Kortrijk with Koen

We had the chance to steal away to the city of Kortrijk on Saturday for a tour of the two carillons there. Kortrijk (pronounced somewhat like "court-rake" with a flipped "r") is in West Flanders, about an hour and a half away by train. The director of the carillon school, Koen Cosaert, lives there and is the municipal carillonist of multiple cities in the area, and he hosted us for the afternoon.

Since Mr. Cosaert is pretty much a walking encyclopedia of all things relating to bells and Flemish history, he first took us on a quick walking tour of the city, including a stop at an important church. One of its chapels is adorned with paintings of each of the Counts of Flanders throughout history. It was quite impressive to witness our teacher expounding on the details of many of the individuals from memory.

Kortrijk was the sight of the Battle of the Golden Spurs during the Franco-Flemish War (1297–1305). This battle was the result of years of unrest under French occupation, and it ended with an unexpected victory for the Flemish. In fact, the date of the victory is still marked annually by the national holiday for the Flemish community in Belgium. The name "Golden Spurs" comes from the hundreds of spurs that were taken from the French horsemen once defeated. Many of the spurs once hung from the ceiling of this same church, and have since been replaced by replicas. (The lion symbols are from the Flemish flag.)

Then, it was on to the carillons!

The two towers are in close proximity, both in the heart of the city. The standalone belfry (foreground), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses a modern, light instrument. (Light = smaller bells and higher pitch; heavy instrument = larger bells and lower pitch.) The church tower in the background houses the historical instrument. The foreign keyboard and pedal layout, heavy action, and meantone temperament all gave us a challenge and required some on-the-spot adjustments, but it was great practice and a really cool opportunity to play an instrument that's been preserved in its original form for so long.

Until next time, Kortrijk!