Our Experience with the Church Bells of Bonnieux
Recently, we stayed in the hilltop village of Bonnieux in the Luberon valley of Provence where we were treated to a singular sensory experience. We reached out to Vincent Gils, the only carillonneur (bell-ringer) left in the Vaucluse area and one of few left in France.
Vincent’s father, Bernard, taught him to ring the bells. Before him, his father was the custodian of this church, at the summit of Bonnieux, with 900 years of history. His father says that “Pour moi, mon clocher, c’est un piano volant” (for me, my bell, is like a flying piano). Nowadays, churches in France have automated bells. However, in Bonnieux, bells are rung by hand for mariages, baptisms, funerals and religious festivals. Vincent has been doing it for the last thirty years. He agreed to allow us to witness the ringing of the bells as he was on that day going to pay homage to a villager, a good friend, that passed away that week.
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