman or decoration of clothing in the Russian national costume, for example, they were often used as buttons until the beginning of the 20th century. However, bells became most widespread in Russia with mid-19th century. The reason for this was the ban on the use of bells by private individuals. And they are so used to using melodious bells when traveling on the road! But the Russian man is resourceful, he quickly realized that the ringing of bells, suspended from a leather neck lasso with the help of rawhide straps, is not much inferior to the ringing of an arch bell.

According to the manufacturing technique, bells were divided into stamped, cast and forged. The hemispheres of copper bells were soldered with tin, and the hemispheres of iron bells with copper. There are bells without a seam, with a rim and with a hem. The largest of the bells, as a rule, was attached in the middle of the lasso. But its place could be taken by a small, and therefore quiet, bell, and a bunch of small bells. In addition, bells could be hung on a bow, saddle, shafts and bridle straps.

The ringing of the bell of the dashing troika seems to personify Russian prowess and will. It is not for nothing that there were legends about the origin of postal bells from the veche bells of Novgorod and Pskov, symbols of freedom and independence of these cities before their conquest by the Principality of Moscow.

Antique bells and bells have long lost their functional purpose and turned into works of decorative and applied art and collectibles. But their melodic ringing still excites the soul, as if reminding us of long roads.

The custom of riding with a ring is one of the most ancient and widespread on the planet, but in Russia it gained particular popularity due to the advent of triple riding. To the ringing of bells, dashing troikas pulled couriers, travelers, and mail along Russian roads.

The Russian troika began to be used for courier messages in the 20s of the 18th century, and gained real popularity half a century later. Simultaneously with the heyday of courier and postal riding on troikas, a need arose for sound signals that could be heard over a considerable distance. Firstly, the signal was needed to require pedestrians and other crews to immediately clear the road. After all, the troika, especially the courier, rushed at high speed, and the rules traffic didn't exist then. Secondly, such a signal notified the staff of the next postal station about the need to promptly prepare a shift for tired horses, because the courier should not hesitate.

In Western European countries and North America The post horn was widely used as a sound signal. Attempts to introduce the horn into Russian mail were made both during the time of Peter I and later, but ended in failure. Coachmen have long preferred to make do with whistling and loud shouts. It was even believed that horses ran faster under a valiant whistle. The coachmen were punished with fines and beatings, but this did not help. The postal horn remained only the emblem of the Russian post office.

Finally, in the last third of the 18th century, some unknown inventor came up with the idea of ​​​​using a small bell as a signaling device. Comfortable spot it was found for him right away - an arc above the head of the root worker. The bell was tightly tied to the middle part of the arc using a rawhide belt. He himself was motionless; while riding, his tongue (drummer) swayed, which hit inside bell walls. A bell suspended under the arc of a postal or courier troika began to be called a subarc or postal (yam) bell. The ringing of the postal bell could be heard at a distance of two or more miles. But it was not just a beep. Couriers and passengers had to travel enormous distances across the vast Russian expanses. The pleasant ringing of the bell brightened up the monotony of the tiring ride, which often lasted for many days. Therefore, the ringing of the postal bell was both strong and gentle. The predominance of one of these two qualities gave reason to call the ringing either yam or raspberry. In addition, it was believed that the blessed ringing of bells drives away evil spirits. So our ancestors hung bells on horse arches, so that when they sounded, demons would rush away from the road, unable to interfere with travelers. Of course, the bell could be hung under the arc of any Russian team, but it was precisely when the fast troika was riding that the ringing of the bell became the brightest and most expressive.

Riding troikas with bells has becomevery popular in the 19th century. Sometimes two or even three bells were hung under the arc, and in northern Russia up to five. Following the postal ones, numerous private triplets appeared. The owners and employers of such troikas also wanted to ride with ringing, and the need for bells was growing rapidly.

Very interests cast on all kinds of bells catchphrases, parting words, proverbs, sayings. The most common phrases are: “The Gift of Valdai” (words from a popular song line), “Whom I love, I give him” (a widespread saying, indicated not only on bells), “Buy, don’t spare the money, it’s more fun to travel with me,” “ Buy, don’t be stingy, ride, have fun”, “I give this bell as a sign of memory”, “Give the news from afar”, “Ringing is fun, driving is in a hurry”, “I ring a lot - the road is more fun”, “Whoever buys a bell is happy will". These inscriptions are sometimes cast with grammatical errors. It’s hard not to smile when reading inscriptions such as “The sad sweat rings like an arc” or “Buy master, don’t be stingy, ride with me and hang out.” There were masters who specialized in comic inscriptions - Kasimov’s master Nikolai Kislov was especially famous, who owns such “masterpieces” as, for example: “The chicken raised the bull. And the little one laid the testicle,” “It’s time for our calf to eat a wolf,” “Beyond the Volga, Muscovites are mowing the grass.”

If the bell was silvered, then the inscription “With silver” was cast. Interestingly, over time, a thin layer of silver was destroyed, but the cast inscription “With silver” remained, which often misleads our contemporaries about chemical composition alloy True, sometimes the customer actually demanded that silver be added to the copper alloy, naively believing that this would improve the sound quality, but in these cases the inscription “On special order with silver” was cast.

In addition to inscriptions, various decorative and subject images were cast. Ornament, various rosettes, Gothic leaf, Greek palmette, crosses, circles, pearl thread, net, as well as stars, mascarons, and crabs were widely used. A favorite motif was eagles, among which single-headed ones predominated. Double eagles are less common on bluebells, as image rights state emblem was given as a privilege. Both single-headed and double-headed eagles depicted on bells were usually equipped with symbols of royal power - a crown, a scepter and an orb. Saint George the Victorious on horseback was often depicted on bells, slaying a dragon with a spear; less often, city coats of arms, shields, peacocks, and flying birds were depicted.

The era of the subarctic bell covered only a century and a half, but left an unforgettable mark on people's memory. The national love for the troika and the bell made them a popular theme in literature, music, fine arts, and folk art. Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky - the image of the troika and the bell appears in the works of many great figures of Russian culture. Songs about coachmen, troikas, bells and bells are still popular among the people.

Nowadays, you can no longer see an old bell under an arc. Bells, not modern souvenir bells, but real bells, have taken their place in museums and private collections, because these are “shards” of the old road life of our country, small monuments of history and culture.

Around the middle of the 19th century, collars with garlands of bells attached to them began to be put on the necks of all three horses. The design of the bell in the form of a dull hollow ball did not allow, unlike an open bell, to produce a strong sound. Therefore, the bans did not apply to bells, and they could be hung in unlimited quantities. Harness bells, in contrast to bells, performed not so much a signaling function as a purely artistic function - to delight the ears of those traveling, as well as a “magical” function - to disperse oncoming demons. The absence of restrictions on the number of bells used led to the fact that from several dozen bells, selected by size, and therefore by tone, they began to form a “scale,” that is, a consonant group that produced an ensemble sound when driving. Of course, bells have been familiar to man since ancient times. During excavations in Novgorod, bells were found in all cultural layers from the 10th to the 15th centuries. Bells had the widest use. They were attached to people's clothes, hung on animals and birds of prey, hung on various objects in living quarters, on carts, on musical instruments, toys.

In ancient Russian costume, bells served as decorative details and buttons. Even in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, they were not uncommon and not only decorated the clothes of peasants, but also served as a talisman, that is, protection from evil spirits. For this purpose, bells were sewn, in particular, to the poneva - a kind of woolen skirt married women. The jester's dress of the royal buffoon was also equipped with many bells. But bells were most widely used when grazing livestock (they were hung under the animal’s neck) and in horse harnesses.