Netherlands Carillon

The Netherlands Carillon is a 127-foot (39-m)-tall campanile housing a 53-bell carillon located in Arlington County, Virginia, United States.

The instrument and tower were given in the 1950s "From the People of the Netherlands to the People of the United States of America" to thank the United States for its contributions to the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945 and for its economic aid in the years after. The Netherlands Carillon is a historic property listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Arlington Ridge Park, which is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It is owned and operated by the National Park Service.

The carillon is situated on a ridge overlooking the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., and it provides expansive views of the National Mall, West Potomac Park (its original, temporary location), and Arlington National Cemetery. Its adjacency to the Marine Corps War Memorial to the north and Arlington National Cemetery to the south draws 1.2 million visitors annually, including recreational visitors from Rosslyn's residential areas.

Throughout the day, the carillon automatically plays the Westminster Quarters. On significant days of the year in Dutch and American culture, it plays automated concerts, and from June to August, the director-carillonist Edward Nassor hosts a concert series whereby visiting carillonists perform weekly concerts on the instrument.

History

thumb|Netherlands Carillon in [[Arlington County, Virginia]]

In late 1951, Govert L. Verheul, press officer of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs in The Hague, proposed that the Netherlands present a gift to the United States to commemorate their actions during and after World War II and as a symbol of the two countries' lasting friendship. He came up with the idea of gifting a carillon when washing dishes one night and accidentally clinking wine glasses together. Consequently, a large-scale fundraising campaign was launched, and it received an enthusiastic response. It was eventually endorsed by Queen Juliana. On April 4, 1952, she visited the United States to present a small silver bell to President Harry S. Truman as a token of the carillon that was to come. In ceremonies at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C., the queen spoke of the importance of the small bells of the future instrument:

The Netherlands Carillon found itself in bad shape again less than twenty years later. Due to severe rusting and fears of structural instability, the tower was closed to the public in the early 2010s. In 2016, the National Park Service and Royal Netherlands Embassy launched a campaign to fundraise money for a $5,800,000 () restoration of the carillon. The Park Service committed $4 million. In October 2019, the third renovation of the carillon was officially launched. The National Park Service was tasked with work on the tower, while the Royal Netherlands Embassy was tasked with work on the carillon. The carillon was transported to the Royal Eijsbouts foundry and arrived on December 3, 2019. In celebration of the Dutch "75 Years of Freedom" campaign, the carillon received three new bells with each dedicated to an American who had a significant impact on Dutch and American society: General George C. Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., and Eleanor Roosevelt. The addition of these three bells converted the carillon to a concert pitch instrument and upgraded it to "grand carillon" status. The tower required extensive restorative work to the steel plates and inner structure of the tower. Additional supports were installed to account for the added weight of the three new bells.

The first carillon at the Arlington National Cemetery was installed by Amvets in 1949 and dedicated by President Truman.

Design and symbolism

Carillon

In the early 1950s, there were three major Dutch bell founders: Van Bergen, Royal Eijsbouts and Petit & Fritsen. In order to avoid showing favoritism, all three founders were asked to cast the original forty-nine bells jointly and anonymously between 1952 and 1953.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"

|+ class="nowrap" | Original 49 Bells' Dedications and Inscriptions

The 2019–21 renovation increased the size of the carillon to 53 bells, all cast by Royal Eijsbouts, and converted the instrument to concert pitch. These three additional bells are dedicated jointly to "75 Years of Freedom" and individually to people who had a major impact on the Netherlands and the United States during and after World War II: 1) General George C. Marshall for his role in the Marshall Plan, from which the Netherlands received over $1 billion for post-war reconstruction efforts; 2) the Martin Luther King Jr., for his role as the voice of the American civil rights movement; and 3) Eleanor Roosevelt, for her role as an advocate for social justice and human rights.

! scope="col" | Weight

! scope="col" | Diameter

! scope="col" | Additional inscriptions

! scope="row" | General George C. Marshall

| B0 || || || Classic Dutch imagery and coat of arms on upper rim; "75 Years of Freedom" logo

! scope="row" | Martin Luther King Jr.

| B4 || || || Dutch coat of arms, the year "2020"

! scope="row" | Eleanor Roosevelt

| C5 || || || Dutch coat of arms, the year "2020"

Tower

The carillon's bells hang dead in a tower approximately high, long, and wide. The original plans had called for the structure to be tall, but was then reduced after receiving concerns about its height in relationship to the Lincoln Memorial from the Commission of Fine Arts. The Netherlands Carillon is the first modernist steel memorial associated with the otherwise classical stone architecture found on the National Mall.

Grounds

thumb|The Netherlands Carillon's bronze lions overlooking the garden of tulips.

The Netherlands Carillon stands on a quartzite plaza and is enclosed by a low lava stone wall. Two bronze lions, which represent the Dutch royal family, guard the entrance to the plaza. They were designed by Dutch sculptor Paul Philip Koning. The Netherlands Carillon is located just north of Arlington National Cemetery and south of the Marine Corps War Memorial. It is administered by the National Park Service as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway complex in Arlington Ridge Park.

thumb|right|The keyboard through which the Netherlands Carillon can be played manually.

Mondays through Saturdays at noon and 6:00 PM
Medley of armed forces anthems
Stars and Stripes Forever
Sundays at noon
Star-Spangled Banner
Wilhelmus (the Dutch national anthem)
Stars and Stripes Forever
Sundays at 6:00 PM
Star-Spangled Banner
America the Beautiful
Eternal Father, Strong To Save (the Navy Hymn)
May 5 (Dutch Liberation Day) at noon and 6:00 PM
Star-Spangled Banner
Wilhelmus (the Dutch national anthem)
September 2 at 9:04 AM (The time at which the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri in 1945.)
Star-Spangled Banner
America the Beautiful
Eternal Father, Strong To Save
Thanksgiving Day at noon and 6:00 PM
Simple Gifts
We Gather Together
December 31 at 6:00 PM
Auld Lang Syne

During the months of June, July, and August, director-carillonist Edward Nassor organizes weekly concerts and recitals on Saturday afternoons. Carillonists from across the world are invited to play various styles of music each week. A schedule of concerts and visiting carillonists is published on the National Park Service's website in the months before the season begins.

References

External links

National Park Service official site
President Truman's full remarks on accepting the Netherlands Carillon, April 4, 1952
Correspondence between President Eisenhower and Queen Juliana upon the finished campanile, May 5, 1960
Flickr album of the 2019–21 renovation of the Netherlands Carillon
Flickr album of the 2016 Dutch Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Netherlands Carillon