T'was the night before ringing and all through the earth,
Not a soul could imagine the ultimate worth
Of the sound that was heard by metal first struck.
Did it sound like a clank or a thump or a pluck?
The ears of mankind were now bountifully blessed
With the fuel; their imagination could do all the rest.
But how has this ringing so traveled through time
To what we know now as handbells sublime?
What metal first sounded in the ears of mankind?
The real answer to that we may never find.
To the ancients of old was it silver or gold?
They knew of these metals so we have been told.
Silver and gold would be too soft and mild.
Perhaps could enhance the sleep of a child.
Iron, try iron. Too ponderous and dull.
Then copper or tin, t'is a thought we can mull.
Alas, a clear resonance, a desirable timbre,
Joyous reverberations all will wish to remember.
The tin and the copper, this alloy responds
With a beautiful tone. We all know it as bronze.
From different sizes and various shapes
The bronze has been ringing across the landscapes.
It linked all the people, early mass communication
By sharing the news of sorrow or celebration.
These bronze bells were hung from the towers of old,
And their ringing was beauty, a sound to behold.
First one bell, then many were hung in a tower.
Helping town people by ringing the hour.
A single ring soon changed to patterns of peals
Such orderly ringing lifted ringers off their heels
As they pulled on the ropes, the bells far overhead
Swinging back and forth loudly causing neighbors to dread
The sessions of practice these change ringers had.
They muted the bells, but the sound was still bad.
These neighbors had babies, these wee little nappers.
But how could they possibly control those huge clappers?
As good can come from bad when we practice restraint,
So creative solutions to the neighbors' complaint,
Brought the joyous creation of miniature bells,
Miniature compared to the great tower swells.
Now those swingers of bells from all the town towers
Sat in circles and practiced their peals for hours.
With hands on the handles instead of the ropes,
No more practice notes echoed from village to slopes.
If patterns of changes were pleasing to hear,
It's easy to guess music soon should appear.
With a little old ringer so lively and quick
Who exclaimed, "Hurry, hurry. Please hand me that stick."
Thus ringing was not the sole method of sounding,
The stick, the first mallet, bell techniques were abounding.
Now ringing and shaking and thumb damps and plucking,
Martellato, mart lifts, tower swings can be shocking!
A mallet struck bell on the table's quite fair.
Now strike with a mallet, bell suspended in air.
A set of small bells, could it possibly be?
Interlock the handles, you have a belltree!
From change ringing to music composed just for bells,
What wonderful growth handbell history tells.
With marks esoteric to this musical art
Just a few decades ago it all had its start.
The mellow, yet bright English handbells so fair
Give us beautiful music beyond compare.
Now let me exclaim as I finish this rhyme,
Happy ringing to all! Have a jolly good time!
- Louise Frier
Copyright by Louise Frier, 1995