New Year’s bells
(2008) ·
New Years Bells
New Years Bells [2:45 · download]

 

“It’s a few minutes before 9am on New Year’s day, and I’m standing on Day Street in Somerville, about halfway between Orchard Street (on my right) and the Davis Square post office (to my left). The post office is about a block away. There’s a Catholic church on Mass. Ave (to my right), a few blocks away that chimes the time every 15 minutes, starting at 9 am.

“There’s a sweet spot right around here where you can hear the bells chime in one ear, followed by the echo off the post office in the other ear. It’s quite a wonderful sound. It’s quiet enough this morning that we may be able to catch it. So let’s just listen…

“That’s it. Happy New Year!”


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Looking toward the post office (the four-story brick building at center).
It’s a marvelous reflector of city sounds.