The Riverside Church was built in neo-Gothic style at the beginning of the 20th century. The architects were Collins and Pelton. John D. Rockefeller Jr. chaired the building commission. The tower is 119 meters (393 feet) tall.
History of the Carillon
The carillon of the Riverside Church is the heaviest in the world. The heaviest bass bell of the carillon is a C0 of about 18,600 kgs. The carillon was a gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr. in memory of his mother. In 1925, the English bell foundry Gillett and Johnson delivered a carillon of 53 bells, the heaviest of which weighed 9,090 kgs. This carillon hang for a while in the tower of the Park Avenue Baptist Church. When the new tower of the Riverside Church was finished in 1931, the carillon was expanded to total 72 bells. In 1956 disaster struck after the Dutch bell foundry Van Bergen recast 56 of the Gillett and Johnson bells. The recasting was done to improve the acoustic quality of the bells, but was no success. For the heaviest bells to be played, the carillon had a mechanical system, which was removed during the restoration. Five of the heaviest bells could also be swayed. There was also a drum-speeltrommel in Dutch-on which tunes could be programmed. In 2003 a full restoration was undertaken, under the supervision of the carilloneur from New-Zealand, Timothy Hurd. So that the sound of the carillon could be heard better and from afar, the mechanical system was removed and all the Van Bergen bells of 1956 were recast by the English bell foundry Whitechapel. The carillon also acquired a new mechanism and a keyboard.
Playing schedules and Carilloneurs
On Sundays, Dionisio A. Lind plays at 10.30, 12.30 and 15.00, before the church services begin.
Past carilloneurs include Anton Brees, (ca.1925), Kamiel Lefévere (1927-1960), James R. Lawson (1960-1989) and Joseph Clair Davis (1990-1998).
The tower from the Riverside Church, New York USA.
The heaviest bass bell of the carillon , about 18,600 kgs. in 1930 cast by Gillett en Johnston (UK).
James R. Lawson