Do you tintinnabulate?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340118)
Rockingham, Australia
May 6, 2018 10:05pm CST
I picked up a copy of our free local newsletter yesterday. On the front page is the news that the Brookhampton Bellringers will be sending their 37 brass handbells back to the Whitechapel Foundry in England for refurbishment. The handbells were originally brought to Australia by Frank Wright, a miner. Early written records were destroyed by white-ants but it is known that Wright carried the bells to Bendigo then Coolgardie before finally settling in Brookhampton near Donnybrook in Western Australia.
In 1904 the bells were purchased by the Thomson Brook Music Club which in 1933 became the Brookhampton Bellringers and they have been in constant use since. The official term for bellringers is ‘tintinnabulators’ and they use the traditional method of lifting each bell from a table to ring it then returning it to the table. The link shows the group at rehearsal. The bells have a gentle, haunting sound.
Interestingly one bell bears the scars of its use during World War II when the soft damping felt was removed from the clapper. This was so the volume of the bell would be increased when it was rung to call Italian prisoners of war in from the paddocks. The photo is of the Brookhampton Hall and War Memorial.
And isn’t tintinnabulators a great sounding word?
A classical piece from The Brookhampton Bellringers of Western Australia taken during an audio recording session for The National Library of Australia and WA...
25 people like this
20 responses
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
7 May 18
Do I what? (I'll read to post first and then tell you if I do) 
4 people like this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
7 May 18
Wow! I definitely don't. I can only tintinmakearacketanddriveeverybodycrazy. 
3 people like this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
@1hopefulman That's not really a great skill. Most of us can do that.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
7 May 18
bell ringing can sound beautiful or silly as in this sketch
Hilarious love song by the Hunchback to his gargoyle girlfriend. :D
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
@arthurchappell The muppets did lots of things really well didn't they? Great entertainment whatever your age.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
7 May 18
I was delighted because I actually knew that world. What a great history, I'm happy that it's being kept alive. I'm going to check out the link
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 May 18
@FayeHazel Campanile's a bell-tower from memory.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
8 May 18
@JudyEv That was a really neat video. Everyone working as a team makes the music. Thanks! I love vocabulary. Campanile I didn't know though. Now I will look it up
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
The building to the right is the Brookhampton Hall where the bell-ringers practice and where the video was taken. It was built in 1899 and is still used quite a lot for local functions. It is a lovely old building. Nearby is the Thomson Brook Church which is another lovely old building now being restored as a small function centre.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
It's a lovely old hall and would have many incredible stories to tell. It is good that it is still used quite a bit.
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Aug 18
I think it is magic that the group has been going so long.
@kobesbuddy (78882)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 May 18
Oh Judy, this is a remarkable talent, these musicians display so beautifully! I loved it:) My oldest granddaughter had a Sunday School program and someone taught the kids to play a song, using bells! I wanted to cry, it was so lovely
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78882)
• East Tawas, Michigan
8 May 18
@JudyEv I'm not sure who provided the kids with these bells or who actually taught them how it's done. It was a part of their Sunday School program, I really enjoyed!
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
7 May 18
I never heard of such, Judy, but they seem to be interesting. I will listen to the video. Thank you. 
1 person likes this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
7 May 18
@JudyEv Yes and I think they deserved to be listened to.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (180782)
• United States
7 May 18
Gosh, who ever made that up? lol..that is a mouthfull. I have always had a desire to be in a bell choir. Richmond has one..of course they likely practice in the evening an hour away, and lots of dark territory between here and there.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 May 18
I don't know why they didn't have come up with something a bit easier to pronounce.
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
7 May 18
Never heard the name but the sounds from the bells is awesome.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
8 May 18
It is an one I have never heard before. I have only heard that sort of bells in churches. Are they used for other things there?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
This group has quite a reputation now and play at festivals, weddings, church concerts and community functions. Recently they went to Queensland for a bell-ringing convention but there were very few groups there with bells with similar tuning. I think that was the story so they couldn't join in a lot with others but only with a few other groups. They still had a great time.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116936)
• Anniston, Alabama
7 May 18
I love to hear bells ringing.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (340118)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 May 18
They had bamboo bells on the cows in the back blocks of Thailand and their sound was very melancholy and soft. I loved them.
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
7 May 18
Try saying that word real fast 10 times!
1 person likes this
