Dear Friends,
Grateful to God as well as thankful to all selfless donors we can now joyfully announce that the project of the Hradec Králové Concert Carillon, which will be placed in the tower of the Pastor Ambrosius Church, is now entering its final phase. The whole project started in 2009 by casting the first bell. The year 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church as well as 140th anniversary of the architect Josef Gočár´s birth. Gočár designed the entire grounds of the church. At this point there are all 50 bells casted and all 50 bell hearts forged. On the ground floor of the church there has also been stored a metal construction on which all the bells are going to be hung up.
The Czech bell founder Petr Rudolf Manoušek together with the Dutch company Koninklijke Eijsbouts B.V. in whose bell foundry he casted the bells, and with the Belgian company Clock-O Matic N.V., which is going to supply the electronics and the automatic playing system, are now ready to accomplish this unique musical instrument. It will be the first permanently placed concert carillon in the Czech Republic that will meet the current international requirements for this instrument. This final phase of the whole project is going to be quite challenging not only from technical point but also financially. That is why we would like to address you with the financial aid request so that we could successfully finalize it.
Since the very beginning the project was implemented under the auspices of Hradec Králové mayor and council president as well as the patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. There were many companies and a large number of individual selfless donors who have already contributed to the carillon. Some prominent Czech artists donated their fundraising performances to this project. We can name just the two deceased actors Otakar Brousek and Rudolf Pellar. Because many of the donors are already at their advanced age, we would like to speed up this last strenuous stage because we think that these donors should also have the chance to hear the carillon when it will first start sounding from the tower of the Pastor Ambrosius church.
One of the main initiators of this project, a musical composer and our best carilloner Radek Rejšek, has already prepared some note material, which contains some basic repertoire of the Hradec carillon for live and automatic playing. He has also started to look for the future carilloners. Due to its parameters, the Hradec carillon will not only be of a local significance, but will also attract some great foreigner musicians. Among those who will not be missing, is one of the world´s best carilloners Boudewijn Zwart, who has also been a big fan of the Hradec carillon project and has already donated two fundraiser performances on his mobile carillon.
The budget for the remaining material costs (automatic playing system, electronic security of the carillon, carilloner´s cabin with wiring, play table and carillon mechanism), delivery and service costs make together cca 3 000 000,- Kč. We have already asked the foundations of large companies as well as smaller firms for financial aid. We have also approached many celebrities coming from Hradec Králové and the surrounding area who now live and work abroad. But we also count on the support of all the selfless donors again. You can send your donations within the purpose-built collection for the Carillon to the transparent account of the Church community of Czechoslovak Hussite Church in Hradec Králové account number 4862517001/5500 in Raiffeisenbank a.s., with the variable symbol 329, or you can bring it personally in cash to the parish office in Ambrož street 729. In case of higher donated amount, which you can of course deduct from your tax base, there will be a donation contract written up and a relevant confirmation issued. You can also make a contribution to the carillon during various church or cultural events which take place at the Pastor Ambrosius Church. Information about these event can be found on the Hradec church community website: www.ccshhk.cz or on the facebook: Zvonohra Hradec Králové.
Together with you we are on the lookout for the moment when the carillon will sound out of the Pastor Ambrosius Church tower to praise God but to also please all the thankful listeners.
Františka Klásková, the pastor of Hradec Králové
Štěpán Klásek, the bishop emeritus
Pavel Pechanec, the bishop of CČSH
In Hradec Králové, 1st July 2020