Yale Memorial Carillon

*Location:

   Harkness Tower
   Yale University
   High Street between Chapel & Elm Streets
   New Haven, Connecticut, USA
   LL: N 41.30940, W 72.92934

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Yale Univ. Guild of Carillonneurs
   PO Box 201964
   New Haven, CT  06520-1964
   E: carillon@yale.edu

*Contact:

   Ellen Dickinson,   (C)
     Yale University Bell Consultant
   20 Sunset Hill Road
   Wilton, CT  06897
   H: 203-536-2601
   E: ellen1@aya.yale.edu
      Ellen.Dickinson@gmail.com

*Schedule:

   1230 & 1730 daily during school year;
   1900 daily in summer;
   Friday evenings in summer (guests).

*Remarks:

   Original added semitone was sharp 4th
   (C#); sub-bourdon (F#) one semitone
   below bourdon (G); original chimestand
   and action supplied by Meneely Bell
   Co. (Troy); chimestand still in tower.
   A new practice keyboard was supplied
   by Meeks & Watson c.2000.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 54 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is F# in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     G C   /    G A#28
   Transposition is down 1 semitone(s), i.e., from C to B 
   There are no missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 1966
     with bells made by Taylor       
   Prior history:
     In 1921, the instrument was begun with 10 bells
       by Taylor      
       Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) was G  in the bass octave
       Keyboard range was: (F#)G G   /    F#B  4
       Transposition was nil (concert pitch)
       There was one added semitone
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 28 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   32 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  37 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:  . %
   Year of latest technical information source is 1969

The Yale University Guild of Carillonneurs maintains an extensive Website.

On the university Website, click Visitors to see a photo of the tower across the surrounding rooftops.

The first photo on a page about "Listening to the Art of Bells at Yale" shows the bass bell of the original chime, now the bass bell of the carillon, on a horse-drawn articulated freight wagon on its way past the New Haven Green.  The Website on which this photo appears recounts the events and circumstances that inspire hopes for the eventual installation of a set of change-ringing bells on the Yale campus.

News article (with two small photos) about the Royal Eijsbouts mobile carillon in use at Yale while Harkness Tower is silent.

A Web page on Connecticut Carillons (archived in 2003) has brief descriptions of 10 of the 11 carillons in this state, with thumbnail photos linked to larger JPEG files.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight.
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American concert class carillons by year of completion.

Other grand carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

The heaviest three bells of this carillon are among all great bells in North America.

Index to all traditional carillons in CT.

Index to all tower bell instruments in CT.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/08/17
   and on technical data last updated on 1992/05/09