Autumn concert by the carillonneurs on 10 October, from 10 a.m.
For the first time, two other Saxon carillonneurs will take part and organise the 1st Saxon Carillon Meeting on the Chemnitz carillon
This year, the Chemnitz carillonneurs want to dedicate the annual autumn concert on the carillon - on 10 October, between 10 and 11.15 a.m. - to their late mentor and teacher Peter Franz. Franz died on 24 August 2015 at the age of 90. After the inauguration of the Chemnitz carillon on 10 May 1978, Peter Franz was the sole carillonneur for a long time. In order to continue his work, he taught four young players from 2003. Since their teacher's last concert in August 2011, they have continued the musical legacy.
Cornelia Blaudeck, Franzpeter Uhlig and Sebastian Liebold will be playing the instrument on Saturday. Maria Rank, the fourth member of the Chemnitz carillon players, is unable to take part in the concert for personal reasons. As the 1st Saxon Carillon Meeting is taking place at the same time as the autumn concert on the initiative of Franzpeter Uhlig, two carillonneurs from the region, Patrick Reimann from Lößnitz and Bernadette Schmidt from Schirgiswalde, will also be taking part.
Autumn and folk songs as well as classical pieces will be played.
"We usually only choose the pieces shortly before the concert," says Franzpeter Uhlig.
What is certain, however, is that each Chemnitz carillonneur dedicates two songs to his late mentor Peter Franz. For example, passers-by on the market square will hear Jacques Offenbach's "Barcarole" and "Du, du liegst mir am Herzen", interpreted by Cornelia Blaudeck. Franzpeter Uhlig would like to perform "La Paloma" and "Hoch auf dem gelben Wagen".
Dr Sebastian Liebold, meanwhile, wants to dedicate the hit "Schwarze Rose, Rosemarie" and "Der goldene Pavillon" by Hans-Hendrik Wehding to his teacher. "This operetta melody was Peter Franz's bravura piece," says Liebold, explaining his choice.
Twice a week, one of the four carillonneurs goes up to the instrument at a height of almost sixty metres. Here, at the height of the tower clock, is the carillon's console.
The spectrum of the Chemnitz carillonneurs on this extraordinary instrument is broad and ranges from classical music to folk songs and pop. It is played by hand. The carillonneur sits at the console and operates the keyboard with his feet and his clenched right and open left hand. There is a key - called a stokke - for each bell. These are connected to the clapper of the bell by a steel wire.
Melodies ring out from the tower every Wednesday at 10 am and every Saturday at 10.30 am. With 48 bells, the Chemnitz carillon has a range of four octaves. The largest bell weighs 957 kilograms and has a diameter of 1.12 metres. The smallest weighs 9.5 kilograms. All together they weigh 5.2 tonnes. The bells were cast between 1968 and 1978 in the Apolda bell foundry.
Carillons have a long tradition: the idea of using church bells as melody instruments by means of ropes came about as early as the 13th century - thus began the history of the carillon. The heyday of the instrument began in the 17th century, when bells could be tuned purely for the first time, making it possible to play them artistically. In 1922, the world's first carillon school was founded in Mechelen, Belgium. It was followed by others in France, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. It was from here that the modern cultivation of carillon playing began.