onze, an alloy of 78%

onze, an alloy of 78% copper and 22% tin and it is melted at 1,200°C in a double-vault reverberatory furnace which has a capacity of a whopping 13 tons. To withstand the temperature of the metal, the moulds are made of clay with horse manure and goats’ hair. The moulds, which are placed upside down in a pit, can weigh more than 500kg. The molten metal is poured into the gap between the two moulds. A brick channel built on top of the pit allows the metal to flow by gravity from the kiln into the moulds. After casting, the mould is left to cool for around a week depending on the size, then broken open to release the raw foundry bell. The final stages involve sanding, polishing, chiselling and fine tuning. These ancient techniques are combined with modern equipment which help to analyse the resonance enabling the foundry to achieve musical perfection. In renovating this fantastic heritage using modern technology, Cornille Havard is the first bell making company in the world to model the layout of bells on a computer. Doing this allows them to constantly refine the bell profiles using CAD (computer-aided design). The templates are laser cut, and the sound control is carried out using an electronic spectrum analyser. An incredible 100 monumental bells are made each year, making their way to peel out from clock towers, schools and churches around the world – including nine new bells created for the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in 2013. More information may be found at: cornille-havard.com Exhibition of bells created by Cornille Havard for Notre-Dame, Paris. Photo: Lionel Allorge - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 commons.wikimedia.org 64 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 65