Historic Downtown Frederick, MD
Bell & History Days Handbell Festival Kicks off Civil War 150th Anniversary
Sunday, April 3
View Saturday's Bell & History Day Activities
Hundreds of bells, along with horns, timpani, organ and voice, will open the new museum season in Frederick County and herald Sesquicentennial commemorations in the Heart of the Civil war, during the Bell & History Handbell Festival on Sunday, April 3 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The 5 p.m. concert will include mass rings of two special arrangements of Civil War hymns from 1861 - Maryland, My Maryland and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Nine bell ensembles will play solo and additional mass ring selections. There is no charge, no reservations are necessary, and the public is invited. The concert will last about an hour.
Nine local handbell ensembles will play en masse and with solo selections for this year's festival, which is coordinate by Dr. Elizabeth Krouse who is active with the American Guild of Organists and currently serves as organist for the Basilica at the Seton Shrine. The conductors of the mass ring selections include, Pam Ion, who is the founder and director of the Alpha4 Handbell Ensemble, an independent group that regularly plays for community events, and John Widmann who currently serves as City Carilloneur for the City of Frederick and Director of Music for Frederick Presbyterian Church.
For the mass-ring selections, Mr. Wilmot will direct two pieces - a traditional German folk tune, Music Alone Shall Live, and his own arrangement of Maryland, My Maryland, which in 1939 was designated the Maryland state song. The lyrics by James Ryder Randall were prompted after events that led to the first bloodshed of the Civil War on April 19, 1961 in Baltimore. The poem, with its sympathy for the southern cause, was first published April 26, 1861, which happens to be the day that the Maryland Legislature began to meet in Special Session in Frederick, to debate secession.
A spectacular, premier of a new arrangement of the Battle Hymn of the Republic will conclude the concert. Conductor Pam Ion, in collaboration with renowned handbell composer, Cynthia Dobrinski, has arranged a new version and invited guest musicians on a variety of instrument to accompany the bells and chimes. Like Maryland, My Maryland, the Battle Hymn lyrics also date from 1861. Julia Ward Howe penned the verse after a visit to Union army encampments near Washington in November 1861.
Both Civil War selections are 150 years old in 2011, and their performance at the Emmitsburg location is apt. Emmitsburg is situated along the Mason-Dixon Line, generally viewed as the dividing line between North and South. The geographic location draws attention to Maryland's border state status. Further, the National Shrine St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is a place where Civil War soldiers camped and were cared for by the religious community founded by the first US-born canonized Saint.
In addition to the mass selections, each participating group will play a solo selection. A diverse repertoire will be presented, including secular and sacred music. Choirs from the following churches will participate: Calvary United Methodist Church (Frederick), Frederick Presbyterian Church, Glade United Church of Christ (Walkersville), Graceham Moravian Church (Thurmont), Evangelical Lutheran Church - Zion (Middletown), Peace in Christ Lutheran Church (Walkersville), St. Anthony/Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Emmitsburg), and St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Smithsburg), . The size of the groups varies but includes several large choirs playing four or five octaves of handbells and up to three octaves of handchimes. Alpha4, a small, independent four-in-hand ensemble, will also perform. This group demonstrates the interlocking handbell technique that allows each member to play with two to three bells in each hand, meaning that each person is holding and ringing anywhere from four to six bells at any given time.
View Saturday's Bell & History Day Activities. For more information about Bell and History Day on April 2, and the Bell and History Day Handbell Festival on April 3 please call the Visitor Center at (301) 600-4047.
Contact: Elizabeth Scott Shatto, Coordinator, Frederick Historic Sites Consortium, (301) 600-4042
The Bell and History Handbell Festival is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Additional support was provided by the Historic Frederick Best Western, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Tourism Council of Frederick County.
View Saturday's Bell & History Day Activities
Hundreds of bells, along with horns, timpani, organ and voice, will open the new museum season in Frederick County and herald Sesquicentennial commemorations in the Heart of the Civil war, during the Bell & History Handbell Festival on Sunday, April 3 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The 5 p.m. concert will include mass rings of two special arrangements of Civil War hymns from 1861 - Maryland, My Maryland and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Nine bell ensembles will play solo and additional mass ring selections. There is no charge, no reservations are necessary, and the public is invited. The concert will last about an hour.
Nine local handbell ensembles will play en masse and with solo selections for this year's festival, which is coordinate by Dr. Elizabeth Krouse who is active with the American Guild of Organists and currently serves as organist for the Basilica at the Seton Shrine. The conductors of the mass ring selections include, Pam Ion, who is the founder and director of the Alpha4 Handbell Ensemble, an independent group that regularly plays for community events, and John Widmann who currently serves as City Carilloneur for the City of Frederick and Director of Music for Frederick Presbyterian Church.
For the mass-ring selections, Mr. Wilmot will direct two pieces - a traditional German folk tune, Music Alone Shall Live, and his own arrangement of Maryland, My Maryland, which in 1939 was designated the Maryland state song. The lyrics by James Ryder Randall were prompted after events that led to the first bloodshed of the Civil War on April 19, 1961 in Baltimore. The poem, with its sympathy for the southern cause, was first published April 26, 1861, which happens to be the day that the Maryland Legislature began to meet in Special Session in Frederick, to debate secession.
A spectacular, premier of a new arrangement of the Battle Hymn of the Republic will conclude the concert. Conductor Pam Ion, in collaboration with renowned handbell composer, Cynthia Dobrinski, has arranged a new version and invited guest musicians on a variety of instrument to accompany the bells and chimes. Like Maryland, My Maryland, the Battle Hymn lyrics also date from 1861. Julia Ward Howe penned the verse after a visit to Union army encampments near Washington in November 1861.
Both Civil War selections are 150 years old in 2011, and their performance at the Emmitsburg location is apt. Emmitsburg is situated along the Mason-Dixon Line, generally viewed as the dividing line between North and South. The geographic location draws attention to Maryland's border state status. Further, the National Shrine St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is a place where Civil War soldiers camped and were cared for by the religious community founded by the first US-born canonized Saint.
In addition to the mass selections, each participating group will play a solo selection. A diverse repertoire will be presented, including secular and sacred music. Choirs from the following churches will participate: Calvary United Methodist Church (Frederick), Frederick Presbyterian Church, Glade United Church of Christ (Walkersville), Graceham Moravian Church (Thurmont), Evangelical Lutheran Church - Zion (Middletown), Peace in Christ Lutheran Church (Walkersville), St. Anthony/Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Emmitsburg), and St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Smithsburg), . The size of the groups varies but includes several large choirs playing four or five octaves of handbells and up to three octaves of handchimes. Alpha4, a small, independent four-in-hand ensemble, will also perform. This group demonstrates the interlocking handbell technique that allows each member to play with two to three bells in each hand, meaning that each person is holding and ringing anywhere from four to six bells at any given time.
View Saturday's Bell & History Day Activities. For more information about Bell and History Day on April 2, and the Bell and History Day Handbell Festival on April 3 please call the Visitor Center at (301) 600-4047.
Contact: Elizabeth Scott Shatto, Coordinator, Frederick Historic Sites Consortium, (301) 600-4042
The Bell and History Handbell Festival is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Additional support was provided by the Historic Frederick Best Western, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Tourism Council of Frederick County.
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