This year sees the 100th anniversary of the BBC, so what better way to follow the recent posts on Loughborough Carillon, than with a post about Eric Jordan and broadcasting from Loughborough Carillon.
As I understand it, each organisation or person who wanted to broadcast had to have a licence, and so to make the development of broadcasting services easier and more evenly spread, one licence was created, and the BBC made its first broadcast in late 1922. It seems that outside broadcasts could be made via one radio station and then transmitted to others across the country.
What follows are a few accounts of the early broadcasting of carillon recitals, some from our very own, but also some from other carillons.
The 1st May 1924 saw the inauguration of the extended Bourneville Carillon, being two recitals played by M. Antoine Nauwelaerts of Bruges. The Carillon had been built in 1908, with 22 bells, but George Cadbury Jnr. had this extended to 37 bells in memory of his father, also George Cadbury. The Birmingham Broadcasting Station (5.I.T.) was the first station – in the UK and possibly in the world - to broadcast a Carillon recital, using a microphone below the bells, and a telephone which took the sounds to 5.I.T., and from there they were successfully transmitted. The music played included Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’, and part of Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt’ suite.
On 31st May 1924, Loughborough’s Borough Carilloneur, Eric Jordan presented the second recital from Bourneville, and he was the first Englishman to perform such a recital, which lasted for two hours.
According to the ‘Radio Times’ of June 27th 1924, and the ‘Sunday Mirror’ of 29th June, the recital on 30th June by M. Jef Denyn, and Kamiel Lefevere from the Carillon at Mechelen (Malines) would be relayed from Mechelen, received in Canterbury, and sent by landline to London and from there on to all British radio stations except Bournemouth. The concert included ‘The British Grenadiers’, ‘The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington’, ‘A-Hunting We Will Go’, and ‘Down Among the Dead Men’. Sadly, according to the ‘Western Morning News’, although the first notes of the recital were ‘heard with perfect distinctness’ the broadcast was far from successful, due, it was thought, to trunk line problems.
On 5th July 1924, the BBC broadcast the complete recital by M. Jef Denyn, who played the War Memorial Carillon of Ontario, that was lent to the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley.
On the evening of 20th July 1924, the first recital from Loughborough Carillon was broadcast. Eric Jordan was the carillonneur, and he was supported by Mr Anton Brees, a carillonneur from Belgium, several engineers, and Mr R. Till.
On 13th May 1925, a recital on a carillon that had been made by Messrs. Gillett and Johnston, bellfounders of Croydon, which was due to be sent to New York, was so successful that shipping to the US was postponed by a day so another recital could be performed! The recital was presented by Mr Clifford Ball of the Bourneville carillon. Bizarrely, this performance seems to have been preceded by a broadcast talk on ‘Modern methods of teaching engineering’ given by Mr W. Birrell, who was the Registrar at Loughborough College!
In June 1925, a ‘Nottingham Post’ reporter takes forward to the radio station director at Nottingham (5.N.G.) the idea from a reader that ‘the Loughborough Carillon should be broadcast from Nottingham relay station’, and was assured that the idea was already receiving attention! However, by the end of August 1925, no broadcast had been made and a letter was sent to the ‘Nottingham Journal’ by one of its readers: “When will the BBC favour listeners with a broadcast of the carillon at Loughborough?” The Journal’s own correspondent had apparently referred to the carillon as ‘the finest in the world’. The letter-writer goes on to say: “If the authorities at Loughborough are to blame for the carillon not being broadcast, all I can say is : ‘Wake up, Loughborough.’ Loughburians boast that their carillon is famous the world over – let the world hear it then.”
In mid-November 1925, the Loughborough War Memorial Committee was corresponding with the Birmingham and Nottingham broadcasting stations concerning a carillon recital – and an important announcement was to be made soon!! Whether or not this announcement came, I have no knowledge. However, a notice appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post on 29th March 1926 announcing that there would be a broadcast recital from Loughborough carillon on May 2nd May 1926.
Before the broadcast, the ‘Nottingham Journal’ reported that this recital would be the first to be transmitted since the Birmingham station was permanently connected by landline, and thus it would be experimental. In order to ensure the broadcast would be a success, engineers had to sling a microphone from a ladder in the gallery, near the top of the tower, and above the bell chamber. They also had to make adjustments to filter circuits in the amplifier. The 15-minute recital was billed in the ‘Radio Times’ as:
“LOUGHBOROUGH WAR MEMORIAL CARILLON, S.B. from Birmingham.”
There was, however, a little trouble with the leads which were arranged outside the tower, which interfered with the broadcast.
A subsequent broadcast recital took place on Sunday 30th May 1926, and the ‘Tamworth Herald’ had this to say:
“These recitals, which are regarded as one of the new and most attractive features of broadcast, begin with the tolling of the great bell in recognition of the purpose for which the carillon was erected, viz., as a memorial to the men of Loughborough who fell in the Great War.”
This time the troublesome leads were brought into the building, but the microphone arrangements were as before.
This recital, again given by Eric Jordan, included ‘Introduction’ by B. Burrows, a medley of British airs (‘Rule Britannia’, ‘Annie Laurie’, ‘Kilarney’ and ‘Land of my Fathers’), and an arrangement of Mendelssohn’s ‘Spring Song’. There was also a collection of other items that were relayed to most radio stations, including ‘The Volga Boatman’, ‘The Bells of St Mary’s’, ‘Absent’, and ending with ‘Abide with Me’. This was not the end of the recital, but it was the end of the broadcast, so the large number of people who had come to Queen’s Park were treated to the rest of the music.
