The Bells of Russia
Russia has one of the richest histories of bell ringing in the world. It is home to the largest bell in the world, the twenty-foot tall Tzar Kolodol, which sits in the Kremlin as a tribute to Russian technological accomplishment. It is also the home of zvon, an intricate and beautiful form of bell music that is central to the practice of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Although Russian bells are shaped like Western bells, they have many of the characteristics of Eastern bells. They are hung “dead” or fixed in place, and the clapper is pulled against the side of the bell with a rope.
Often ringing many bells at a time, a Russian bell ringer creates a musical soundscape based on the interaction of three different sizes of bells: large bass bells, middle-sized alto and tenor bells, and small soprano bells. The large bells provide the pulse, the metronome for the music. The middle bells provide the rhythm, the pattern for the music, while the small bells provide the trill, the adornment that runs through the ringing. This demanding and complex bell music is a rich part of what has been called Russia’s “conversation with God.” Bells, as singing icons, have a spiritual place in the Orthodox sacrament not experienced in the West.