Channing Church Chimes Play On – Newport This Week

Each Sunday morning, the air of Pelham Street is punctuated with the sound of chimes. The services at Channing Memorial Church are virtual on Zoom and Facebook, but the chimes are live, played by people inside the steeple.

The chimes play every Sunday from 10:45 to 11:15 a.m. Five dedicated volunteers chime the historic William Blake bells after the 10 a.m. online service. In the bleakness of virtual reality and empty church halls, neighbors wouldnt have it any other way.

It sets a benchmark for the rest of the week, said Paul Doucette, who has lived two houses away for 20 years.

Doucette was raking leaves on this crisp Sunday, enjoying what has been remarkably warm November weather. I was just thinking how lucky I am to rake leaves to a concert, he said.

Across Touro Park, John Gillespie, who has lived within the echoes of the bells for 18 months, was walking his two dogs. I love it, he said. I just think its a nice way to start the day. Its nice to have less tourists and more bells.

Channing Memorial Church has the only mechanically operated chime in Newport and now boasts 17 bells. (Photos by Grace Trofa)

Also walking her dog was Sarah Pierce, who rents an apartment within 20 feet of the church. I used to travel through Europe. I traveled through Spain, and no matter where I was, there was always a church playing bells. It reminds me of that, she said

She found the sounds even richer because people are making them ring in real time. Channing Church has the only mechanically operated chime in Newport. Other churches play electronically generated music.

I especially enjoy them because they are not a machine, she said. People are playing them inside.

There were seven tones last year; now there are nine, for a total of 17 bells.

The volunteers are really skilled chimers, said Channings office administrator Michelle Dubuc. It has been wonderful that during this pandemic we can play the bells and listen, and at last be together in that way. The whole Newport community has enjoyed them, and the weather has been fabulous, she said.

The volunteers who make the music are Linda Beall, Jim Freess, Christine Ariel, Janna Pederson and Cynthia Skelton. Christine Laudon has also been an integral part of the bell restoration and expansion projects, Dubuc said.

The console for the bells is located in a small loft on the second floor of the northwest tower. It looks like a small upright piano, and has 17 short levers, each connected by a steel cable to the clapper of one of the church bells. By pushing down on a lever, a cable pulls on a clapper, striking the immobile bells.

The console dates to 1881, when the original nine bells were installed. They were donated by Mrs. Alfred Smith, wife of the famed real estate agent and developer of Bellevue Avenue, and were cast at the William Blake Foundry of Boston.

The bells were refurbished in Holland in 2007 by the Royal Eijsbouts Foundry, which also cast the seven new ones. Last February, the two latest bells were installed.

Coat and gloves were needed by volunteer Christine Ariel in order to stay warm in the belltower to sound the chimes. By pushing down on a lever, a cable pulls on a clapper, striking the immobile bells.

They all had to be re-tuned by carefully lathing the interiors, a process guided by a sophisticated computer modeling system to create clear, precise tones. The work was done before, during and after the 2008 completion of the tower restoration, with parishioners fearing it wouldnt hold.

Now, nothing can hold back the sound.

In addition to the usual Sunday bells, the chimes will ring on Christmas Eve, from 3 to 4 p.m., and Christmas morning, from 11 to 11:45 a.m.

Tradition of Christmas Chimes

On Christmas Day 2010, chimer Christine Ariel performed the first Channing Church chime concert. At that time, with only 10 bells, there was a lot of improvising, Ariel said.

This year will be the 10th annual chime concert, but the first with the full set of 17 bells.

Ringing bells on Christmas Day is an age-old and popular tradition in Europe, and we are particularly proud to have one of the few instruments that can follow in that tradition, said Ariel, who will be playing with Linda Beall at 11 a.m. We hope everyone will enjoy our selections of both sacred and secular tunes.

For singalong purposes, Ariel provided the following lyrics to a well-known tune:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet, the words repeat, of peace on earth, to all goodwill;

Till ringing, singing on its way, the world revolved from day to day, a voice, a chime, a chant sublime, of peace on earth, to all goodwill.

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Channing Church Chimes Play On - Newport This Week