GDAŃSK
TOWER MUSIC
/29.07-15.08.2024/
Tubicinatores Gedanenses
& carillon
Mondays: 29.07 / 5.08
Thursdays: 1.08 / 8.08 / 15.08
- at 5:30 pm – St. Catherine’s Tower
- at 6:45 pm – St. John’s Tower
- at 8:00 pm – Main Town Hall
We are proud to present the cycle of concerts continuing the centuries-old Gdańsk tradition of tower music.
The Tubicinatores Gedanses ensemble accompanied by the carillon will play at the three Gdańsk towers. During the 20-minute concerts you will have the pleasure to listen to old pieces from the European and Gdańsk repertoire. The trumpeters will per- form on the historic instruments – natural trumpets.
The musicians will be dressed in costumes from the era, and the passage between the towers will be accompanied by a group of reconstruction of the bourgeois figures from the 18th century. Urban shouters will invite passers-by to concerts, talking about their traditions.
Gdansk is the only city in Poland, where such performance is possible – it is the only place which has three beautiful concert- ing carillons, i.e., instruments consisting of tower bells played on by means of special keyboard. They are located at the towers of St. Catherine’s Church and Gdańsk Main Town Hall. The third carillon is a mobile instrument and is installed in a vintage truck.
Some history of Gdańsk tower music: The so called Turmpfeifer were playing music from Gdańsk towers as early as in the 15th century. They were the sworn city guards, members of the guild called Turmpfeiferdienst. They were playing music from the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Church and St. Catherine’s Church. By the end of the 16th century they were joined by the third musician playing on the tower of St. John’s Church. Their professional responsibilities included warnings, welcoming important guests with fanfares and announcing the closing hours of the city gates. Additionally, the Turmpfeifers on the St. Catherine’s Church tower played short bugle calls every half hour and a longer tune – probably religious songs – every hour. Moreover, they played on the church tower during sunny days.
Their simple bugles were soon transformed into a more sophisticated music called Turmmusik. The musicians were performing the roles of heralds and accompanying the envoys, as well as bugling the City Council edicts and rulings. They were also fulfilling the function of field trumpeters”Feldtrompetern” during military expeditions. Since the middle of the 16th century they were obligated to participate in the Blessed Virgin Mary Church masses and play on the Town Hall tower twice a day (except for Friday), from Spring to St. Martin’s Day (11 November). Since the middle of the 16th century, apart from playing on the tower the musicians also sang in the church choir.
At least since the mid-19th century carillon started accompanying the musicians on the St. Catherine’s tower. Its history on this tower dates back to 1738.
We have the pleasure to invite you to come back to the old Gdańsk!
clip for the AC/DC Thunderstruck song:
