With the aim of preserving the intangible heritage of bell ringing, recognized by both the Generalitat and UNESCO, a pioneering school of bell ringers in Catalonia was born in La Vall d’en Bas. The objective is to recover both traditional sounds and techniques (which have almost been lost today).
The idea of ??creating the school was born in 2020, jointly between the council and the Garrotxa bell ringer Xavier Pallàs, who carried out an inventory of the almost 200 bell towers in the region, many of which were “in very poor condition” or they had incorporated automatic systems.
The alma mater of the new school is the Garrotxa bell ringer Xavier Pallàs, who wants to contribute in this way to advance so that “each bell tower in Catalonia can have its own bell ringer.”
In ancient times, the sound of bells was omnipresent and constituted one of the most important elements of the soundscape of towns. The arrival of first the new means of communication, and then electricity, relegated these ringing to a secondary role, and little by little the bell ringers began to disappear.
But as the mayor of Vall d’en Bas, Lluís Amat, explains, the sound of the bells “has an undeniable richness” and “is an intrinsic part of popular culture”, as attested to popular phrases such as ‘making the height of a bell tower’ (when talking about nonsense) or ‘bell ringing’ (when not going to class).
“Talking to people in the villages you realize that the bells no longer ring like they did before,” explains Pallàs. All this “came together” and ended up becoming the embryo of the new school of bell ringers, which will see the light of day this October and for which registration has already been opened.
The school will be based in the bell tower of Sant Romà de Joanetes. According to Xavier Pallàs, it has the ideal characteristics to learn to play manually, because there are four bells here – the oldest, dating from 1826 – and they are well preserved.
Furthermore, Joanetes is also where the last Garrotxa bell ringer, Llorenç Llongarriu, was, in whose honor the school will be named.
“I still remember when dad asked me to let him know when people were entering the church, and the feeling he left me when he pulled the rope to ring the bells; it is a feeling that must be experienced, and that has left me with immense desire to continue his legacy,’ explains Albert Llongarriu, his son, who will be part of the first batch of the new school.
Classes at the new bell ringing school will begin in mid-October and will last until the end of June. Unlike other courses that have been held in places in Catalonia such as Cervera, Tarragona or Les Borges Blanques – among others – here what is new about the school is the methodology that will be used.
Theoretical classes will be taught where, among others, the different ways of ringing that exist in Catalonia will be taught – “the sound of the bells is a universal sound with a local language,” Pallàs specifies – or both liturgical ringing and civilians (for example, during a somaten or when bad weather is announced).
In addition, technical notions will be taught so that students know how to preserve the bells, the importance of their ringing both in the peninsula and in Europe and the intangible value of their sound will be delved into. The new school offers twelve places for students between 14 and 74 years old. The theoretical part, which will have experts in the various topics, will take place on Saturdays in Can Trona; and the practical part, in the Joanetes bell tower (in groups of six students).
