February 24, 2021

All Things Bright and Beautiful – for Handbells

In these Covid times, when we can’t get together with others to play full-choir handbell music, we’re having to improvise a bit. We decided to put together another 3-octave demonstration video – so here’s All Things Bright and Beautiful!

As with our other “fake-full-choir” recordings (All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine and Newness), this was more of a read-through than a pre-rehearsed performance. It felt like a bit of a crazy sight-read, because some of those notes go past very quickly, and there are some sneaky thumb-damps in there, as well as a fair amount of syncopation. It certainly kept us on our toes! We apologise for the minor inaccuracies, but it’s mostly there.

The video includes some images from the Tulip Time Festival here in Holland – an event that takes place annually at the start of May.

More about this arrangement

This is another arrangement that needs no bell-sharing between ringers. If your handbell choir is observing social distancing, and playing from spaced-apart tables, this piece could work well!

All Things Bright and Beautiful is arranged for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, and it’s Level 3+. The sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

More information about buying Choraegus handbell music

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded as a PDF file. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment entitles you to print out up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please look at the Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

All Things Bright and Beautiful - tulips

February 24, 2021

This Joyful Eastertide – New 8-Bell Music from Choraegus

The latest 8-bell arrangement from Choraegus is This Joyful Eastertide. This carol was written by George Ratcliffe Woodward, and published in 1894 in Carols for Easter and Ascensiontide. The melody is a Dutch tune from 1624.

We recorded our demonstration video in early 2020, and decided it wasn’t everything we’d hoped for. We made some vague plans to re-record the arrangement… and promptly forgot about it. An entire year has gone by, and someone recently asked us if we had an 8-bell arrangement of this hymn… so we decided it was time to make the piece available. We never did manage to make a new video, though!

This arrangement has no bell-sharing, no picking-up of accidentals during the piece, and no need for tables. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but there are no special techniques written into the score, so it could also be suitable for a trio or quartet to play.

How to purchase the sheet music

If you’d like to play This Joyful Eastertide, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print up to four copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials.

Please also note that our music is designed as downloadable PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll do what we can to help!

February 22, 2021

Newness – for Handbells, 3 or 5 Octaves

Now that we have more time together at home, we decided to try recording another full-choir piece with just the two of us. We decided on Newness – one of Larry’s original compositions – as our second recording project. We didn’t have 5 octaves of handbells at home, so we played the 3-octave version.

As with All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine, this was a read-through, rather than a practised performance. It’s pretty much all there, but we didn’t practise beforehand, and didn’t work on expression or dynamics. Still, you should get a reasonable idea of how the piece is meant to sound.

This is another arrangement that needs no bell-sharing between ringers. If your handbell choir is observing social distancing, and playing from spaced-apart tables, this piece could work well!

More information about the music

Newness is an original composition written for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with 2 octaves of (optional) chimes. The sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

Any questions?

Original composition for handbells - Newness

February 17, 2021

Wonderful Grace of Jesus – 16-Bell Music

Wonderful Grace of Jesus is our latest arrangement for 16 handbells!

This hymn (with the tune Wonderful Grace) was written in 1918 by Haldor Lillenas. Our 16-bell arrangement is proof that handbell music doesn’t have to use a large range of bells to be interesting… and tricky! Yes, it took us several attempts to get a decent recording of this one. We recommend it for anyone who appreciates an unusual hymn tune, and a ringing challenge.

Suitable for socially-distant handbell ensembles

If your handbell ensemble is observing social distancing, our 16-bell arrangements could be useful. Wonderful Grace of Jesus contains no bell changes, and needs no bell-sharing. It’s suitable for up to 8 ringers to play, and doesn’t need any tables or foam. If your handbell ensemble is playing from music stands, with physical distancing, this would work!

If you’d like to play Wonderful Grace of Jesus, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.

More information about Choraegus handbell music

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need! Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. In addition, please mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Please note that our sheet music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide, designed to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

February 17, 2021

Larry’s Radiation Treatment is Finished!

We’re (cautiously) celebrating the end of Larry’s radiation treatment for prostate cancer recurrence! Over the last four weeks, Larry has had 20 sessions of radiation therapy at the University of Michigan Hospital. He drove us to Ann Arbor and back, from our home in Holland, every day, Monday to Friday. It came to a total of 6,552 miles!

