“It would be a shame not to have new generations capable of playing it”: the Rouen carillon celebrates ten years of its new life

If the carillon of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) has not yet had the honors of cinema like that of the belfry of Bergues (North), it is nonetheless celebrating the 10th anniversary of its restoration this weekend. Installed in the 1920s in the Butter Tower of Notre-Dame Cathedral, the instrument moved in 2016 to the other side of the square, in the Saint-Romain Tower where the “Joan of Arc”, a 9.5-ton drone, the largest of the 64 bells that make it up, or a total of 36 tons of bronze, made it the heaviest carillon in France.

“This renovation, this reconstruction itself, was essential,” recalls Patrice Latour, one of the two titular carillonneurs. “Between 2010 and 2015, it became impossible to play it.” Supported by the Drac, the project made it possible to recreate a bright space, accessible to the public in small groups at the top of a staircase of 129 steps, thirty meters from the ground. At its heart, the carillonneur’s cabin is perched, and overlooks another instrument, this one for study, to train new musicians.

“We are fortunate to have today an exceptional instrument, in perfect condition. It would be a shame not to have new generations capable of playing it,” insists his colleague, Vincent Bénard.

See you Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

With a sparkling look in his eyes, the latter insists on the popular nature of the carillon, “which plays for what I call the 1,000 ears, all these people down there who can benefit from it”. Free and without reservation at least every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to noon. And at the end of the group visits, a good hundred times a year. With a repertoire that ranges from classics to French and international song hits, even music from the world of video games.

And as a bonus, one Saturday a month, the voices of passers-by brought together by “Let’s sing under the bells”, an idea launched in 2023 where everyone is invited to sing four songs in unison with the carillon, guided by singer Amélie Affagard. This will also be the case this Saturday, May 2, from 11:30 a.m. in the gardens of the sumptuous Albane courtyard.

“It’s an initiative that interests other carillonneurs,” underlines Patrice Latour who will soon go to Dijon (Côte-d’Or) to share his experience with one of his counterparts, Adrien Paret who is also coming to give a concert this Saturday at 4 p.m. One of the appointments of these two days of celebration where the luckiest will perhaps even enjoy a visit to the instrument. Complete program on the Rouen Cathedral Carillon Association website: www.carillon-rouen.fr