New chime tolls for the Sesquicentennial

Gone is the Westminster Quarters, which many consider a classic for clock towers that originated with London's Big Ben. In its place is the Rochester Quarters, composed by Daniel Harrison, associate professor of music at the College, associate professor of theory at the Eastman School, and the University's official carillonneur.

Harrison decided on his own to write a chime for the 150th anniversary year. "I was intrigued by the challenge of composing a clock chime, since there are only four notes available," he said. "How can I come up with something memorable?"

He concentrated on building the sounds progressively over the course of an hour, ending with a cumulative melody. At quarter past the hour, four chimes will be struck; at half-past, eight; at three-quarters, 12; and on the hour, 16 chimes plus the hourly strike of the bells will occur. A new computer chip was installed by the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati to play Harrison's piece. (Listen to the chime at www.rochester.edu/sesqui/chimes.html.)

The Rochester Quarters were played for the first time on January 31, the date in 1850 when the Regents of the University of the State of New York issued the charter for Rochester.

Beyond the marking of time, a manual playing mechanism allows musicians to perform in recital or for special events on the one-of-a-kind Hopeman Memorial Carillon. With carillons, the bells are stationary and only their clappers move. The clapper on each one of 50 bronze bells in the Rush Rhees tower is connected by a thin metal rod to the carillon's keyboard. The keyboard itself is composed of rounded wooden batons, which are played with a loosely clenched fist. At Rochester, the carillon is suspended directly under the bells with six inches of concrete cushioning the sound.

Using tower bells to keep time is of medieval European origin, Harrison explained. Large towns as well as neighborhoods within cities often had their own distinctive chime tune. Today, it's rare to compose a chime.

"I hope the University community comes to think of the chime as a distinctive and enriching feature of campus life," Harrison said.

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