Church Bells in Spanish Town Ring Out a Return to Tradition
2024-07-20
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The sound of church bells around the world is usually made by machine.
2But before newspapers, radio, telephones, television and the internet, bell ringing by hand communicated important information within small communities across Europe.
3Now, a small school of bell ringers in northeastern Spain wants to recover the art of hand, or manual, bell ringing.
4The school's founder and leader, Xavier Pallàs, says there is a whole language of bell ringing to rescue and return to use.
5The Vall d'en Bas School of Bell Ringers effort comes two years after the international community recognized the import of manual bell ringing in Spain.
6The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, added the practice to its Humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022.
7Pallàs' students have learned how to ring out calls for village celebrations, warnings of bad weather or fire, religious services, and deaths.
8Pallàs says bells could still "help mark the rituals that we need."
9The change to mechanical ringing devices over the past century has flattened the bells' songs and muted their messaging powers, the teacher said.
10If the bells are played with expertise, he added, the sound can signal a time for celebrating or mourning.
11The sound can even signal when to run to the aid of a neighbor in need.
12"For centuries, the tolling of church bells was our most important communication method," said Pallàs.
13He spoke inside the belfry that also serves as classroom, in the town of Joanetes.
14"Machines cannot reproduce the richness of the sounds that we used to hear, so there has been a simplification and unification of bell ringing.
15The language has been lost little by little until now, when we are finally recognizing its worth."
16Manual church bell ringing has continued in Eastern Orthodox countries.
17But most Christian churches in Western Europe today use electronic bell ringing systems.
18The students at Vall d'en Bas include women and men from diverse professional backgrounds.
19One student was in his 20s. Several students were retirees.
20All spent the past few months researching bell sequences, documenting their history and learning to play them.
21Roser Sauri jumped at the chance to reconnect with her childhood.
22She worked to recover and play the sequence that had sounded in her grandfather's village to announce his baptism.
23"The bells formed a part of my life," said Sauri, who now works in artificial intelligence.
24Juan Carles Osuna and two other students recently tolled for the death of a woman.
25That meant swinging the largest of the bells.
26It weighs 429 kilograms.
27"It's an emotional experience," Osuna said.
28"You feel your blood pumping. You feel the strength, and how you are communicating with everyone in earshot."
29He added, "For me it is an honor, it's a way to honor both humans and God."
30Xavier Pallàs says he has a full class lined up for the fall and about 60 more people on an admission wait list.
31He believes that a recovery of bell ringing in a neighborhood or town's life could help strengthen local communities.
32The school leader said, "This is a means of communication that reaches everyone inside a local community and can help it come together at concrete moments."
33I'm Caty Weaver.
1The sound of church bells around the world is usually made by machine. But before newspapers, radio, telephones, television and the internet, bell ringing by hand communicated important information within small communities across Europe. 2Now, a small school of bell ringers in northeastern Spain wants to recover the art of hand, or manual, bell ringing. The school's founder and leader, Xavier Pallàs, says there is a whole language of bell ringing to rescue and return to use. 3The Vall d'en Bas School of Bell Ringers effort comes two years after the international community recognized the import of manual bell ringing in Spain. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, added the practice to its Humanity's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022. 4A method of messaging for centuries 5Pallàs' students have learned how to ring out calls for village celebrations, warnings of bad weather or fire, religious services, and deaths. Pallàs says bells could still "help mark the rituals that we need." 6The change to mechanical ringing devices over the past century has flattened the bells' songs and muted their messaging powers, the teacher said. If the bells are played with expertise, he added, the sound can signal a time for celebrating or mourning. The sound can even signal when to run to the aid of a neighbor in need. 7"For centuries, the tolling of church bells was our most important communication method," said Pallàs. He spoke inside the belfry that also serves as classroom, in the town of Joanetes. 8"Machines cannot reproduce the richness of the sounds that we used to hear, so there has been a simplification and unification of bell ringing. The language has been lost little by little until now, when we are finally recognizing its worth." 9Reconnecting with the past 10Manual church bell ringing has continued in Eastern Orthodox countries. But most Christian churches in Western Europe today use electronic bell ringing systems. 11The students at Vall d'en Bas include women and men from diverse professional backgrounds. One student was in his 20s. Several students were retirees. 12All spent the past few months researching bell sequences, documenting their history and learning to play them. 13Roser Sauri jumped at the chance to reconnect with her childhood. She worked to recover and play the sequence that had sounded in her grandfather's village to announce his baptism. 14"The bells formed a part of my life," said Sauri, who now works in artificial intelligence. 15Honoring humans and God 16Juan Carles Osuna and two other students recently tolled for the death of a woman. That meant swinging the largest of the bells. It weighs 429 kilograms. 17"It's an emotional experience," Osuna said. "You feel your blood pumping. You feel the strength, and how you are communicating with everyone in earshot." 18He added, "For me it is an honor, it's a way to honor both humans and God." 19Dreaming of bell ringers across Spain 20Xavier Pallàs says he has a full class lined up for the fall and about 60 more people on an admission wait list. He believes that a recovery of bell ringing in a neighborhood or town's life could help strengthen local communities. 21The school leader said, "This is a means of communication that reaches everyone inside a local community and can help it come together at concrete moments." 22I'm Caty Weaver. 23The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24______________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26church - n. a building for public holy services, especially of Christian belief 27ritual - n. ceremony, especially of religious tradition 28belfry - n. a bell tower 29diverse - adj. involving many different kinds of related or similar things 30sequence - n. the order in which things are or should be connected, related, or dated 31swing - v. to move quickly in a sweeping curve 32concrete - adj. belonging to or based on actual experience; not abstract