(western) classical music discussion

[Rev. Rye]

Something just went into my head: I remembered the headache it was for Richard Wagner to create a proper bell sound for Parsifal, partly because A) they were really loud, and B) the bells required would have to be of obscenely huge size. So, eventually, he chose to use a combination of four gongs tuned to the pitch in question, tuba, and this:




Also, I should mention that two of my Dad and my favourite summer hangouts are the Botanic Gardens and the Ravinia festival, which are right down the road from one another (quite a ways, but still down the road). Ravinia is, of course, a classic/popular music festival, but the Botanic Gardens also has this:





It's a four-octave carillon. So, I'm thinking that maybe the two venues could cooperate, and have the bells from the carillon simulcast with the opera, playing that C-G-A-E chime whenever the opera needs it, and simulcast those bells to the venue for peak authenticity. Then I looked at the little sign visible around 0:21 in the video. According to the sign, the bells weigh between 24 lbs and 2.5 tons. I ended up cross-referencing it with this website. Alas, it seems that the highest pitch required for the bells is one octave lower than the lowest in the carillon. Well, that idea's proving unfeasible, even disregarding that I have zero pull with either the CBG or Ravinia to request anything like this.