Tuesday, May 22, 2007

hoping for the bells to ring again...

carillon2
The Carillon, University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman, Quezon City

carillon
“Like the oblation, the UP Carillon is an iconic monument that symbolizes what the university means to alumni, students and visitors. The campus landmark evokes varied memories or associations for everyone.”


there were bells on a hill
but i never heard them ringing
no i never heard them at all
till there was you....

It was in the early 50s that the Carillon Project was undertaken by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA), right after the University campus was moved to Diliman in 1948. The bells in the tower were installed and played first by Belgian carilloneur. Likewise, the UP Newsletter was officially called Carillon, published on a regular basis.

Now, years after, the Carillon becomes “an unlikely ghost of a glorious past.” Maintenance has never been good that the carillon bells and apparatus are now deteriorated and the tower itself looks grimy and weather-beaten. But the good thing is, there’s an effort to restore this iconic structure through, “The Bells of Diliman” project. This is of course in time for the University's 2008 Centennial Celebration. The project has two main objectives: to restore the campanile, its tower and surroundings; and to institutionalize the Carillon's operation and maintenance.

I hope to hear them ringing soon! ;-)

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Most of the info were taken from "Save the UP Carillon" by columnist, Elmer A Ordoñez of the Manila Times's The Other View, published Dec. 2006.

4 comments:

Sidney said...

Another Belgian - Filipino link?
Still looks good, it shouldn't cost too much to repair!

Anonymous said...

nice... very very nice... :)

pieterbie said...

A typical Belgian art, it seems, but I admit that I'm not the biggest fan of this form of music. This structure is very a-typical of the Philippines, or am I mistaken? I'm glad you liked my sunset, and yes, it was a great coincidence that we took and thought of the same kind of photo at the same time. BTW: we don't have an ocean bordering Belgium, it is in fact the Channel between mainland Europe and England :-)

Anonymous said...

sidney,
yea another link. for me personally, i have more Belgian connections than i could ever imagine. let's start with the fact that i used to have a Belgian family as neighbor. and that the dad's name is Peter. and that i've gone closed to their children so much so that i actually cried when they left for Brussels...i was still in high school then. the list goes on.

rhodyl,
thanks...i can't follow your link though.

peter,
what do you mean by "this form of music"? i wouldn't say this structure is typical here in the Philippines. our country is influenced by a great mix of European and Oriental archi style. most of the structure i show here is from the UP campus, wherein the architural structure is mostly influenced by the West i.e., huge and tall pillars, huge windows, brick style roof, etc. I am not familiar with the terms. but outside the campus, it's a bit different...

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