Monthly Archives: September 2017

New 8-Bell Music for Christmas 2017

As all handbell musicians know, it’s important to start preparing for the holiday season long before it begins. Here’s some new 8-bell music for Christmas!

Angels from the Realms of Glory

We added this lively carol to our holiday repertoire last Christmas, and it proved to be an audience-pleaser!

From Starry Skies Descending (Tu scendi dalle Stelle)

This is possibly our favorite of this year’s new eight-bell Christmas music. It’s an Italian carol. If you’re a fan of sixteenth notes (semiquavers), you’ll enjoy playing this one!

Joy to the World

This piece was new to us in December 2016, and it quickly became a favorite!

The Seven Joys of Mary

This is a lively English carol, which we very much enjoyed playing for the first time in December 2016.

Sussex Carol

Also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”, this traditional English carol has an optional repeat section, and is a lot of fun to play. We recorded the video as part of our “A Carol A Day” project for December 2016.

Up on the Housetop

This arrangement is a fun one, mostly straightforward, but with a little triplet challenge in the middle! We recorded this video in December 2016, as part of our “A Carol A Day” project.

The Wassail Song

Also known as “Here We Come A-Wassailing”, this is another traditional carol from England, which we recorded as part of our A Carol A Day project last December.

While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night

This is an arrangement based on the “Winchester Old” tune, commonly used in the United Kingdom. It’s rhythmically straightforward to play, and could be a good choice for a quartet.

These new pieces, together with our other Christmas music for 8 bells, are available from Choraegus. We hope you’ll enjoy them!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music. If you have any questions, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

8-bell music for Christmas - from Choraegus
Choraegus – Bringing Music to the People

A Fall Handbell Festival at First Congregational Church in Saginaw

We recently celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary. What better way to celebrate than by spending a day at a handbell festival? First Congregational Church in Saginaw hosted a Fall Handbell Festival – Ringing in a New Season, and invited us to take part in the fun.

First Congregational Church - the venue for the handbell festival
First Congregational Church – the venue for the handbell festival

Someone somewhere forgot to push the “It’s the fall season now!” button. That meant the weather was hot, hot, hot! Around 40 intrepid handbell musicians from churches around the area attended. We gathered together in a very warm church to rehearse and perform under the baton of world-renowned pianist and composer Catherine McMichael. Catherine had written two original compositions for the event, and Dr. Quincy Dobbs was there to play the organ.

Handbell workshops with bass and treble bells

Larry enjoyed the opportunity to get his hands on some bass handbells again. He led workshops for festival participants to find out more about bass bell techniques. Carla led well-attended workshops exploring some of the techniques and challenges involved in playing treble bells. We all enjoyed discussing the merits of various multiple bell techniques. Some of the treble ringers worked on weaving a series of bells without crossing their arms! That can be a challenge, but everyone did very well.

Our friend Kim Finison from Lansing (we know him from the Bay View Week of Handbells!) was on hand to help with handbell maintenance and repairs. We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch and great hospitality.

Larry Sue plays bass bells in Saginaw
Larry enjoyed the opportunity to play bass bells again!

Thanks to all involved in making this festival happen!

We had a very enjoyable day at the festival. Our thanks go to Jeri at FCC and everyone involved with the huge task of organising the event. We hope to do it all again someday!

Larry and Carla, handbell musicians at FCC Saginaw, Michigan
This photo does not show how HOT the weather was!

Coronation and Triumphant Exultation is now on YouTube!

We’re excited to be able to share a video of the world premiere of Larry’s original composition Coronation and Triumphant Exultation. The video is from the 2017 Bay View Week of Handbells, here in Michigan.

The Week of Handbells is an annual event; always one of the highlights of our year. We’ve been attending together since 2010. The Thursday evening concert is always an exciting experience. The musicians work hard for months beforehand, and it’s a thrilling concert to be part of. This video is part of the full concert recording by Pierpont Productions.

Would you like to play this piece?

Coronation and Triumphant Exultation (Crùnadh agus Iolach) is published by AGEHR Publishing (AG58002). It’s for 5-8 octaves of handbells, and optional 5 octaves of handchimes.

This piece is the 2017 Donald E. Allured Original Composition Award piece. Larry dedicated the piece to Maestro Carl Wiltse, who directed the Bay View Week of Handbells for fifteen years. Here’s a photo of us with Carl. Yes, he’s a lot taller than we are!

Coronation and Triumphant Exultation - dedicated to Maestro Carl Wiltse
With Maestro Carl Wiltse at Bay View Week of Handbells 2014

Any questions?

If you have any questions about this piece, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help. We hope you’ll enjoy playing this piece!