About Towers

‘New energy for old Belgian music' is the ringing slogan adopted by the five musicians of WÖR. Their mission to take original melodies from the 18th century and remix them into their own new arrangements, using both period and contemporary instruments, has been heard on two previous collections, Back to the 1780's (sic, 2015) and Sssht (2017). Here their primary inspiration has been the carillonneurs of the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages, professional musicians who would compose, collect and adapt existing melodies to play on the carillon (a set of tuned bronze bells, suspended in a large tower) for significant events. This immense musical instrument could be heard for miles around, so the musicians, the tunes they played, and the manuscripts they collected became well-known around their region (comparable, perhaps, to the early days of local radio). Travelling musicians brought the music to cities like Antwerp and then further abroad in the late 18th century. WÖR insist they are more interested in a modern version of this music to take into the next generation than in a historically correct interpretation and it's impossible not to be impressed by the irresistible energy and skill they bring to their vital versions of these old tunes.