Cast by the Paccard Fonderie de Cloches in Annecy, France, a 200-year old foundry, "Janet's Bells" range from 28 pounds to 4,397 pounds and together weigh approximately 12 tons. Twenty-seven bear a cast inscription of dedication, verse, or prose. Perhaps the most popular inscription is on the bass B-flat bell, unofficially called the "Arnold Palmer Bell":
What is a carillon?
While people visiting Wake Forest often remark that their church has a carillon too but that it is electronic or played from the organ in the church, the carillon is actually a rare instrument, and many of the installations referred to as carillons do not fit the official definintion of the word. A carillon is an instrument of at least 23 bells tuned so as to allow them to be played melodically and in harmony with each other, and controlled by a keyboard that allows the player to vary the dynamic (i.e. volume) of play. There are approximately 200 carillons in North America, just over 100 of them classified as "grand carillons" because, like Wake Forest, they have at least 47 bells (four octaves with the bass C-sharp and E-flat omitted). North Carolina is home to six carillons (Belmont, Charlotte [2], Durham, Hickory, and Winston-Salem).
Because the instrument is controlled by direct mechanical connections to allow the carillonneur to carefully control the ringing of the bells, the instrument is played from a room directly underneath the bells, 
located behind the upper part of the clock face as seen from the outside of the tower. The carillonneur uses a clavier of wooden batons and pedals arranged in similar fashion to an organ to activate clappers hung at each bell. One of the special features of the Wake Forest Instrument is the double action of the bass C, D, and E bells that allows them to be swung by motor in addition to regular carillon play, creating a "peal" or, when only one bell is used, a "toll" to express celebration, mourning, or to call people to worship.
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How does the carillon work?
While the carillon is a very public instrument in the sense that it can be heard by an entire community of people, it is a private instrument in that the carillonneur is typically alone in the playing chamber. The carillon is controlled from the clavier. Each of the instrument's 48 bells is connected to one of the wooden baton keys that are organized into two rows: natural pitches (corresponding to the white keys on a piano) on the bottom row and accidental pitches (corresponding to the black keys on a piano) on the top row. 
The lowest 24 bells (2 octaves) may also be played using the pedals. The carillonneur strikes the keys of the manual keyboard with a half-closed fist, using both hands to be able to play simple harmony or rapid melodic lines. When necessary, the carillonneur can play with an open hand to strike up to four keys at once. The pedals may be used for occasional bass chord reinforcement or for melodic play with a higher accompaniment being performed on the manual keyboard.
The carillon's transmission is the set of wires and joints which translate the play of the keys to the clappers located inside each bell. When the carillonneur strikes a key on the clavier, the metal wire to which the key is connected pulls on a square joint in the bell chamber which pulls another wire connected to the clapper. 
The clapper then strikes the inside of the bell at the ideal point (identified by technicians at the installation and during regular maintenance to the instrument) to produce the bell's pitch. The velocity of the clapper, which determines the volume of the strike, is governed by the force with which the carillonneur struck the key below.
The unique sound of the carillon is created by the overtones of the bell. A pure "C" pitch, for example, is a relatively flat, thin sound; such a pitch would sound electronic to most people. Musical instruments all produce overtones: quieter soundings at an octave above, a fifth above that, the next octave, and the third above that. Different instruments have different combinations and relative strengths of overtones; this is what gives the instrument its color. 
The carillon traditionally has a strong minor third overtone, which gives it a plaintive, even sad, sound. The management of overtones is one of the things that separates bellfounders and it is the most technically difficult part of casting the bells. The Paccard bells of the Harris Carillon have a minor-third overtone, but it is less strong and not as minor as some instruments, and so the Harris Carillon has a relatively bright sound when compared with the instruments of other bellfounders. In general, this rich tone means that the carillon produces pleasing music without complex harmony: sometimes a simple melody line is the most beautiful use of the carillon's bells.
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