Carillon

Detail of carillon mechanism, circa 1927. Large

The Peace Tower Carillon is the only permanent musical presence on Parliament Hill. This large musical instrument of tower bells is played approximately 200 days a year by the Dominion Carillonneur – currently Gordon Slater – and can be heard within a radius of several city blocks. Like all carillons, the Peace Tower Carillon is manual, mechanical and acoustic. In other words, it is played by a person, it is entirely mechanical, and listeners hear the bells live.

Of the eleven carillons in Canada, the Peace Tower Carillon is the heaviest, the most frequently played, and probably the best known. From September to June each year, the carillonneur performs from noon to 12:15, playing a different programme each day. In July and August, the recitals are a full hour in duration – from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. each weekday.

Small bells of the carillon, circa 1927. Large

Carillons were first built in Flanders around 1500. The Flemish had by then grown tired of the hourly repetition of their ornate, automated, clock melodies, and became the first to hang clappers inside stationary clock bells. They then connected these clappers to a big keyboard and hired a musician to create new music.

The first Dominion Carillonneur of Canada was Percival Price who, following 12 years of service, went on to teach music at the University of Michigan. Price’s assistant, Robert Donnell, took over and played for 35 years until 1975, when Émilien Allard started. Allard died two years later, and Gordon Slater has been the Dominion Carillonneur since 1977.

Dominion Carillonneurs of Canada

Percival Price (1927 - 1939) Large	Robert Donnell (1940 - 1975) Large	Émilien Allard (1975 - 1976) Large
Gordon Slater (1977 - Present) Large