After a long period of dormancy, the chimes of the National Carillon are set to ring around Lake Burley Griffin again this weekend, the National Capital Authority has announced.
The Summer Sunday Sessions Series will explore the range of the carillon, while also allowing the carillonists to continue to test new instrumentation installed earlier this year.
One of the world’s heaviest such instruments and the largest of just three in Australia, the carillon was gifted to Canberra by the British government in 1967 to commemorate the city’s golden jubilee.
In 2019, it was upgraded with a new clavier, a replaced transmission and two new bells, but not long after that it was closed for specialist facade cleaning, concrete repairs, renewal of external panel joint seals, roof system upgrades, glazing works, and the installation of additional fixings for cladding support and went silent.
It has taken years for the work to be completed, with a momentary pause to its hibernation in 2022 when it joined bell towers all around the world in sending out a message of peace through Ukrainian songs and folk tunes.
The summer series will kick off with a selection of songs on the themes of Christmas, peace and Australia, including Jingle Bells, Scarborough Fair and I am Australian, and the NCA recommends Queen Elizabeth II Island, Kings Park and the space outside the National Gallery as the best vantage points for listening.
National Carillon recital, Queen Elizabeth II Island, Lake Burley Griffin, 11am, December 15.
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