1/3 City carillonneur Paul Maassen. (photo: Raoul Cartens)
It is a special day for the Maassen family in Breda. They have been playing the carillon from the Grote Kerk for 100 years. This milestone will be celebrated on Saturday with a concert from the tower. There is also a special exhibition about the four generations of carillonneurs. “You would almost say it is genetically determined,” laughs current city carillonneur Paul Maassen.
There is a weekly market on the Grote Markt in Breda and it is teeming with people between the stalls. While the carillon is being played. Clearly audible, but barely noticed. As an almost self-evident atmosphere maker that belongs in the old city center
At 65 meters above the ground, in the tower, interim carillonneur David van de Vlies is practicing for the concert that will sound across the city on Saturday afternoon. It will be a mix of four generations of Maassen.
“When I see it like this, I am proud.”
“The music played by carillonneur grandfather Jacobus Maassen from 1923 onwards still reflected the heavily classical style of the French composer Claude Debussy. While the great-grandson Paul Maassen now incorporates elements of jazz and modern music. Even songs by Bredanaar Vader Abraham “, explains Van der Vlies.
65 meters lower, right under the tower in the Grote Kerk, Paul Maassen beams at the special exhibition about him and the three generations of Maassen who preceded him as city carillonneur. “When I see it like this, I am proud, but the heaviness of all those ancestors does not bother me that much. Except that all four of us are pregnant by the love for the bells,” says the current city carillonneur of Breda.
However, the continued existence of the carillon culture in the Netherlands is not self-evident. “I have no children myself, so there will be no fifth generation of Maassen behind the keyboard. But I also see the number of carillonneurs decreasing nationally.” And that worries Maassen.
“We are more than background music.”
“Over the past thirty years, many city carillonneurs have been cut back by the municipalities. And then it becomes quiet in the city. I am happy when I speak to people who think that the carillon belongs to the city. But I would be even happier if governments also looked further than to the marketing value of the carillonneur. In other words, what it yields economically for the city.”
“We are more than background music and try to contribute to solidarity in the city. With our music, also during Christmas, carnival or jazz festival. And with this exhibition we give face to this heritage that we have in the Netherlands. Whether for music by DJ Tiësto, Andre Hazes, Father Abraham, Mozart, Beethoven or Bach. I play it all. With passion,” says Maassen combatively.
The carillon concert can be heard on Saturday afternoon at half past two, from the keyboard in the tower of the Grote Kerk in Breda. Known for centuries as the beacon or voice of Nassau City.