Carillon at Valley Forge – a Memorable Experience

Beautiful sounds

As a kid, I grew up right near Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania. When we had family and friends visit us, we would often take day trips to places in the area where we could share the wealth and beauty of the region. We took trips into Philadelphia to see the liberty bell, we toured Longwood Gardens, and of course, Valley Forge.

To me, one of the most beautiful sounds in this world comes from the Carillon in the Washington Memorial Chapel.

What is a Carillon?

According to the dictionary, a Carillon is a rack of stationary bells hung in a tower and sounded by manual or pedal action, or by machinery.

Like presets on a modern day organ, some of the world's carillon's have been automated to allow electronic playing without manual interference, but not the Carillon in the Washington Memorial.

History of the Washington Memorial and National Patriots Bell Tower

The national Patriots Bellow Tower or Carillon is made up of 58 tuned bronze bells. Each bell represents all of the U.S states and territories. It was gift from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, built in honor of George Washington, and completed in 1953.

The lower 28 bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Foundry of Watervliet, New York while the upper 30 bells were cast by the Paccard Bell Foundry of Annecy, France. The bells weigh 26 tons, with a range of 8,000 lbs. to the smallest bell of 13 1/2 lbs. and cover a range of nearly five octaves.

My recollection

The first time I went to the Carillon, I must have been with just my family. From my recollection, we toured the log cabins that the soldiers of 1776 stayed in. We learned about the history of Valley Forge and the fact that about 2000 out of 12,000 soldiers had perished there, mainly due to diseases and infections.

The church area was silent at first and I remember sitting right outside the carillon as the bells went off. They were extremely loud but even with my hearing loss, I had no problem feeling them.

As the bells went off, I thought about the soldiers who had died for our country centuries ago. Then I thought about the brilliance, time, and energy that had been required to build the spectacular bell tower in honor of George Washington. Hearing the bells, I imagined lonely and cold soldiers separated from their families and fighting a war that might kill them. I felt a connection to the past as I never had before.

Anger management

As I aged, my life took a tumultuous path. We moved from Pennsylvania to Connecticut and I got depressed. A few years late, for various reasons, I found myself in counseling for drug and alcohol addiction. My counselor suggested I find a "safe haven" in my mind where I could go when things were frustrating or angering me. She said it could be anything and so for me, that safe haven ended up being the tolling bells of the Washington Memorial and its carillon.

If you have never heard these bells live and in person, I urge you to go. You simply cannot get the feeling in your heart just listening to them over the internet. You must experience it live to really know and understand. Once you hear the moaning, and agonistic but optimist tolling of those bells, you will never forget them.

This is a Youtube video of John Courter 'Legend' John Courter's "Legend" played by Carillonneur Doug Gefvert on the 58-bell Washington Memorial Carillon at Valley Forge National Historical Park.

This one is played by the same Carillonneur,and is J. S. Bach's "Sarabande".

Additional resources: Thing to do in Valley Forge