Speciosa
The speciosa ( Latin speciosus 'beautiful, well-designed, special' ) is bell 3 of the Cologne cathedral bells . It was cast by Johannes (Hoerken) de Vechel in 1449 and is hung in the belfry of the south tower.
History and meaning
The Speciosa followed the one year older Pretiosa in the still unfinished south tower of the cathedral . The pretiosa is referred to several times in the inscription of the speciosa (“the great and rich in sound”, “the sister”, “the companion”, see translation of the inscription below).
The speciosa acts as a link between the larger pretiosa (g 0 ) and the smaller three kings bell (h 0 ). However, it is not certain whether the Speciosa was actually cast for the first time in 1449, as it seems questionable whether to cast the two outer bells first and then the middle one (Speciosa) if a desired melodic disposition (g – a – h) is desired . Finally, the corresponding part of its inscription can "tonis melodiam reddendo" as "the sounds melodious sound reproducing " or "the sounds of harmony back was" translate. The latter would therefore speak in favor of restoring the previous (old) state.
Data
Musical
All notes in 16th notes. V = representative.
Nominal (strike) |
undertone | Prim-V | third | Quint-V |
Decay duration (undertone) |
decay running |
a 0 −2 | A −7 | as 0 +5 | c 1 ± 0 | it 1 −3 | 109 seconds | stands |
Technical
Dimensions | lower diameter |
Knuckle thickness (due to wear) |
Rib construction | suspension |
---|---|---|---|---|
5600 kg | 2030 mm | 143 (140) mm | overweight | Wooden yoke |
inscription
The speciosa is consecrated in the name of the Mother of God , indicated by a bronze relief on the flank. It therefore also bears the (unofficial) nickname Marienglocke .
SUM ◊ GRANDIS ◊ SONOROSE ◊ SOROR ◊ TESTIS ◊ MICHI ◊ FACTOR ◊ * ◊ CUIUS ◊ HEROS ◊ FANI ◊ DECOR ◊ ET ◊ RESONANTIA ◊ TONI ◊ * ◊ * MOUIT ◊ QUOD ◊ FIERI ◊ DANT ◊ ME ◊ SUBIORE * ◊ ◊ H * UT ◊ SOCIEM ◊ SOCIAM ◊ REDDENDO ◊ TONIS ◊ MELODIAM ◊ * ◊ PELLO ◊ NIMBOSA ◊ UOCOR ◊ IDCIRCO ◊ SPECIOSA ◊ * ◊ ANNIS ◊ GERMANE ◊ SEMEL ◊ I ◊ IUNCTUM PLANE MICHES ◊ *
Flowers (here: *) and rosettes (here: ◊) are used to separate words and syllables.
Translation: I am, for this may the Creator be a witness to me, the sister of the great and rich in sound, whose ornamentation and harmony of sound caused the lords of the church to have me, Christ, poured in honor of Christ, so that I, delivered to my companion, to the sounds Reproduce euphony. That is why I am called the beautiful, and drive away the stormy clouds. Adding one to my sister's years is my age.
Ringing order
The Speciosa is the cathedral's Sunday bell. It rings for the chapter office on Sundays from 9:42 a.m., three minutes before the start of the partial bell, and to ring in all Sundays on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In addition, it is held every Friday outside of Holy Week at 3 p.m. on the hour of Jesus' death, a quarter of an hour before Vespers on high feasts and on St. Change in the chapter office heralded on these days. For the chapter office on Sundays and feasts, the Speciosa is rung together with the bells Epiphany, Ursula and Kapitel , for the other masses on the most important holidays (Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost) with the bells Ursula and Kapitel . The Sunday ring on the evening before varies depending on the church season:
Sunday bells (7.30 p.m.) | Bells |
---|---|
Sundays during Advent | Speciosa, Dreikönigen and Ursula (3, 4 and 5) |
Sundays during Christmas time | Speciosa, Epiphany, Ursula, Kapitel and Ave (3, 4, 5, 7 and 8) |
Sundays during Lent | Speciosa, Dreikönigen and Ursula (3, 4 and 5) |
Sundays during Easter | Speciosa, Epiphany, Ursula, Kapitel and Ave (3, 4, 5, 7 and 8) |
Sundays in the annual cycle | Speciosa, Ursula, Kapitel and Ave (3, 5, 7 and 8) |
literature
- Jakob Schaeben: The cathedral bells and their chimes. In: Kölner Domblatt . Vol. 6/7, 1952, ISSN 0450-6413 , pp. 96-101.
- Martin Seidler: The Cologne cathedral bells. = The Bells of the Cologne Cathedral. 2nd Edition. Verlag Kölner Dom, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-922442-40-4 (documentation CD with extensive booklet).