Singing Tower: A Masterpiece of Music, Art & Architecture
“In a single, simple unit, [the Tower] must sing of music, sculpture, color, architecture, landscape design and the arts of the workers in brass and iron, ceramics, marble, and stone-each part of a chorus, each adding beauty to the others.”
-Milton B. Medary, Designer of the Singing Tower
LAKE WALES, Fla. – During the time that Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was designing Florida’s first historical landscape garden, Edward W. Bok decided he wanted to add something to the site that would pay homage to his Dutch homeland. As a child in the Netherlands, Bok was charmed by the majesty and melodies of old world carillons. He decided that one of these “Singing Towers” would be the perfect addition to the Gardens. He envisioned a majestic Tower that would serve as the focal point of the Gardens and provide a permanent home for a world-class carillon. The carillon at Bok Tower Gardens was the first and today is one of only four in the state of Florida.
What is a carillon?
A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze bells that are precisely tuned and arranged in chromatic progression so that music in any key can be played. Unlike other types of bells, carillon bells are fixed in a frame-the bells do not move. Instead, the clappers inside strike the bells to produce a considerable range of sounds of nearly five octaves. Because of its weight and size, the carillon is one of the largest of all instruments. A carillon is played from a keyboard (sometimes called a pedalboard) on which the keys are depressed by the player’s closed hands
and feet. The keys are connected to the clappers by vertical and horizontal wires.
The Carillon at Bok Tower Gardens
The carillon at Bok Tower Gardens has 60 bells ranging in weight from 16 pounds to nearly 12 tons. The instrument was designed and built in 1928 by John Taylor Bellfoundry, Ltd. of Loughborough, England-the world’s largest bellfoundry which still makes bells today. There are four carillons in Florida, about 200 in North America and about 500 throughout the world.
How is carillon music written and played?
Although carillon music looks like piano music, the treble clef is usually played by the hands and the bass clef by the feet. The carillon’s action is mechanical, which allows the performer to control the dynamics (loud and soft) by the force of the strike. There is no mechanism to dampen the sound after a bell is struck. Because carillon bells are rich in overtones, the consonant and dissonant combinations are sometimes reversed in carillon music to account for the presence of a minor-third overtone in each bell.
How are the bells tuned?
Carillon bells are tuned just after they are cast and before they are installed. A bell is placed on a lathe and metal is carefully removed from the various heights of the inside wall of the bell. If tuned correctly, the bells never have to be re-tuned.
Who plays the carillon at Bok Tower Gardens?
There have been only four resident carillonneurs at Bok Tower Gardens. The first carillonneur was Anton Brees, who served as the only carillonneur from 1928 until 1967. Milford Myhre was the carillonneur from 1968 to June 2004. In 1991, Terry McKinney became the first assistant carillonneur, and then in 1993, William De Turk replaced him as the assistant carillonneur and librarian of the Anton Brees Carillon Library, one of the largest carillon libraries in the world. De Turk became the Gardens’ carillonneur July 1, 2004. In August 2005, Lee Cobb was appointed assistant carillonneur and librarian of the Anton Brees Carillon Library.
Performance Schedule
Recorded carillon selections are played at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and every half-hour following. Live and recorded concerts are performed every day at 1 and 3 p.m.
The Singing Tower
(While safety regulations prohibit visitors from entering the Tower, many are curious about what it holds within.)
Bok Tower Gardens Singing Tower stands 205-feet tall and is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat. Its primary purpose is to serve as a visual centerpiece of the Gardens and provide a permanent home for the world-famous carillon. The Tower was designed by Milton Medary and includes an elegant and sophisticated mix of neo-Gothic and art deco features. It is crafted from coquina stone quarried in St. Augustine, Florida, as well as pink (Etowah) and gray (Creole) marble from Tate, Georgia. It is 51-feet square at the base and tapers to an octagonal shape at the 150-foot level as it reaches into the sky.
Lee Lawrie designed the sculptural elements of the Tower which portray a variety of Florida flora and fauna, as well as references to Aesop’s Fables.
At the ground level, on the south side is a vertical, pink marble sundial that features sculptor Lawrie’s interpretation of the 12 signs of the zodiac. It also includes a bronze snake gnomon, which casts a shadow on the dial face to indicate the sun time. Traditional figures representing the signs of the zodiac, one for each month, are carved in relief around the dial.
At 30 feet, the Tower is encircled with a band of carved marble that depicts a parade of native wildlife including herons, pelicans and fish, while scenes from Aesop’s fables feature a fox and a goose, as well as a hare and a tortoise.
At 130 feet, the windows have an intricately carved faience adorned with majestic herons and other birds, as well as sea creatures like jellyfish and seahorses.
At 150 feet, where the Tower changes from a square base into an octagon, there are four marble finials carved in the shape of patriotic eagles, who seem to be surveying the horizon beyond Iron Mountain. This level also features one of Florida’s most beautiful works of art: the eight grilles that encase the carillon. Covering the open 37-foot-tall windows in a Gothic lace pattern are spectacular, richly-colored green and blue tiles designed by J. H. Dulles Allen.
At the top of the Tower, positioned on the octagonal corners of the Tower’s parapet is a collection of 14-foot-high marble herons-there are four groupings, each with a single male heron proudly holding a fish in his beak, perched beside a hen and her nestlings.
The Entranceway and Interior (Due to safety regulations, the interior of the Tower is not open to the public.)
The single entrance to the Tower features a large, imposing teakwood door overlaid with brass that was created by master metalworker Samuel Yellin. The door is covered with 32 hand-crafted brass panels that depict the story of the six days of creation. Behind the door is the first floor Founder’s Room, which was reserved for use by the Bok family. It also holds the original Otis electric elevator, which is still operational. In addition, the various levels of the Tower house the following elements:
Level Two Future site of library annex/archives room
Level Three Mechanical equipment
Level Four Curators’ workshop
Level Five Anton Brees Carillon Library
Level Six Carillonneur’s studio
Level Seven Carillon
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About Bok Tower Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens, located approximately 55 miles southwest of Orlando and 60 miles east of Tampa, near Lake Wales, Florida, is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. Members and children under 5 are admitted free. For more information, call 863-676-1408 or visit www.boktowergardens.org.
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