Ronald Montague Barnes (June 11, 1927 – November 3, 1997) was an American carillonist, composer, and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

. He first began playing the carillon as a teenager at his hometown's church. In 1952, at 24 years old, he was appointed to play the carillon at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, where he developed as a musician. He was later the carillonist for the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...

from 1963 to 1975 and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, from 1982 until his retirement in 1995. He was an involved member of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, having served as its president, vice president, and several other roles. Barnes produced 56 original compositions and hundreds of

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s. He was a major force in establishing an American approach to writing music. He also influenced how people play the carillon. Much of his music is considered the standard repertoire for carillon students and professionals. He published editions of early carillon manuscripts and sought to develop standards for carillon performance, repertoire, and design and construction. The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America maintains a memorial

scholarship fund A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research ...

in his name to advance research of the carillon in North America.

Biography

Early life, military career, and education

Ronald Montague Barnes was born on June 11, 1927, and raised in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. In 1931, at about the age of four, Barnes and his parents attended the dedication of the new

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

at First Plymouth Congregational Church in his hometown. As a teenager, Barnes took

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

lessons at the church. When the current carillonneur was moving away, his teacher recommended he learn to play the carillon as well. The church's carillon was in a bad condition and about half of the

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

s were unable to be rung. He and his older brother cleaned the instrument and lubricated the moving parts to the best of their ability. Having no carillon music to use, Barnes began playing

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

on the instrument. The local churchgoers were surprised that their church's carillon had twice as many bells as they originally thought. Barnes studied at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

and earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree in 1950. During the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Barnes served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a specialist working with navigational instruments and as a

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

of a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

. After his service as a sailor, he used the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

to earn a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1961. While studying there, he played the university's carillon in

Hoover Tower Hoover Tower is a structure on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. The tower houses the Hoover Institution Library and Archives, an archive collection founded by Herbert Hoover before he became president of ...

. For his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

, he studied the carillon preludes of

Matthias Vanden Gheyn Matthias Vanden Gheyn ( or ; 7 April 1721 – 22 June 1785) was a Flemish people, Flemish musician from the Classical period (music)#Baroque/Classical transition c. 1750–1760, Baroque/Classical transition period. He is a descendant ...

. In 1948, Barnes attended the annual

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. There, he joined the organization, played an advancement recital to become recognized as a professional carillonneur, and met other professional players for the first time. Following the congress, Barnes traveled to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, to study the carillon at the

Peace Tower The Peace Tower () is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower, after the latter burned down in ...

with Robert Donnell for one summer; this was his only formal education on the carillon.

Career

In 1951, Barnes accepted an appointment at the

to play its carillon, teach

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

, and care for the university's instrument collection. The administration expected brief daily concerts at noon and longer evening recitals twice per week. Barnes's music library was small and consisted of pieces of "questionable artistic significance", but fortunately the university was largely ignorant with respect to performance standards. Through this carillon, Barnes was first exposed to the sound of heavy, English-made bells, which influenced his ideas regarding the carillon's

timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...

. Barnes encouraged both Kansas faculty and students to compose for carillon. For example, John Pozdro, a teacher of

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and composition, produced his first work for carillon in 1953 called ''Landscape''. Roy Hamlin Johnson, a piano teacher, produced his first work, ''Summer Fanfares'', in 1956. Gary White, a student and later graduate assistant, produced his first work, ''Toccata and Fugue'', in 1962. Barnes moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1963 to become the first carillonneur for the

. Workplace politics made it difficult for him to focus on writing new music. In 1975, a financial emergency at the cathedral led to his

full-time job A full-time job is employment in which workers work a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer. Overview Fulltime employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible worke ...

being abolished the following year. He began a self-supporting career of drawing, publishing, and selling whimsical sketches featuring fictional carillons and organs interspersed with animals and people. These images were highly coveted by his peers. In 1982, the

