The Bells from St. Michael's of the Golden Domes

On this beautiful Sunday morning, as we approached St. Michael's of the Golden Domes from afar, coming from the direction of St. Sophia's Square, we could hear the fabulous ringing of the bells from the Monastery tower. I cannot easily describe the thrill to hear these bells--the swelling, rolling power of it. It shakes one's very soul. I have never heard bells like this, with the intricate melodies through such a full range of the musical scale, from the deepest through the highest ranges. To compare the bells of St. Michael's to any ordinary church bell I have ever heard in the United States, or even in the great cities of Germany where I lived for two years, would be like comparing the song "Happy Birthday" to a Bach cantata. It was thrilling to hear those sweet, heavenly bells.

And then, to cap our wonderful visit to this special monastery, we were invited by the museum docents to ascend to the carillon platform in the bell tower itself and stand immediately below the dozens of bells of all sizes, with their hammers poised, ready for the next hour. Posted in the carillon were the melodies and composers to be played each hour. I hope to be able to have time to return and record the sounds of these marvelous bells.

I noticed on the platform itself a large collection of very aged bell clappers, encrusted with the rust of many decades or centuries, lying in a pile in the corner like a bunch of titanic radishes. The largest of the overhead bells, which appear to be up to eight feet in diameter, appear very old indeed, while many of the smaller bells and their ingenious sounding mechanisms, are obviously very new--probably installed after the fall of the Soviet Union. It invoked contemplation of the silent state this tower likely endured for so many years when the priests were driven from the precincts of the monastery by the Soviet authorities. This gives added beauty and poignancy to the hourly sounding of these glorious bells, as each musical note is a testament not only to religious freedom, but to the freedom of the nation itself. It gives added meaning to the often trite recitation of the words, "Let Freedom Ring." It is a beautiful thing to have the sound of these bells echoing down the streets of this ancient city. As long as the ringing is allowed to continue, all may be well for Ukraine.