Pieter and François Hemony

The brothers Hemony were born in Levécourt (in present-day Champagne-Ardenne, France) into a family of bell founders who travelled throughout Europe to cast bells. It is likely that they relocated their business to Germany during the Thirty Years' War, where François cast his first swinging bell. In 1641, they first cast swinging bells in the Netherlands for the Reformed Church in Goor, but their career reached a watershed when they settled in Zutphen and cast the world's first tuned carillon, installed in Zutphen's Wijnhuistoren tower, in 1644. That instrument was lost to fire in 1920.

François and Pieter developed their ability to build and tune carillons in close cooperation with Jacob van Eyck, a musician and composer who developed a method of precisely identifying the overtones of bells. Van Eyck, appointed city carillonneur of Utrecht in 1642, had drawn the attention of leading scientists of his day, such as Christiaan Huygens (his relative) and René Descartes, with his ability to isolate five partials of a bell by whistling to create sympathetic resonance.

When struck, a bell produces a number of partials which, if imprecisely tuned, can create an unpleasant sound and which prevents it from harmonizing in accordance with other bells. To address this problem, the Hemony brothers gave their bells a particular profile and thickened it in certain places. The bells were then tuned by hollowing ridges from specific parts of the inner wall until the first few partials were acceptably in tune.

The foundry of the Hemony brothers in Amsterdam; on the corner of Keizersgracht/Leidsegracht, around 1660

In 1657, the brothers parted ways. François moved to Amsterdam, at the invitation of the city government, to establish a foundry. He cast twenty carillons as well as statues for various sculptors, such as Artus I Quellinus. Pieter travelled through the southern Netherlands, with much time spent in Ghent in present-day Belgium, where he cast the great carillon for the Belfry of Ghent. However, following conflicts with the city of Ghent over the quality of his work, Pieter in 1664 rejoined his brother in Amsterdam where, together, they cast some of their finest carillons, including that of the Dom Tower of Utrecht and the Town Hall (now the Royal Palace on Dam square). Bell production temporarily ceased following the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665 as they devoted their foundry to casting artillery.

A few days after writing his will, François Hemony died on May 24, 1667. For his funeral at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, a bell of his own casting was tolled for three and a half hours. Although Pieter would resume casting carillons in 1670, the foundry's best production had come to an end. Pieter died on February 20, 1680.

In total, the brothers cast 51 carillons for towers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and other countries, Here follows the complete list.

Pieter and François in Zutphen 1642–1657

The Hemony carillon of the Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam was installed in 1656

Wijnhuistoren, Zutphen

Nieuwe Toren in Kampen just after the restoration in 2011

• Wijnhuistoren in Zutphen (1644–46). First ever made well tuned carillon. Was lost in a tower fire in 1920
• Grote or Lebuinus kerk in Deventer (1647) latest renovation of the carillon in 2011
• Zuider of St. Pancrastoren Enkhuizen 1647–1649 – François 1664 enlarged – Pieter 1674 enlarged again; latest renovation in 1992. New baton keyboard in 2013.
• Stadhuis (Town Hall) in 's-Hertogenbosch Cast in 1649; put in the tower and first use in 1657.
• Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht (1649) restoration round 1990
• Eusebiustoren in Arnhem 1650–1651 François 1661 enlargement. Was lost in 1944 during a bombing raid. Some bells survived.
• Jacobitoren in Utrecht. François and Pieter 1651 Pieter 1668 enlargement. Was lost in a storm in 1674. Some bells survived as swinging bells.
• Munttoren in Amsterdam One of the towers of the former Regulierspoort city gate. The remaining tower was enlarged by Hendrick de Keyser. François en Pieter cast it in 1651. It was the first carillon (22 bells) for Amsterdam made for the tower of the Beurs (Stock Exchange building) also by Hendrick de Keyser. It was moved in 1668 to the Munttoren and made larger by Pieter Hemony with bass and treble bells (33 bells). Restoration in 1959 by Petit & Fritsen
• Gasthuistoren in Zaltbommel. Cast by François en Pieter in 1654. Bells were buried in a garden during world war two. Renovation and retuning by Eijsbouts in 1959.
• Barbaratoren in Culemborg (1654/55) Just 9 bass bells by Hemony. other bells by Eijsbouts 1952 tuned in meantone temperament like all Hemony carillons.
• Martinitoren in Doesburg. Cast by François en Pieter 1654/55. Was lost in World War II when the Nazis blew up the tower in 1945. It was situated outside on top of the tower on one side of the spire. The new carillon is inside the tower.
• Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal in Antwerp and Church- or Kapittelbeiaard 1654/55. Was lent to St. Catharin church at Hoogstraten. Some bells missing in Hoogstraten are lent to other parishes and some disappeared.
• Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal in Antwerp. Stads- (city) of Kermisbeiaard (Pleasure fair Carillon) by François en Pieter 1655 enlarged by them 1658. Latest renovation 2014. Automatic drumm part will follow soon.
• St. Michielsabdij in Antwerp. Cast by François en Pieter 1655. Lost in 1797 during the French period, during religious wars (Protestants against the Roman Catholics).
• Zuidertoren in Amsterdam (1656). Due to the success of the Beurs carillon, François was invited to cast a new carillon for the Zuidertoren as a replacement of the old Waghevens chime. After this François was invited to be the 'City Bell Founder' and to do the same job in the Westertoren and Oudekerkstoren. Pieter Hemony left for Gent in Flanders around that time.

In August 2002, divers made a remarkable discovery in a 17th-century shipwreck near the island of Texel, Netherlands. They found a perfectly preserved bell which, according to the text engraved on it, had been cast at the Amsterdam foundry of François Hemony in 1658. The bell weighs 132 kg and is 59.5 cm in diameter.

In the Netherlands, several places have a street named after the Hemonies: Amsterdam, Middelstum, Venray, Assen, Zutphen and Arnhem.

• Lehr, André (1959), De klokkengieters François en Pieter Hemony, Asten. (in Dutch)
• Lehr, André (1991), The Art of the Carillon in the Low Countries, Tielt: Lannoo, ISBN 90-209-1917-2.
• Taylor, Nigel, "Tuning", Kirnberger.

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