carillon

American  

[kar-uh-lon, -luhn, kuh-ril-yuhn] / ˈkær əˌlɒn, -lən, kəˈrɪl yən /

noun

1. a set of stationary bells hung in a tower and sounded by manual or pedal action, or by machinery.

2. a set of horizontal metal plates, struck by hammers, used in the modern orchestra.

---

carillon British  

/ kəˈrɪljən /

noun

1. a set of bells usually hung in a tower and played either by keys and pedals or mechanically

2. a tune played on such bells

3. an organ stop giving the effect of a bell

4. a form of celesta or keyboard glockenspiel

---

verb

1. (intr) to play a carillon

Etymology

Origin of carillon

1765–75; < French: set of bells, Old French car ( e ) ignon, quarregnon < Vulgar Latin *quadriniōn-, re-formation of Late Latin quaterniōn- quaternion; presumably originally a set of four bells

Explanation

If you wake up in the morning to bells coming from a nearby church tower, the instrument that is being played is a carillon. A carillon is simply a set of bells in a tower. The Old French ancestor of this word is carignon. The car part of this word traces back to the Latin word for "four," so a carignon was a set of four bells. Today, however, a carillon can have many many bells. Though you might picture someone playing it by pulling giant strings one after another, it is usually played by a keyboard that controls the bells. Some play automatically, with notes etched into a metal roll like you might find on a player piano (also called a pianola).

Example Sentences

Charles Semowich, who plays the carillon inside the 392-foot tower at Riverside Church, said he hears occasional screeching outside his window.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2024

Artists can take over and “play” billboards and the chapel like a carillonneur playing a carillon.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2022

The carillon isn’t just a workout for the legs.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2022

The bells were part of a carillon that accompanied chants inside the church, said Franciscan friar Father Stephane, the Custody's liturgist.

From Reuters • Dec. 21, 2021

J'aime le carillon dans tes cités Antiques, O vieux pays, gardien de tes moeurs domestiques, Noble Flandre, où le Nord se réchauffe engourdi Au soleil de Castille et s'accouple au Midi.

From Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders by Edwards, George Wharton