Towers featured are :-
Beddington - Stedman Caters
Streatham - Little Bob Major
Bermondsey - Call Changes
Clapham Common (Holy Trinity) - Grandsire Doubles
Limpsfield - Grandsire Doubles
Caterham St. Mary - Call Changes
Caterham St. John - Grandsire Triples
Outwood - Reverse Canterbury / Pain Hunt
Nutfield - Plain Bob Doubles
Croydon (St John) - Cambridge Maximus
Coulsdon - Original Doubles
Battersea - Cambridge Major
Charlwood - Call Changes
Addington - Cambridge Major
Kingston - Grandsire Cinques
Godstone - Bristol Major
Reigate - Grandsire Caters
Benhilton -Stedman Triples
Ashtead - Plain Bob Major
Southwark Cathedral - Call Changes
Review of ‘Ring Forth Holy Bells’
from "The Ringing World" - Dec. 1995
I certainly haven't listened to every ringing CD and cassette on the market, but of
those I have listened to, this is unquestionably the best. The recordings - for the
technically minded were made inside the bell chambers using adapted Pressure Zone
Microphones, and the quality is excellent. There is a clarity to all the ringing that
makes it particularly accessible to those ringers - and, indeed, non ringers - who find
it difficult to appreciate what's going on, and the fact that most pieces start from
rounds is an added help. It is an excellent recording for developing your critical
listening skills. In addition, each piece of ringing is individually introduced in
smoothly modulated tones by the actor, Nicholas Smith - Mr Rumbold of Are You
Being Served? - with the result that the whole CD has a warmth and understandability
that makes it particularly enjoyable. The recordings cover 20 towers in the Surrey
Association, from Charlwood on the Sussex border to Southwark Cathedral in the
centre of London, and they range from a four to 3 twelves, with everything in
between. The ringers are the local bands - with a little help from a few visitors - and
the ringing is their normal Sunday service ringing. Both the CD and the cassette
include notes for the uninitiated, but the CD also gives the names of all the ringers
and the bells they are ringing. Brave ! You can hear Call Changes, Bob Doubles,
Grandsire on all numbers, Stedman Triples and Caters, Surprise, and most of a lower
in peal. It is an ideal recording for giving to non-ringers, improving your listening
skills, illustrating talks, and - most important of all - just enjoying yourself.
Steve Coleman
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