Joseph Guillaume François "Jef" Denyn ( ; 19 March 1862 – 2 October 1941) was a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

player from

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, Belgium. He originally studied to be an engineer. His carilloning career started in 1881 when his father, the official carilloneer of Mechelen, went blind and became unable to play. This caused Denyn to take over. In 1887 Denyn was recognised for his skills and officially appointed to the same position his father had held. He used his engineering knowledge to vastly improve the technology surrounding carillons, which is now used all over Europe and the United States. In 1922, he founded the world's first and most renowned international higher institute of

campanology Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art. It is common to collect ...

, later named after him, the

Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" The Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" ( nl, Koninklijke Beiaardschool "Jef Denyn"; informally also the Mechelen carillon school) is a music school in Mechelen, Belgium, that specializes in the carillon. It is the first and largest carillon ...

( nl, Koninklijke Beiaardschool "Jef Denyn") in

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he, his wife Helene, son and four daughters were among those Belgian refugees who fled to England. The Denyn family were taken in by organist and musicologist William Wooding Starmer (1866–1927) in his house in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

External links

Official website of Jef Denyn's Carillon School

Biography of Jef Denyn on SVM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denyn, Jef 1862 births 1941 deaths 19th-century Belgian musicians 19th-century composers 20th-century Belgian musicians 20th-century composers Belgian expatriates in the United Kingdom Carillonneurs Composers for carillon Musicians from Mechelen Belgian composers Male composers 19th-century Belgian male musicians 20th-century Belgian male musicians