PEREZ, Ramon Florencio Jr.

I
MA-Ethno 2017T1248

Ethnomusicology 1

Organology

The Agunyas Bell and Angelus Bell

of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church

Location: San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church, Poblacion, San Juan, Batangas.

There are three bells in the bell tower of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church.

The three bells are hanging on a 257cm-tall frame situated in an octagonal belfry. Each side of
the belfry is 122cm, thus the perimeter of the room is 976cm. The bells hang on the frame
in a triangular position. Each bell has their own peal motors attached to it and the bells
are pulled by chains attached to a wheel to produce sounds.

Scope and Delimitation:

This study only focuses on the two most active bells of the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish
Church: (1) agunyas bell, and (2) angelus bell. Other bells such as the requiem bell (the
top bell as seen on the image above) is not included in the study.
#1
Agunyas Bell

Descriptive Name: 111.242.122 Hanging bells with internal strikers. (Hornbostel–Sachs, 1914)

Description: The agunyas bell of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church is the newest among the
three bells situated in the tower. The bell is made of bronze. It does not have a bead line
and it is struck by an electromagnetic hammer inside the bowl to produce sound.

The bronze is still visible as it is rather new but there are small signs of aging. There
are some drips of white paint and a streak of white paint (that seems to have been washed
with water) which are, perhaps, caused by the repainting of the church’s bell tower in
2013.
 The cannons of the bell is directly screwed to the headstock.

Texts are embossed and are as follows:

FRONT:
REV FR PERSEVERANDO M MARQUEZ JR OSJ
PARISH PRIEST
2009
BACK:
SAN JUAN NEPMUCENO PARISH
THRU THE EFFORT OF
MOST REV SALVADOR Q QUIZON DD
AUXILIARY BISHOP OF LIPA

There are no images embossed or engraved on the surface of the bell.

Acquisition: The agunyas bell was ordered by Rev. Fr. Persverando “Randy” M. Marquez, OSJ (the
parish priest during the time of acquisition) for the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church
back in 2009. It was ordered for the reason that the previous agunyas bell broke after a
series of forceful strikes.

Provenance: The current owner of the agunyas bell is the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church.
The bell was made by Royal Bells Philippines.

Measurements:
Sound:
According to Spectrum Analyze1, the peak frequency of the sound of the agunyas bell
when struck is -20.1dB. The pitch of its sound is on B2.

Purpose:
The church-goers of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church haven’t heard the sound of this
bell for quite a long time because no one is requesting for an agunyas in the town of San Juan,
Batangas.

1
Spectrum Analyze is a frequency analyzing phone application available for Android in the Google Play Store.
#2
Angelus Bell

Descriptive Name: 111.242.122 Hanging bells with internal strikers. (Hornbostel–Sachs, 1914)

Description: The angelus bell of San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church is also made of bronze. It
has a sound bow and a bead line and it is also struck by an electromagnetic hammer inside
the bowl to produce sound.
 The angelus bell hangs to the headstock using three pairs of metal rods attached
to the cannons.

The bell is made of bronze but the material is less visible due to aging. It is starting
to develop moss around the sound bow and the cannons. There are also drips and streaks
of white paint because of the same reason why the agunyas bell has the marks.
 Texts are embossed around the bell and are as follows:
UPPER WAIST AREA:
FUNDICION DE F GONZALES CALLE CANB N°16

SOUND BOW AREA:

PURISIMA CONCEPCION AÑO DE 18942

The following images are embossed on the bell:

The embossed images are directly on the opposite side of each other and are located on
the waist area of the angelus bell. On one side, the image shows a cross, with rays behind,
standing on what it seems like leaves with an art deco design. On the other side is a heart standing
on a platform with an arc and a pair of wings. It somehow reminds me of the “sacred heart of
Jesus” concept.

2
The D and E was combined into a single character due to occupying the same space on the surface of the bell.
Acquisition: The donor of the bell is not indicated in the records.

Provenance: The current owner of the angelus bell is the San Juan Nepomuceno Parish Church.
The bell was made by Fundicion F. Gonzales in Calle Camba no. 16, San Nicolas, Manilas.

Measurements:
Sound:
According to Spectrum Analyze, the peak frequency of the sound of the angelus bell when
struck is -22.7dB. The pitch of its sound is on G2.

Use:
The angelus bell is struck everyday at 5.30AM and 6.00PM to call the churchgoers for a
mass.