Albert Gerken brings life to KU Campanile
By RICH LOVETT
A dim light greets the visitor as he approaches the narrow, spiral staircase which leads to the 53 bronze bells of KU's Campanile.
Albert C. Gerken, a 28-year-old assistant music theory professor, transmits life to the Caril-
lon. His music has become one of KU's landmarks.
Gerken came to KU from the University of Michigan. There he began his formal study of carilion under the direction of Percival Price, one of the nation's leading carillonneurs.
HE SPENDS from three to four
ALBERT GERKEN
hours a day playing and arranging carillon music.
The mechanism for sounding the bells is a clavier. It is many round, tapered oak levers, each about six inches long. They are connected by wires to the bell clappers.
There is also a set of pedals. These, Gerken said, play some of the longer bells. They are also connected to the clavier. For some of the bells, either the levers or the pedals may be used.
The only similarity between an organ and the carillon is that each has pedals. If the clavier is compared with the keyboard of a piano or organ, the top row of levers represents the black keys, and the bottom row the white keys.
THE CARILLON keys are struck with the side of the closed fist, rather than pressed with the fingers.
To play the largest bell, which weighs seven tons, a force of about 10 pounds is required on its clavier key. Gerken said that if he fails to practice often, his hands become soft and begin to hurt when he plays the carillon again.
FOLLOWING THE chimes, the bell which strikes the hour is supposed to sound a certain number of counts. The timing mechanism is capable of being regulated so precisely that the first note of the chime will strike exactly every 15 minutes.
Although Buildings and Grounds usually adjusts the mechanism twice a week, the weather affects it to such an extent that it would take an impractical number of weekly adjustments to keep it within seconds of the correct time, Gerken explained.
"Once when I thought the bells were way off. I called the Registrar's office and asked if they had
Daily Kansan Monday, December 5, 1986
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Wish You All
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the correct time," Gerken said. "They said they did because they set their clocks with the Campanile."
In winter, ice sometimes freezes on the wires leading to the bell clappers, making a recital almost impossible.
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