“Each bell has its sound imprint, its spectrum. ” Understand that “they are all unique”, affirms the electroacoustician Jocelyn Poitras, one of the bearers of a project to safeguard this sound heritage which is gradually disappearing. However, “it is a sound phenomenon of human life” which deserves our consideration, believes for his part the sound designer Stéphane Larivière.
“The bells of Quebec are disappearing with the churches,” observes Jocelyn Poitras with regret. ” That’s a shame. It’s even sad. The bells have been landmarks, gathering points. They are communication objects, basically. They marked time. They gave the time, for example, to people working in the fields. They prevent fires. In the landscape, they are what we saw first, a bit like the markers on Google maps today! They still say birth like death.
With other comrades, MM. Poitras and Larivière have documented the sounds and appearance of 34 steeples in Quebec. “For us, it is important to keep track of it. »
The land of bells
Quebec bells often came from the United States, but also from Europe. In some cases, they were cast on the spot, by itinerant casters. “Most that I saw up close were made in Troy, New York. It was probably cheaper to have them made in the United States than in Europe,” says Jocelyn Poitras. Some have had several lives. “At Racine, the steeple came from the church of Waterloo. It is a bell made in New England. »
Several Quebec bells were still cast in France or England. In Montreal, the bell of the chapel of Fort Lorette, an evangelistic post of the Iroquois, is one of the oldest in Quebec. It was cast in France in 1732.
Long preserved as a rare artifact of New France, the bell of Fort Lorette disappeared at the end of the 20th century.e century, in nebulous circumstances that led to police action. It was found in the vast collection of bells from a private collection in Rivière-du-Loup held by the company JM Bastille Acier. The Bas-Saint-Laurent company has, as she has already said, “the largest collection of bells in the world”.
The company had confirmed last year to the Homework the presence of this rare bell from New France in his collection, as evidenced by a self-promotional book entitled The tourist chimes of Rivière-du-Loup, where it is highlighted. In 2021, the head of the company had refused to explain to the Homework how such a bell found its way from a public place into this family collection.
According to Québec solidaire MPs Ruba Ghazal and Haroun Bouazzi, this bell is not kept in adequate conditions at all, even though it deserves the highest consideration from the State. In a letter, they urge the Ministry of Culture and Communications to respond favorably to a request for classification of this property in order to avoid, among other things, that the bell ends up outside Quebec. “Foreign interests are watching for the acquisition of this bell, highly coveted for its value and rarity,” said the two elected officials in their letter to Minister Mathieu Lacombe.
The bells first
The bells often disappear before the churches. Stéphane Larivière explains: “the steeples, in buildings, are the most fragile parts”.
Jocelyn Poitras explains: “Often, the water starts by seeping into the steeple. As this is where there are the most mechanical parts and it can become dangerous, we lower the bells…”
In 2013, on Earth Day, while the bells of many churches were ringing, Stéphane Larivière saw for the first time the importance of documenting this voice from the past. He undertook, from there, to collect the sounds of various bell towers, while regretting the disappearance of the bells.
“In Saint-Claude, in Estrie, explains Jocelyn Poitras, there was a beautiful church. She was shaved. At least the bells were kept. With a commemorative plaque. It’s an important symbol, I think. »
bell maker
Bell casters are now rare. Since the Middle Ages, important bells have been made in Normandy, around Villedieu-les-Poêles. Each year, the Cornille Havard foundry, which specializes in monumental bells, produces another hundred or so. It exports bells all over the world, ensures the control of certain restoration projects or sees to the reconstruction of old bells.
At Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, centuries of use of heavy casements had left heavy wear marks in the lower lip of the drones, bells weighing several tons, gradually modifying the structure as much as the sound. It is in Villedieu-les-Poêles that were recast, in 2013, new drones intended for the cathedral.
The bells are made using the lost wax technique already proven by the Egyptians more than 2000 years ago. A wax model, coated with clay. The wax once melted gives way to a mold fixed in the ground. The casting of the metal takes place in a single operation. It is an alloy of copper and tin, melted at 1200°C.
The concert
With the “Bells of Quebec” project, the adventure companions of Jocelyn Poitras found it necessary to at least contribute to preserving the sounds of these striking elements of the Quebec landscape that are the bells. The 34 churches whose bells they were interested in are grouped online.
In Montreal, in the Centre-Sud district, the advanced disintegration of the enormous Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus church, following water infiltration, encouraged the dismantling of its tower erected in 1885. Consequently, the five bells were brought back to the ground, for lack of budget to restore the whole.
André Pappathomas, composer and choirmaster at the Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus church, was upset. On his initiative, the bells were installed indoors to be used as heritage instruments linked to the sound history of an entire district. In January 2021, the bells were reinstalled inside, in the nave, supported by pedestals specially created to support its considerable masses. This original initiative allowed André Pappathomas to offer concerts.
André Pappathomas talks about the bells of this church with passion. “According to the campagnolologist [spécialiste des cloches, clochettes et carillons] Michel Rowan is the only place where the bells have been installed like that. For me, it’s important that we save the bells, as a religious heritage, but also as a sound heritage. It is a call song that has been heard for generations. This song is significant. And we lose it. The churches are silent. »
From 2023, residences for composers will be offered at the Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus church to conceive works for five large bells. “We did an analysis of the harmonic components. Two series of concerts have already been given. The church was full. And I want other composers to come and work with these bells, as concert instruments.