Glorious Obscurity

Posted by J on Sep 5, 2012 in J Posts | 2 comments

We’ve been staying in a commuter community called Chilton. S came across a posted flyer calling one and all to join Chilton’s bell ringers for a Tuesday night workshop. These aren’t hand bells, mind you — they are the REAL DEAL, church bells, high up in a proper tower.

So we went to the workshop — and listened to a group of folks explain the history of the bells, how they’re to be rung, how they’re not to be rung, the various cadences for each bells, and so on.

Honestly, the boys would probably have been happier on the nearby soccer field … and the off-the-cuff lecture on bell theory was a little too much …

… but we relished the simple obscurity of the moment …

… as a group of British neighbors quietly honed their musical craft in a community that, according to its own history, has had only momentary and forgettable visits from kings and noblemen throughout England’s rich and glorious history.

Here’s how those bells sounded that night. (The oldest bell dates to 1623.)