Pezenas Newsletter April

At Easter time in France the way Father Christmas comes traditionally down the chimney on December 24th with presents and goodies in the Anglo-Saxon world, the church bells are said to disappear on Good Friday and return from Rome on Easter Sunday, ringing joyously and leaving in their wake Easter eggs of all sizes, beribboned chocolate chickens and tiny chocolate fish scattered (and naturally hidden) in every good child's garden.

From an early age therefore, the French listen out attentively for church bells and particularly on Easter day, but not just at that time. In Pézenas a couple of centuries ago you could have heard bells ringing almost all day long. In addition to the two churches, numerous penitent's chapels and convents would announce religious services throughout the day. The bells in the fine belfry of the consular house to be restored this year would announce important events in the town and the hospital (originally built during the Middle Ages) also has a set of three bells.

Have you ever noticed that the hour is always rung twice on church clocks in France ? Down here they call this "la repique". I have never been quite sure whether it is the first or second chime that counts. I have often tried to check but the clocks always seem to be fast or slow ; actually down here time does not really have the same significance and in the hot summer all normal human beings are slower to react anyway. One explanation given to me was that the first chime is early just to warn you that it's time to pay for your Pastis and dash home before the wife realises you stopped off at the café for a quick one before lunch ; and another is that the second chime is just to remind you in case you didn't have time to count the chimes the first time round. If you are a light sleeper the second chime will inevitably confirm to your now wideawake self that it was the clock striking three the first time that roused you from a good night's sleep.

Gluttons for punishment, but actually very fond of their traditional "son de cloche" (which can be translated as "a strong opinion" in English as well as "the sound of a bell") throughout France church bells are being restored or replaced during this jubilee year 2000. Pézenas is no exception and towards the end of this month a brand new and splendid "Marie" will take up residence in the tower of the collegial church. An enormous crane will hoist all 394 kg of her into place beside "Saint Blaise", "Saint Louis" and "Saint Roch". The range of four bells will now be complete and "Marie" will ring the top note of the scale : G. The Bishop will be coming from Montpellier to baptise the bell on April 30th and this will be an important ceremony for the Parish and also for the town - since the Revolution in 1789 churches are municipal properties.

It has even been suggested that the choice of the name - "Marie" has a republican as well as a religious ring to it. A diminutive of Marie is Marianne, the long-loved symbol of the republic of France, epitomised this year by the gorgeous Laetitia Casta who is the latest model to be used for the statuettes of Marianne placed in every town hall throughout France (along with the photo of the President of the Republic, who is by no means as photogenic).

"Saint Blaise", the great bell has managed to survive throughout the centuries. It was originally founded in 1597 and installed in the castle, which was dismantled by Richelieu in 1633 when the Duc Henri II de Montmorency dared to revolt against the King. The duke came to a sticky end and so did the castle. However, the bell St. Blaise was salvaged and installed in the tower of the St. Jean church. In 1733 the church tower literally collapsed - right in the centre of town, miraculously killing nobody and none of the five bells were damaged. During the Revolution the two smallest were requisitioned to be recast as cannons. Perhaps St. Blaise was too big to be worth the bother. It remained in place with St. Roch which eventually cracked and had to be replaced in 1828.

Up until the 1950s the bells were rung manually by the bell-ringer who lived with his family in the church tower. Then an electric system was installed and today a sophisticated remote control system will enable the priest to set the bells ringing from the comfort of the presbytery !

All three existing bells are slightly off-key, which means that the manufacture of "Marie" was in fact too complicated for the local foundry, France Carillons at Hérépian, near Lamalou les Bains and the bell is being produced in Normandy. It will be finished at Hérépian and installed in Pézenas by the local company.

The foundry in Hérépian has been producing bells of various sorts since 1600. Originally it produced cow-bells made from sheet metal and has been founding church bells since 1920. You can visit the foundry every day during July and August from 10-12 am and 2-6 pm Mondays to Fridays and on appointment out of season.Right next door there is an interesting museum displaying techniques of production of both cow bells and great church bells. Although the last part of the visit with an audio tape is definitely aimed at French speaking visitors, there is plenty to enjoy and children can touch and play with the bells if they want to. This museum is specially fitted out and adapted for the handicapped.