, contacted Barnes to solicit an opinion on who should be appointed to play their Class of 1928 Carillon and hired him when they discovered that he was available for the position. Barnes oversaw the carillon's enlargement and several repairs, and composed prolifically for the carillon. In 1982, he founded the Berkeley Carillon Institute, a

music library A music library contains music-related materials for patron use. Collections may also include non-print materials, such as digitized music scores or audio recordings. Use of such materials may be limited to specific patron groups, especially in pr ...

and

publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. Within the GCNA, Barnes was the editor of music publications, the organization's

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

, and an

adjudicator An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performan ...

for its annual membership examinations. As editor of its scholarly journal, ''The Bulletin'', he published nine issues between 1957 and 1961. He was vice president for four terms (1958–1962) and was president for three terms (1962–1965). He hosted the GCNA's annual congress three times: at the University of Kansas in 1956, at the Washington National Cathedral in 1964, and at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988.

Later life and death

Barnes's failing eyesight forced him to stop performing and composing in 1994, and by 1995, he had retired from his position at Berkeley. In early 1997, Barnes had begun feeling very sick and in the late summer of 1997, he had been diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. Barnes died of the disease in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on November 3, 1997. In 1998, the GCNA established a memorial

in his name to support the future of the carillon art in North America. In 2007, after the fund had received enough donations and purchased enough investments, the first grant was awarded. It is now awarded annually. While, in the past, North Americans have taken advantage of scholarships to study the carillon in Europe, Barnes's memorial fund is the first grant program to exist in North America. According to the GCNA, Barnes was a gay man.

Legacy

As president of the GCNA and editor of its journal ''The Bulletin'', Barnes worked to set new standards for performance quality, selection of music, and sophistication in the design and construction of carillons. He was a proponent of the word ''carillonist'' rather than ''carillonneur'' to refer to players of the carillon. He argued that it is gender inclusive, easier to pronounce and spell, and in line with the naming conventions of other types of instrumentalists. He was responsible for introducing the carillon to several important composers, including Johan Franco, John Pozdro, Roy Hamlin Johnson, and Gary White. He also taught many prominent figures to play the carillon. Barnes conducted scholarly research on several early carillon music manuscripts, including the re-pinning book of , the notebook of André Dupont, and the carillon preludes of Matthias Vanden Gheyn. Barnes edited and published new editions of their music. Through his 56 compositions, Barnes established an American approach to writing music for the instrument. During his lifetime he received two awards: the Berkeley Medal for Distinguished Service to the Carillon (1982) and the GCNA Certificate of Extraordinary Service to the Carillon (1988). On June 24, 1995, Barnes was elected to the GCNA honor roll and granted lifetime membership.

Musical style

Barnes's style of writing for the carillon was often of a mild, romantic character. He was especially influenced by the carillon at the University of Kansas, manufactured by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

. Barnes wrote music that took the strong

overtone An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...

s of bells into account and depended on this characteristic. His style focused on the carillon as a concert instrument. Many of his compositions feature an eminently singable melody.

Musical compositions

Barnes composed 56 original works for the carillon, all of which are published either by American Carillon Music Editions or the GCNA. He composed more than three-quarters of his body of works during his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley. Barnes composed several variations and preludes on English-language folk songs and carols. # Sarabande (1952) # Prelude (1952) # Promenade (1964) # (Three Hymn Preludes) ## Picardie (1963) ## Land of Rest (1966) ## More Love (1970) # Fantasy: Western Wind (1966) # Serenade I (1978) # Nativity Triptych (1978) # Introit for Christmas Eve (1979) # Serenade II (1979) # Noël Suite I (1981) # Concerto for Two to Play (1981) # Introduction and Sicilienne (1981) # Noël Suite II (1982) # Signals (1982) # Prelude on Veni Creator (1982) # Six Classical Country Dances (1983) # Waltz (1983) # Variations on Wilson's Wilde (1984) # Three Dream Dances (1984) # A Somber Pavan (1984) # Corelliana Suite (1984) # Paraphrase on a Siciliana of Pasquale Ricci (1984) # A Suite of English Folksongs (1985) ## The Lark in the Morn ## The Keys of Canterbury ## O Sally My Dear ## What If a Day ## Hares on the Mountain ## Driving Away at the Smoothing Iron # Prelude, Intermezzo and Finale (1986) # 14 Carillon Preludes on Appalachian White Spirituals (1986–87) ## Rise and Shine, Brothers ## Land Beyond the Clouds ## It's the Good Old Work () ## Pardoning Love ## Jesus Christ the Apple Tree ## Come Think of Death and Judgement ## O Brethren, Take Courage () ## Daniel in the Lion's Den ## Tranquility ## Clear the Way, the World Is Waking ## Heavenly Welcome ## Harvest Field ## Happy in Eternity (Passacaglia) ## Our Meeting Is Over # Mrs. Nordan's Alborada (1987) # Dances for After Dark (1987) # Andante Cantabile (1987) # Homage to J. S. Bach: Hymn Prelude & Fugue on "Old 104th" (1988) # Song Prelude on " Past Three O'Clock" (1989) # Capriccio I (1989) # Musick for a While, Shall All Your Cares Beguile (1989) # Menuet Champêtre Refondu (1990) # Sonatine (1990) # Six Preludes on Australian Christmas Carols (1990) ## Noel Time ## Christmas Bush for His Adoring ## The Silver Stars Are in the Sky ## The Three Drovers ## The Christmas Tree ## Christmas Night (Cradle Song) # Canzone (1990) # Song (1991) # Capriccio II (1991) # Three Anglo-American Folksongs (Which Caution Against Some of the Perils of Falling in Love) (1991) ## One Morning in May ## Barb'ra Allen ##

Billy Boy "Billy Boy" is a traditional folk song and nursery rhyme found in the United States, in which "Billy Boy" is asked various questions, and the answers all center on his quest to marry a girl who is said to be too young to leave her mother. It has ...

# Scottish Folk Song Preludes (1991) ## Go to Berwick, Johnny and Guidwife Count the Lawin ## A Rusebud by My Early Walk ## Leezie Lindsay ## We'll Meet a Beside the Dusky Glen ##

Highland Laddie "Highland Laddie", also known as "Hielan' Laddie", is the name of a Scotland, Scottish popular folk tune "If Thou'lt Play Me Fair Play", but as with many old melodies various sets of words can be sung to it, of which Robert Burns's poem "Highland ...

## When I Think on This Warld's Pelf ## Ewie with the Crookit Horn # Concerto Grosso I (1991) # Paraphrase on "The Irish Carol" (1992) # Three Sketches (1992) # A Simple Suite (1992) # Capriccio III (1992) # Fantasy-Variations on "Dr. Bull's Juell" (1992) # Fantasy-Pastorale (1993) # Folksong Prelude on "

Sweet Nightingale Sweet Nightingale, also known as Down in those valleys below, is a Cornish folk song. The Roud number is 371. According to Robert Bell, who published it in his 1846 ''Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England'', the song "may ...

" (1993) # Fantasy-Variations on "Jenny Jones" (1993) # Prelude on "My Lord of Carnarvon's Jig" (1993) # Fandango (1993) # Concerto Grosso II (1994) # Eulogy for Ira Schroeder (1994) # Dialogues (1994) # Giulianiana: Variations on a Theme by

Mauro Giuliani Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian guitarist, cellist, singer, and composer. He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. Biography Although born in Bisceglie, Giuliani's cente ...

(1994) # A Little Suite (1994)

References

External links

Ronald Barnes biography
at The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America
Ronald Barnes Collection
at the Anton Brees Carillon Library
Berkeley Carillon Institute
*
Video of Ronald Barnes's Serenade I – Processional
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Ronald 1927 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicologists American gay musicians American LGBTQ composers American LGBTQ military personnel Carillonneurs Composers for carillon Deaths from leukemia in California Military personnel from Nebraska Musicians from Lincoln, Nebraska Stanford University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II University of California, Berkeley faculty University of Kansas faculty University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni