The Sounds of The Coffee Trader

Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), Amsterdam

On page 4 of the book, author David Liss writes "...He was part of the procession that formed each day when the bells of the Nieuwe Kerk struck two, signaling the end of trading on the Exchange."

You might have thought to yourself, self, I understand that some bells were ringing. But, let's explore the Nieuwe Kerk a little more closely, and listen to the spectacular bells that we are reading about.

Here are some pictures of the spectacular church in Amsterdam:











And a short history:
The Nieuwe Kerk of Amsterdam is a 14th century gothic church. It was built on the spot a beggar had a vision of the golden church in heaven dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Due to the generosity of the devout, construction began in 1385 of a chruch in the spot the beggar had his vision.

Through the years, the church was destroyed and rebuilt. For the purposes of our reading, note that the church had a major fire in 1645, and our book takes place in 1659, which means the church was already in the process of rebuilding the church into the gothic style we see today.


And a picture of the bells:



And their workings today:





Bells
The set of bells in the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk dates from 1660 and was made by François Hemony. He cast the 36 bells using the remains of the bells from the city hall, which were badly damaged in a serious fire in 1618.

MP3 with video of the bells!
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/soundfiles/deFesch-Gavotte.mp3

Sound files of the actual Nieuwe Kerk Delft bells:

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/soundfiles/Van%20den%20Ghein-Prel...
**Above sound file recommended

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/soundfiles/Weiss-Passagaille%20in...
**Above sound file recommended

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/soundfiles/Boogert-Variations%20a...


For more Carillon bell music, visit this wonderful page:

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/carillon_soundfiles.html

Website sources of information:

http://www.nieuwekerk-delft.nl/eng/kerkgebouw/index.html

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/netherlands/amsterdam-nieuwekerk.htm

http://www.bma.amsterdam.nl/adam/uk/groot/nwkerk.html

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/music/carillon/carillon_soundfiles.html

What a wonderful surprise! Thanks so much for the bells -they go especially well with a good hot cup of coffee! Do you think they really played like that just to close the market? Maybe Wall street is missing something...

Thanks so much for the bells! My husband works for the university of California and they have a carillon, too -- much newer of course! We are often treated to impromptu bell concerts when visiting him on campus.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures :-)

That was beautiful to listen to and much more melodious than I expected. Anyone interested in a good bell-ringing book should rush off to read The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers.

This is simply incredible! What a great discussion group with all the extra bonuses of details.

That was beautiful! I wonder how complicated they were able to get with the melodies.... I know that most are now programmed with computers. On the Syracuse University campus, I've even heard Beatles' songs! Personally....I prefer more classical bell melodies, but it certainly gave me a start. What could be next? "Back in Black"? ;-)

>1 vintage_books: V_B Link number two sounds just like listening to a piece of music by Mozart! Very beautiful.

- TT

Nice topic, let me add some more information about the area in Amsterdam where the book plays.

But first I would like to add something about the bells. The first pictures are indeed the New Church of Amsterdam, but the picture with the bells and the clock are the New Church of Delft, about 80 kilometer from Amsterdam. I noticed, because I'm living in Delft. The same holds for the sounds.... (yes, I'm spoiled and can hear the bells ring from my sleeping room.

Having this added, back to Amsterdam. The trading place, known as the 'Beurs van Berlage' now is a exposure building. In the neighbourhood, still the stock market can be found, the Amsterdam Exchange, the (also abroad?) well-known AEX. Some pictures of the 'Beurs van Berlage':





Another mentioned place is the Warmoesstraat, a street nearby, and one of the oldest in Amsterdam. In the 16the Century ricch people lived there. When the city was growing, people moved to the also mentioned streets like the Herengracht. These canals are still the most beautifull of Amsterdam, as long as you move away from the crowded shopping center.

The Warmoesstraat is famous in the Netherlands as a large police office used to be located there, with policemen also working in the red light district. One of the most popular Dutch crime writers, Appie Baantjer, writing about inspector 'De Cock' used to work there and based his stories this police office.

This will be it for now. Lateron I will tell you something about the 'Jordaan', the area where Geertruid and Miguel met each other for his first cup of coffee.

Wow, what a great thread! Thank you vintage_books and boekenwijs. You're certainly adding more interest in the book and the group read. I look forward to more.

What amazing photos! Thanks so much!
--BJ

> 9 Thanks for the extra information boekenwijs. Nice pictures.

- TT

Thank you for the correction and additional information boekenwijs. :)