Summary

Set of handbells created as part of the Federation Bell project to celebrate the Centenary of Federation in 2001. This set is one of 80 sets of Federation Handbells commissioned by the State Government of Victoria through the Melbourne Festival. The handbells were made by the Victorian company Australian Bell to design specifications of composer and physicist Dr Neil McLachlan and sculptor Anton Hasell. It took almost three years to research and develop the world's first true harmonic bells which each produce a single clear musical tone. In traditional bell tuning, foundries cast a bell and then bore it out until the makers find a sound they like. In contrast, the development of the Federation Handbells took hundreds of hours of computer modelling, using a program developed by Dr Josef Tomas at RMIT.

This set of bells contains 24 chromatic bells in four cases, which covers two chromatic piano octaves from E to E. All the handbells have the same conical outer shape, the pitch of each bell is determined by both the size of the bell, as well as its internal profile, specifically the thickness and the contour of the cast silicon bronze inside the bell. The bells have been cast with a handle and can be played either in the hand, or after being positioned in their crates. They can be played by individuals playing single bells or by an individual playing the whole set like a xylophone. The bells are played with a mallet; they do not have internal clappers.

The Federation Bell project contained three parts: creating the Federation Handbells, creating the Federation Bells (a large-scale sculptural installation at Birrarung Marr, which you can compose music for online) and creating a set of harmonic orchestral bells for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Physical Description

Four cases of graduating sizes. 5 bells inside two larger cases; 7 bells inside two smaller cases.

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