The State Government of Victoria commissioned The Federation Bells Melbourne in 1998. The project marked the centenary of Federation of the State of Victoria. You can read the history here.
Refurbishment
In 2009 the City of Melbourne and Arts Victoria first asked Spring Innovations, a subsidiary of Spring Studio, to repair the playing mechanisms of the 39 upturned bronze bells so the carillon was more reliable.
The existing installation had many many problems, which led to the Bells eventually requiring completely new mechanisms and control systems. Spring Innovations came up with a musicianly approach and so won the tender to design, develop and manufacture a new state of the art system in 2011.
Above are the actual actuators hand built by us for the installation. As of 2023, the bells have rung a total of 190,264,000 times since we started counting in 2011. Note: I just downloaded the log and find its really odd that the ;ast three digits are 000. The chance of that are: well: 1000:1 against.
Heres the log in detail
Bell Week ending 2023-01-01 Total up to 2023-01-01 1 5714 3221494 2 3948 2608978 3 6916 3429763 4 4361 1651896 5 5357 1703015 6 6348 2801812 7 3340 1585240 8 8094 2794479 9 4270 1741080 10 4535 2094140 11 3104 1676289 12 3676 1935866 13 11292 4128045 14 5069 2588497 15 14338 6044747 16 9465 5197399 17 8666 3396272 18 11255 4887500 19 15206 7362486 20 3364 1650526 21 26000 11500538 22 8814 3702343 23 11641 6416094 24 3166 1409410 25 13477 6117318 26 12698 5300793 27 35687 15673714 28 21759 10738780 29 14648 6065891 30 10955 6695551 31 24769 10725404 32 5755 2578724 33 27705 12568997 34 5845 2620439 35 11633 6331907 36 4739 1795178 37 14250 5778429 38 8267 3669790 39 19971 8075176 190,264,000
The new system comprises a remotely programmable server which stores and plays back hundreds of original compositions in playlists that we compile and schedule, to the delight of casual visitors.
The system reveals the full potential of the Bells, thereby giving the composer full control over the dynamic range of each bell.. Terry McDermott wrote the playback software using MAX MSP.
This drives three sixteen channel FGPA based controllers built by our associates, Considered Solutions in Sydney. The pulses that energise the Federation Bells then drive 39 custom Voice Coil Actuators designed and built by Spring Studios, each mounted in a 3 axis adjustable saddle, to ensure a repeatable stroke. (see photo below of the smallest bell and actuator – about a coffee cup sized)
Swift and accurate public musical instrument
The whole system has a response that is swift and accurate, and highly responsive, unlike many carillons. This allows the composer to develop orchestral like crescendos, muted accompaniment to a melody and many other advanced articulations.
Live public performances launched the refurbishment in April 2012. Acclaimed Diva Deborah Cheetham wrote and performed a special piece for voice and Bells.
Harry demonstrated the dynamic range and precise time keeping of the new system by playing a medley in complex tempos.
A well attended night-time concert of new music wrapped up the launch.
Spring Studio collaborated with the owners to upgrade the lighting system which lead to the music changing the lighting in real time.
Multicolored LED spotlights made in Germany pick up the distinctive shapes of the bells at night. The lighting system incorporates protection against overheating, a important consideration as the world warms.
Momentary temperature measurements are logged and compared to safe limits, so temperature sensitive components are automatically protected against overheating. At the Federation Bells Melbourne it can exceed 40 degrees for several days. This is an important consideration for the protection of this iconic installation, which receives many thousands of enthusiastic visitors annually.
Recycling
Spring Innovations adopted a damaged City of Melbourne Sign Box, marked for recycling. We installed several new items.
- A bright video monitor, which shows current events and items of interest.
- A WiFi hot-spot to allow visitors to play the Bells via the ground breaking app.
- A logging thermal probe to help with temperature management.
- A networked MIDI interface so keyboards can directly control the Bells for a live performance.
Spring Innovations continues to develop and manage the remote control access so the curator can arrange daily schedules remotely.
We provide secure access to the Server to facilitate Arts Programs
Federation Bells – features
- Spring Innovations designed and built the bell playing mechanisms to use a sophisticated programmable FGPA controller and so the bell strokes can be adjusted in several ways, remotely.
- The system listens to itself play each bell several times, early every morning and thus the software delivers an assessment report by email twice weekly.
- The curators upload and play new compositions in moments.
- AFL Team Anthems for each team in turn sound as fans flock to the nearby MCG to support their heroes. This has led to reduced graffiti and damage.
- We celebrate Christmas, the New Year, and other significant occasions with Special Compositions
- Suitable music celebrated key International and Civic events.
- Composers may win a substantial prize for new works.
- Play-lists draw from many hundreds of increasingly sophisticated compositions submitted by local and visiting composers.
- Large groups of schoolchildren make the Federation Bells a ‘must see’ destination and so there is a real buzz on-site.
- the Bells provide a delightful sense of wonder and fun as a result of the app interactivity.
Increasingly complex pieces
In recent years the reliability of the system has improved to about 99.8% and so composers can write increasingly complex pieces.
This has led to many outstanding compositions in our play lists. Pieces are written by people from all walks of life, from young children to professionals.
We enjoy playing original works when we work on the Bells because we engage visitors with information about the history of the bells and their special characteristics.
International Jazz Festival
Barney McCall composed a piece for his Jazz Band A.S.I.O. and Bells, entitled ‘Transitive Cycles‘.
It features several difficult time signatures which likewise push the Band and the instrument to their limits.
Free app for the Federation Bells
- The App Incorporates a sequencer and sound samples which therefore is able to record and store new tunes. Once stored, the real bells finally play the tune.
- Visitors can also play back their original compositions off line, anywhere, any time.
- A visitor is able to access the bells most days via a phone app on – site, in between schedules, and early evening
- The App includes a simple game and viewer to show what pieces are playing and scheduled, and much more besides.
- The app is available for both iPhone and Android.
Spring Studio produced the free stereo bell sample set which is available as a Kontakt Patch from this page
A professional composer is now able to incorporate real Bell sounds in larger compositions created on a DAW (workstation).