The Michigan winter weather certainly made our daily road-trips an interesting experience. We knew it might be risky, driving 3 hours to the hospital, and 3 hours back, in January and February. There were mornings when visibility was very poor!

The amazing thing was how quickly the daily road-trips became routine for us. It didn’t take us long to get used to waking up in the morning, making lunch to take with us, and getting into the car. We looked out for sights along the way; little things to make us smile. Daily road-trips for cancer radiation could so easily become stressful, miserable experiences — so we appreciated the silly things – like graffiti at the rest stop near Ann Arbor…

… and “look, surely an illusionist!” – who, it turns out, is really a dentist:

illusionist... or dentist? — Yup. Free advertising for Dr West of Battle Creek, who made us smile on our way home every day.

Most days, we stretched our legs with a short walk in Bandemer Park in Ann Arbor, after the radiation session was done. The weather in Ann Arbor was consistently brighter than the weather in Holland – and we were blessed with several days of blue skies, to walk by the river and enjoy the beauty of the snow and ice.

Larry's radiation treatment - walking by the river

What happens next? Did the radiation treatment work?

Larry’s cancer treatment isn’t over yet. He’ll continue to have monthly injections until June, and more blood tests. There will be appointments with the oncologists in Wyoming (Michigan) and (online) in Ann Arbor. It will be some months before we find out if the combination of radiation and monthly injections have been successful.

If you’ve ever heard prostate cancer described as “the good cancer”, it’s not true. This cancer is sneaky, and has a tendency to return, over and over. We put our faith in God, and in the University of Michigan doctors, and hope for the best. We also hope that our insurance will eventually agree to help with the cost of the radiation therapy. They decided unexpectedly (on Day 13) to deny Larry the treatment, and that came as a shock to us. We’re fast discovering that the cost of having cancer treatment here in the USA can be overwhelming and scary.

Thank you to everyone who’s helped and encouraged us through this!

Our thanks go to the cancer team at the University of Michigan, for taking good care of Larry. We’re also thankful to everyone who’s encouraged us in this latest “adventure”. To the people who have sent us cards, and prayed for us – thank you. We’re grateful to the friends who offered us emergency accommodation if we’d needed it. It helped to know that staying overnight would have been possible if the weather had been too terrible. Thanks also to the Detroit Handbell Ensemble for the gift that paid for one of our road-trips, and to the choir at Third Reformed Church for the huge plant that unexpectedly took up residence in our house this week!

Thanks also to our Kalamazoo Ringers family. We appreciated the generous gift that helped with the last week of our road-trips, and the personal gifts, cards and good wishes that helped us so much. And thanks to our friends on our Facebook page, who commented with kind words, and put up with oh-so-much talk about our daily road-trips. We love and appreciate you all.

Larry's radiation treatment — Larry with his certificate!

February 15, 2021

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers – Music for 12 Handbells

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers is our newest 12-bell arrangement. The tune is the traditional Swedish folk tune HAF TRONES LAMPA FÄRDIG, so this arrangement would work in secular performances, as well as in church.

Today is the last of Larry’s 20 radiation treatments. We’ve been driving from Holland to Ann Arbor every day, Monday to Friday, for the last four weeks. It’s a 3-hour journey there, and a 3-hour journey back, through typical Michigan winter weather. Today feels like a good day to introduce a happy handbell arrangement!

Suitable for social distancing!

As with all Choraegus 12-bell arrangements, this piece has no bell-sharing, and there are no accidentals to pick up mid-piece. As there are no techniques requiring tables or foam, this arrangement can be played from music stands – spaced as far apart as you need them to be!

The music is suitable for 3-6 ringers, and two versions are available – either using bells C5-G6 (as in our demo video), or using F5-C7.

Where to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers, the sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, please note that it’s designed to be downloaded as a PDF file. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

February 11, 2021

His Eye is On the Sparrow – 12-Bell Music from Choraegus

“Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me”

His Eye is On the Sparrow is a gospel hymn from 1905. Charles H. Gabriel wrote the tune, and Civilla D. Martin penned the lyrics, inspired by the Gospel of Matthew. Over the decades, there have been many interpretations – and if you look on YouTube, you’ll find lots of them!

Our 12-bell demonstration is at the lively tempo Larry prefers, but if you wanted to play it at a slower speed, that would be fine too.

Suitable for social distancing!

