By Anna Valmero, loQal.ph
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA—After nine years of restoration, the University of the Philippines (UP) Carillion will once again serenade students and faculty members of the Diliman campus.
Along with the Oblation statue, the UP Carillion is a landmark in the state university.
“Back in the 1950s and late 1960s, the Carillion was a part of everyday life in UP as it signals the start and end of the day when its chimes ring at 7a.m. and 5p.m, respectively,” says UP Alumni Association (UPAA) president Atty. Gladys Tiongco.
On Monday, the UPAA turned over the Carillon to the university, marking the successful restoration of the this landmark.
More than P10 million worth of alumni donations was spent on the renovation of the tower and purchase of 36 new bells from Royal Bell Foundry Petit & Fritsen B.V. Holland, a Holland bellmaker founded in 1660.
Noted as the first bell tower built in Southeast Asia, the UP Carillion is the only one in the Philippines to be played using a clavier or wooden keyboard.
It was inaugurated in 1952, ten years after it was first conceived by National Artist for Architecture Juan Felipe de Jesus Nakpil (who designed the tower), UP Music conservatory director Ramon Tapales, and UP President Bienvenido Gonzales.
Originally, there were 46 bronze bells housed in the 130-meter high Carillion Tower but limited funds enabled UPAA to purchase 36 bells for now. Tiongco said there are plans to complete the 46 bells.
The bells are connected to a master clock, a synthesizer and a computer awaiting shipment from Belgium, so they can be played without human accompaniment. The installation also includes an oak keyboard designed for “heavy duty” performances.
The newly landscaped Carillion Plaza was also part of the UPAA project. Former senator Richard Gordon donated some P5 million for the repainting and renovation of the Carillion tower, said Tiongco.
“The main objective of rehabilitating the Carillion is to make it part of every UP student's life again so that the new generations can experience what it was like before,” said Tiongco.
Back then, the Carillon serenaded generations of UP students, workers and residents with its signature chimes, even playing classics like “Magtanim Ay Di Biro”, popular songs from the Beatles and the famous labor anthem “L’Internationale” during the Diliman Commune in 1971.
In 1988, however, the carillon became mute after surrendering to time and wear; the bronze bells were out of tune and wooden clavier had crumbled after long hours of play.
It was only in 2007 and 2008 when the bells were recently heard again, in time for the UP centennial celebration.
Tiongco added there are already talks to train students from the College of Music to become carillioners.
The “Save the Carillion Project” was launched in 2005 after initial talks by UP Theatre and Carillon Administrator Dr. Josefina Agravante and then UPAA president and rtired Lt. Gen. Jaime De Los Santos.
“I hope through the restoration project, the UP Carillion becomes a part of every UP visitor's must see in the itinerary because it is a historical landmark befitting of appreciation,” said Tiongco.
(Photo courtesy of the UP Alumni Association)
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