 Texas has a long history of being conservation minded - like restoring and preserving historical structures or saving endangered species. But no effort, perhaps, has been quite as unique and melodic as providing a new home for a very rare creature called a carillon.
What is a carillon and why does it need saving; a new home? A carillon has no connection to the animal or plant world. While it may be an endangered species, it is neither plant or animal in nature. A crillon's greatest enemy isn't hunter or foe, but time itself.
Actually, the fight to help the carillon survive modern times didn't start with a Texan, exactly. One of America's best loved poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, became so enamored with the sweet melodic sound of the Carillon that he wrote a poem to go with it and, as a result, helped spur the nation's interest.
The carillon, as you might have guessed by now, is actually a rare and wonderful musical instrument of historical significance. The instrument is a series of 23 bronze bells tuned perfectly to carry a two to six octave range and is played by using both a keyboard and foot pedals.
Most of the surviving carillons are still housed in huge towers of the Old World where they have resided, in some cases, for centuries. The majority of historical carillons are still in the lowlands of Europe - where they originated.
There have been a few moveable instruments constructed down through the years, usually by a master builder who took extra care in constructing a moving musical instrument - not an easy task! That's why moveable carillons are so rare, especially in modern times. In fact, only 11 exist in the world today.
One of the more famous carillons that still operate in modern times resides in a new home in Texas at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
 "Cast in Bronze" is the official name of this carillon. Cast in Bronze has a new and permanent home at The Cloister, a new stage area built specifically to house the instrument.
The list of appearance credits for this traveling carillon is impressive. The Cast in Bronze has sung its melodic songs before Pope John Paul II, at a Presidential Inauguration , on national television shows such as NBC's TODAY Show, and has graced the stages of Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida, numerous times since 1998.
 Much like it's ancestors, Cast in Bronze heralds the joy, drama and daily activities of a thriving Medieval village. Such villages in the 15th century were often judged on their merit by two things - their educational facilities (schools), and their carillon bells.
There is no doubt the Texas Renaissance Festival Village would have ranked well in those days of past with Cast in Bronze in it's midst. Frank DellaPenna. the performer and creator of this unique carillon, adds even more drama by his expert period costuming. His masked appearance has shades of Phantom of the Opera written all over it, and it's easy to imagine a great supernatural force driving the breath into the instrument as its melody envelopes all within hearing range with it's mystical and powerful music.
For those that hear the carillon's music, it will thrive in your heart for years to come. Don't miss Cast in Bronze and the many fun activities associated with the Texas Renaissance Festival, on stage through Nov. 14 in Plantersville, Texas, just north of the Houston metroplex.
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Rio Grande Valley