For Whom the Bell Sings

It is impossible to lose track of time in Slovenia. The church bells will regularly, usually every full hour, remind you of the ever-ticking clock. 

There’s a church on almost every hill - even the smallest village cannot do without. However, from time to time, if you listen carefully, you might overhear a catchy bell tune, unlike any other.

As Nejc and Martin from Ljubljana’s Kašelj–Zalog parish prepare for the activity they love, there is no particular conversation between them when they climb the church tower steps. 

As a well-trained team they know exactly what to do. They simply put on their noise-cancelling headphones and start their musical performance, the bell tolling.

What a performance that is! No wonder they hate it if one says the bells are ringing. Because under their skilled hands, they are singing, indeed.

With a bit of manual help the bells produce fascinating melodies. 

Every bell is perfectly unique, as the casting moulds are also exclusive to each bell. 

When hung in the church tower, they are set in an array of different sizes and shapes to reach proper tonality. 

Nejc and Martin’s bells are only five years old, but one of the oldest bells in Slovenia was cast in 1333. It is still functional in Koper’s minster. 

One of the most known foundry families in Ljubljana was the Samassa family, which operated in the 18th century.

Today, bell tolling is a rare and unique activity that does not attract many volunteers, even in Slovenia which has a centuries-old tradition of it. 

There are probably only a couple hundred people that still devote their time to this leisure activity today.

However, in the past, bell tolling was widespread. Almost every parish had its own artists. Just like today, they were a brethren with a noble purpose – connecting people with the earthly and the divine. 

With a specific selection of songs they communicated very different messages – warnings of incoming natural disasters, announcements of special occurrences like deaths, and invitations to masses. 

So, the choice of a particular song was and still is an art in itself. 

A couple of seconds into the demonstrational bell concert, Nejc starts moving to the beat he is producing. He just loves it. He will be in the zone for the next 20 minutes, the average duration of a bell tolling song.

That is why there is no practicing on the actual bells. There is no dry run.

When bell tollers stand in front of their bells, they have to know the song by heart to be perfectly harmonized with each other. 

So, rehearsals take place on simple metal pipes that represent bells. Martin and Nejc simply follow their musical transcription that is unique to bell tolling. 

Nejc is surely one of the most passionate bell lovers. For him, the bell is not only an instrument. It has been an object of his utmost admiration for 20 years.

“The bell,” he says, “is like a child. It needs all your love and care. If handled like that, it graces you with mighty, but gentle songs. For me, there is no instrument like the bell.”

Bell tollers sure have splendid views from the church towers. But you do not even need to climb towers to take in the splendid scenery of Slovene landscape.