Netherlands Carillon

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.[1][2] 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, DC, the queen spoke of the importance of the small bells of the future instrument:[3]

To achieve real harmony, justice should be done also to the small and tiny voices, which are not supported by the might of their weight. Mankind could learn from this. So many voices in our troubled world are still unheard. Let that be an incentive for all of us when we hear the bells ringing.[3]

Two years later, forty-nine bells arrived and were installed in West Potomac Park, where they were formally accepted by the United States. The Netherlands did not initially have the money to provide a proper campanile for the carillon, so it was housed in a temporary structure.[1] Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch furniture designer and architect, was approached to design the campanile, but he was eventually removed from the project because of his perceived communist sympathies.[2] Instead, renowned Dutch architect Joost W. C. Boks designed the carillon's permanent home. The tower was erected just north of Arlington National Cemetery and south of the Marine Corps War Memorial and was completed by early 1960. The carillon and new tower received a formal dedication ceremony on May 5, 1960, or the fifteenth anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day.[3] The inaugural concert was performed by renowned carillonist Charles T. Chapman.[1]

A tulip library was planted in a circular bed immediately to the east of the plaza in 1964, also a gift from the Netherlands. A small successional woodland to the southwest forms the backdrop to the carillon as a result of the 1960s National Capital Parks Planting Plan. Additional landscaped beds in the form of musical notes were planted in 1967 and 1972 as part of Lady Bird Johnson’s Beautification Program, with a variety of annuals and perennials, in addition to tulips.[4] The program also planted the horseshoe of trees for the campanile's backdrop.[1]

After its dedication in 1960, the carillon was seldom played. It only performed for Easter Sunday services sponsored by the Arlington Ministerial Association. The few performances were by Frank Péchin Law. He assumed the position of director-carillonist after his instrumental involvement in establishing the "Summer Series of Recitals on the Netherlands Carillon" in July 1963, sponsored by the US Department of the Interior. Every Saturday from July through August, the carillon is played by a guest carillonist, invited by the director-carillonist.[1] In the early 1970s, the Netherlands Carillon was repainted from a dark bronze to a gray blue color. In 1983, less than twenty-five years after the carillon's construction and after years of pressure from Mr. Law, a major renovation was undertaken to address deterioration of the tower's steel panels. The National Park Service announced a $300,000 (equivalent to $840,000 in 2019) renovation plan for the instrument in 1981, but budget issues delayed the project.[5] Again, the tower was repainted the light gray blue color, neither time with the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts.[4] Upon Mr. Law's death in 1985, the Netherlands Carillon fell silent until Edward M. Nassor took over the position of director-carillonist in 1987.[1]

In the years before the fiftieth anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day in 1995, a group of prominent Dutch businessmen established a foundation to assist in the refurbishment of the carillon and tower, which had not seen major care since 1970. They were motivated by the significance of the meaning behind the Netherlands Carillon to lead this effort. By teaming up with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in the United States, the Netherland-America Foundation, and the government of the Netherlands, approximately $1,400,000 (equivalent to $2,300,000 in 2019) was raised for the project to move forward.[5] The tower was closed for modernization changes, and the original dark bronze color of the tower was restored.[4] The bells were transported to the Netherlands to be repaired by Royal Eijsbouts, except for the largest thirteen, which remained in the tower and were repaired in place. The original playing keyboard was replaced. Royal Eijsbouts also cast a fiftieth bell in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Dutch liberation. It was presented by Dutch ambassador to the United States Wim Kok to President Bill Clinton on February 28, 1995, and the renovated carillon was dedicated on May 5, 1995.[3] After receiving the new bell, President Clinton commented on its significance:

Dutch Ambassador to the United States Wim Kok and President Bill Clinton pose with the Netherlands Carillon's fiftieth bell, February 28, 1995.

As we move forward to meet the challenges of this new century, it is fitting that we and our Dutch friends will be reminded of the common cause we shared fifty years ago by the sound of this beautiful new bell. May it also be sounding fifty years from now and even beyond.[6]

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 (equivalent to $6,200,000 in 2019) restoration of the carillon. The Park Service committed $4 million.[7] 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.[8] The carillon was transported to the Royal Eijsbouts foundry and arrived on December 3, 2019.[9] 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.[8][10] 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.[11]

The Netherlands Carillon keeps time throughout the day by playing the Westminster Quarters on the hours and quarters. The carillon plays several automated concerts each day and on significant days in Dutch and American culture:[19]

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.

• Carillon
• War memorial
• Netherlands in World War II
• Netherlands–United States relations
• List of carillons

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Netherlands Carillon.

• 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