Golden Age of Russian bell culture

The term of bell culture is a complex one and includes a number of diverse issues. Of greatestsignificance are the manufacturing and organological aspects. Given the environment of the evolution of the Russian bells traditions,bells casting, belfry tools and art of zvon (bell ringing) were tightly interconnected. These are the main focus of the present paper. Forpre-revolutionary Russia, the author distinguishes four periods of the history of Russian bell culture (i) 11th to 13th cc.; (ii) 14th to end-15th cc.; (iii) end-15th to 17th cc.; and (iv) 18th to early 20th cc. The first period spans predominantly over the pre-Golden Horde times.It is characterised by paucity of the bells, their small size and mostly foreign origin. However, back then, Rus starts to develop its ownbell craft. There were no particular architectural bell facilities. Zvon was produced in the Western style by swinging the bell itself. Ingeneral, there were only two bells per church (used for signalling purposes). In the second period particular bell architectural structuresappeared - churches ''for bells''. The bells were moved from the ground to the top, and mounted in the temple, around the dome drum,and this evidences the early manifestations of national traits in the nascent art of zvon. This also embraces the trends in technical designand musical performance. Little changes though could be seen in bell casting: Russians continue to adopt the craft from Europe. In thethird period, the development pattern of the Russian bell culture reflects the thrust of the era of the emerging independent and strongMuscovy. Russia becomes the world leader of bells casting: the Russian shape of the bells appears, and new technology is elaborated forcasting gigantic bells. In the meantime, new types of architectural structures for bells are designed, including the chamber belfry and thebell tower. The zvon starts to be produced by pulling the rope attached to the bell clapper. As of the end of the 17th c., this method ofzvon spreads almost everywhere. A significant role is played by bellmen. They lay the foundations for the new zvon technique, and theirpractice completes the process of formation of the genre system of the Russian Orthodox zvon. In the fourth period, we can see thedownturn in the positive dynamics of the bell culture evolution. At this point, one might mention sporadic positive processes, but ingeneral, this stage is not characterised by bright upswings and drastic changes of the past. Comparing the development stages of theRussian bell culture, the author concludes that the third period was the most intensive and rich in principally important achievements. Itsend is marked by the final shaping of the national features of this phenomenon in all of its aspects both in bell casting, belfry tools, andin the art of zvon. Of special importance is the role of the 17th c., which the author defines as the Golden Age of the Russian bellculture.

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