As with all Choraegus 12-bell arrangements, this piece has no bell-sharing, and there are no accidentals to pick up mid-piece. Also, there are no techniques that need tables or foam, so the arrangement can be played from music stands.

The music is suitable for 3-6 ringers, and two versions are available – either using bells C5-G6 (as in our demo video), or using F5-C7.

Where to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play His Eye is On the Sparrow, the sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once.

Another thing to note is that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

February 9, 2021

New from Choraegus – Handbell Music Practice Tracks

Larry’s been busy in recent weeks! Well, we know he’s been busy driving to and from Ann Arbor for radiation treatment, but he’s also been busy with a new project for Choraegus – practice tracks!

This idea was suggested to us by a friend, who also happens to be a customer! We now have practice tracks available for most of our unaccompanied small-ensemble handbell scores (up to 16 bells).

What exactly are the practice tracks, and why might they be helpful?

For a small cost, you get a piano+click track audio version of the score. So you’ll hear the tune, along with a guiding metronome sound. Each click track starts two bars before the first full bar of music (like counting in!) Then beat 1 of each bar is accented slightly, to help you to play along with the score.

These practice tracks could be helpful if you want to rehearse your part of an arrangement on your own, without the rest of the ensemble. For example, if you’re playing an 8-bell duet, you’ll be able to play your part, and hear the whole piece as you play, even if your duet partner isn’t with you. If you’re directing a 12- or 16-bell ensemble and you won’t have much time to rehearse together as a group, your ringers can each rehearse separately along with the practice track.

If you need the tracks at a slower tempo as you start rehearsing, you can download a playback app such as AudiPo or the Amazing Slow Downer, and change the speed of the track to meet your needs.

Make sure you buy the right track!

For our “dual-range” scores, there are separate practice tracks for the G5-based and F5-based scores in the package. We suggest purchasing the music first (the “Score Package). Next, decide whether you’re going to play the G5-based version or the F5-based version. Then come back later and get the practice track to match!

Here are the options, as shown on the screen for an 8-bell arrangement:

Here are the options for an 8-bell arrangement that has a standard and a surprisingly-easy version. Choose carefully!

Any questions/problems?

If you have any questions about these practice tracks, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help. This is a very new project, so if you buy a practice track and it doesn’t work as expected, please let us know, and we’ll fix it for you!

February 8, 2021

6-Bell Easter Music – Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

It’s time for some 6-bell Easter music! Here’s our new arrangement of Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise, for handbells with piano accompaniment.

It’s been a while since we played any 6-bell music. In recent weeks, we’ve been busy introducing some new 12- and 16-bell music, and putting together a video of our 3-octave arrangement of All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine. It was fun to dust off Larry’s “performance sling” for this new 6-bell piece!

This arrangement works well as a duet, but a trio could also play it, with social distancing as required. There are no techniques that need tables or foam, and no bell-sharing between ringers. If you’d like to play Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. We also have an mp3 piano accompaniment track available to purchase separately; useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

More information about our music

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing the 6-bell arrangement of Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Your purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

You might like to look at our step-by-step guide to buying music from Choraegus, especially if you’re new to purchasing music online. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise - Easter handbells

February 4, 2021

All Praise to Thee, For Thou, O King Divine

All Praise to Thee, For Thou, O King Divine was a new recording adventure for us! In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been making daily road-trips (Monday-Friday) between Holland and Ann Arbor for Larry’s radiation treatment. Spending more than 6 hours a day in the car definitely makes us appreciate our weekends!

What better way to spend a weekend than making a recording of one of Larry’s full choir arrangements? We decided on All Praise to Thee, because it’s such a versatile hymn. We’ve sung it as When in Our Music God is Glorified (with words by Fred Pratt Green, © 1972 Hope Publishing), and it’s also the setting for We Know that Christ is Raised and Dies No More. If your church holds Music Appreciation Sunday, this piece would be ideal. It would also be suitable for Easter services, as well as year-round.

Here’s our video. Please be warned; this was very much a read-through. If we’d taken time to rehearse, it would have looked and sounded smoother, but… well, the weekend was too short!

As you can see from the video, this arrangement has no bell-sharing between ringers. If your handbell choir is observing social distancing, and playing from spaced-apart tables, this piece could work well!

Where to find the sheet music

All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine is written for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with an octave of (optional) chimes. The sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.