City carillon

*Location:

   Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste
   (was Église Saint-Jean)
   Place Léon Gambetta
   (Rue Saint-Jean at Rue Edmond Bartisol)
   Perpignan, Pyrénées Orientales, France
   LL: N 42.70081, E 2.89697

   Bollée foundry, Orleans

   Exposition Universelle, Paris

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page

*Carillonist:

   Mme. Élizabeth Graves-Vitú   (A)
     (by appointment of the bishop)
   T: 468 733 723
   E: jpvitu/@/ wanadoo DOTfr
   - and -
   Laurent Pie
   T: 06 08 16 13 64
   E: pie.laurent/@/ orange DOTfr
   - and -
   Marie-Claude Valaison

*Contact:

   Communauté de Paroisses Saint
     Jean-Baptiste de Perpignan
   T: 04 68 64 63 93
   E: secretariat/@/cathedralperpignan.fr
   - or -
   Office de Tourisme
   T: 04 68 66 30 30
   E: carillon.perpignan/@/orange DOTfr

*Schedule:

   Saturday at 1100 except in Holy Week;
   at 1000 (before Mass) on 6 high holy
   days; daily 17-24 Dec at 1730;
   Thursdays 1800-1900 in Jul & Aug for
   International Carillon Festival.

*Remarks:

   Older bells dispersed or traded in to
   the founder of the 1873 chime, Eugène
   Baudouin of Marseilles; this chime was
   unsatisfactory, and its bells were
   dispersed or traded in to Bollée.
   Unclear when the 6 bells added after
   the Exposition were cast.  Missing not
   only the usual bass C#,D# but also
   bass G#.  Electrified 1956; restored
   in 1996 by France Carillon (Hérépian),
   after 1990 designation as a historic
   monument; restored again by them in
   2010 with near-exact copy of original
   keyboard (but with pedalboard extended
   to 1.5 octaves and centered according
   to European Standard).

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 46 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    C G   
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s), i.e., from C to D 
   The arrangement of tones and/or semitones
     is non-standard; see Remarks above.
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The present keyboard was installed in 2010
     by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Prior history:
     In 1885, the complete instrument of 46 bells was installed
       with bells made by Bollée in 1878      
     In 1874, a complete instrument of 15 bells was installed
       with bells made by the maker cited in Remarks above
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was C  in the middle octave
       There were no added semitones
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2010

The city Website (in French) has a page about the carillon, with a tower photo and a sound clip.  An 8-page PDF about the complex campanological history of this place is downloadable, with both French and "en anglais" (English) versions available.  (See the right margin of the page.)
Alternate URL
Alternate URL

Description (in French), with photos of bells and keyboard

The hour bell atop the bell tower is one of the great bells of France.

The French Wikipedia article about the building has a section about the bells; there are two paragraphs about the carillon (including a photo of the keyboard in use) and another about the clock bells.

Photos of the front of the building, including the clock tower but the main bell tower

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

Ranking among all French traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by year of completion.

Index to all traditional carillons in France.

Index to all tower bell instruments in France/Pyrénées Orientales.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/10/27
   and on technical data last updated on 2010/05/28