Another recital from Loughborough’s carillon was broadcast in July 1926. ‘Electra’, a reporter on the ‘Walsall Observer’ had the following to say:
“The music of the carillon is finding an increasingly frequent inclusion in the broadcast programmes and a steadily growing number of listeners are becoming aware how exceptionally beautiful this music can be and how well it may, with care, be reproduced by wireless. The most frequent carillon broadcasts are from the Memorial Carillon at Loughborough, in Leicestershire, the largest and probably best-toned collection of bells in the country, from which the recitals by Mr. W.E. Jordan are relayed to Birmingham station and thence to other stations.”
The reporter goes on to say that Mr Jordan had set himself the task of “establishing a distinctly English standard in this unrivalled form of bell music. In this, broadcasting is of course of great assistance, for it is making the beauty of the carillon known to the whole country.”
A word of caution is given, and the following advice shared: “ …extra care [to the reception] is particularly desirable if a loud-speaker is to reproduce the transmission, because it is easy to over-amplify reception with the result that the sweet sonority of the bells is lost, and blasting occurs with some of the middle notes, which quite destroys the finer harmonic effects.”
Eric Jordan gave another broadcast recital on Sunday 19th September 1926, at which he played a variety of pieces, including ‘Solveig’s Song’ from Peer Gynt by Grieg; ‘Londonderry Air’; ‘Mother Machree’; ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Lead Kindly Light’. What was notable about this particular concert, although the listener would probably be unaware, was that Eric made a special journey from London to Loughborough to play, as he had been married only 4 days before, and was honeymooning in Hornsey!
In an interview for the ‘Nottingham Evening Post’, Eric Jordan talks about the business of broadcasting:
“Many do not realise the amount of work and trouble necessary for a broadcast on the carillon of even only a quarter of an hour’s duration. On the occasion of the last broadcast the engineers of Birmingham station travelled by car to Loughborough – a distance of 40 miles – together with the necessary apparatus weighing some cwts.. I met them at the tower two hours before the broadcast was due to commence, and, believe me, those two hours were very strenuous ones. Frequent journeys had to be made from a room situated half-way up the tower by all of us. Half an hour before the concert commenced, I took my seat at the clavier, and was repeatedly tested by the BBC. The test completed I received the message ‘All OK’ from the engineers. I then had in the short space of five minutes to undress and dress in my playing clothes, which consists of an athlete’s attire – cotton vests and shorts. Having received the message ‘Right away’, the programme commenced.”
Eric Jordan went on to say in that interview: “A carillonneur must possess two things, he must have good health and sound muscles, and he must have a good knowledge of music. In my case the playing on the carillon has been beneficial to my health and I like it immensely.”
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| Eric Jordan at the carillon |
In a later interview, reported in the ‘Nottingham Evening Post’ in February 1933, Eric Jordan said that one of the most common questions he was asked, in relation to the broadcasting of recitals, was whether the weight of the heavy bells would smash loud-speakers or damage the valves on wireless apparatus. He noted that the BBC took many precautions to stop all heavy sound reaching the wireless sets. Eric Jordan’s advice to listeners was “to tune their sets to the maximum volume and then listen in another part of the house, or, if possible, outside, with the window or door open.” This particular broadcast, which was taking place on 1st March, was Loughborough’s contribution to the country’s ‘industrial week’ transmissions.
Carillon recitals continued to be broadcast throughout the 1920s, and came from a variety of places, including, Armagh Roman Catholic Cathedral; Canberra (although this was not wholly successful); the Peace Tower of the Ottawa Parliament buildings, and the New Zealand war memorial (whilst it was on display in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne).
In August 1927, the ‘Newcastle Daily Chronicle’ carried the following headline:
“HOW WIRELESS AIDS THE SICK. DARLINGTON HOSPITAL’S SUPER-SET.”
A wireless set was given to the Feethams Infirmary at Darlington, paid for by public subscription. A governor of the BBC outlined how successful similar installations had been at other institutions, and alluded to the influence music could have on sick patients. Apparently, a dying man, in Loughborough hospital, read that a carillon recital was to be broadcast, and so determined was he to hear this that by the time of the recital a week later, his condition had improved so much so that he was discharged in good health!
In January 1928, the ‘Nottingham Post’ reported that plans to record the Loughborough carillon had been on-going for about a year, but had finally come to fruition, and during the early part of January some well-known pieces, played on the carillon by Eric Jordan had successfully been recorded. This must have had an impact on Eric Jordan as he became the President of the Loughborough Recorded Music Society, being an active member of the society until well in his 80s.
On 28th June 1931, Eric Jordan gave his 1000th carillon recital!!! By Easter 1933, he was hoping to reach 1,500 recitals!
It is, of course, fitting that the Recorded Music Society paid tribute to Eric on his death, by playing some of his recordings, and some of his favourite music. Later that same year, 1994, Eric’s son Phillip, also played some of his favourite pieces at the last meeting of the Society in December.
Thank you for reading this blog. You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:
Lynne
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