PHILADELPHIA - STV : USA - PA

*Location:

   Miraculous Medal Shrine (RC)
   (formerly St.Vincent's Seminary)
   500 East Chelten Avenue
   Germantown
   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
   LL: N 40.04233, W 75.16779
Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Janet Tebbel   (C)
   7812 Conwell Road
   Glenside, PA  19028
   H: 267-250-7727
   E: jtebbel97@gmail.com
*Past carillonists:
   19??-62 Remy Muller  (d.1965?)
   1962-2002 Janet Dundore (1920-2005)(C)

*Contact:

   Central Assn. of the Miraculous Medal
   Attn: Fr. William J. O'Brien
   475 East Chelten Avenue
   Philadelphia, PA  19144-5731
   T: 215-848-1010   F: 215-848-1014

*Schedule:

   Monday 1730-1830, 1900-1930

*Remarks:

   Keyboard by Arthur Bigelow, 1947,
   renovated in 1975;
   new transmission in 1985.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 47 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     C C   /    C G   
   There are two missing bass semitones
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The instrument was enlarged in 1952
     with bells made by Paccard     
   Prior history:
     In 1947, the instrument was enlarged to 44 bells
       by Bigelow     
       Keyboard range was:     C A   /    C G   
     In 1900, the instrument was begun with 26 bells
       by Paccard      (except for an unknown number)
       Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) was G  in the middle octave
       Transposition was up 14 semitone(s)
       Keyboard range was: (C )F F   /    ----  
       There were no missing bass semitones
   No auxiliary mechanisms known
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is unknown
*Links:

A Waymarking page for these bells has 5 exterior photos, and text from a previous version of the Shrine Website, which now says nothing about the carillon, though it does have a photo of part of the exterior (including the belfry) on the Welcome page.

News article (Sep.2019) on St.Vincent's & Janet Tebbel includes a history of this instrument and a photo of the keyboard; video (1:12).

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of Arthur Bigelow, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard 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 concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

Why this instrument was a milestone in North American non-traditional carillon history (1900).

Index to all traditional carillons in PA.

Index to all tower bell instruments in PA.

*Status:
   This page was built from the database on  4-Nov-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2017/05/01
   and on technical data last updated on 1976/12/31
*Photos:

(none available)

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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