August 30, 2021

Somebody Loves Me – Handbells, 5-7 Octaves

Somebody Loves Me is a George Gershwin classic, with lyrics by Ballard McDonald and Buddy DeSylva. It was published in time for the 1924 edition of The George White Scandals, a series of revues that ran from 1919 to 1936.

There are some handbell arrangements that are absolutely perfect for sight-reading! We discovered this is not one of them. It’s a Level 5 piece, with lots of chromatic stuff and interesting challenges. After we’d played it, we thought of several ways we could have made our job easier – perhaps with a couple of duplicate bells, layout changes etc. Still, we had fun, and it came out not-too-badly for an unrehearsed piece. Our original plan had been to record it for Valentine’s Day or an anniversary, but once we’d looked at it, we didn’t want to wait any longer – so here it is!

More information about Somebody Loves Me

This arrangement is for 5-7 octaves of handbells. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus. It’s available as an individual score, or as a full-choir score.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

When you purchase handbell music from Choraegus, the music score will come to you 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 (for the full-choir copy) entitles you to print up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information about this. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope) stress-free way!

Purchasing this arrangement gives you no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please take some time to read about what you’re allowed to do with Choraegus handbell music. In these times of live-streaming and online worship services, it’s particularly important that we all understand and follow the laws concerning performance licensing and copyright.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, please look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

August 25, 2021

Handbells at Bay View, August 2021

Handbells have been a traditional sight and sound at Bay View for many years. The annual Week of Handbells has been part of our lives since 2010. It’s the event where we first spent time together in person, during our long-distance relationship. It’s also where we celebrated our engagement in 2011 (with a cupcake reception). It was our first destination when we closed the distance and started our life together in 2012.

We were disappointed that the Week of Handbells was postponed in 2020, and canceled again in 2021. However, we understood the reasons; a global pandemic isn’t a trivial thing! The Week of Handbells needs a lot of advance preparation. The musicians spend months before the event learning their music, and the bells and equipment must be borrowed from various people and organizations. Participants have to arrange their travel and accommodation well in advance. The director, Fred Gramann, flies to Michigan from his home in France. The decision not to hold the last two handbell concerts at Bay View was a wise and necessary one.

“Definitely not a concert!”

This year, we decided to invite residents and guests of Bay View to attend a “not-concert” in the Bay View Association grounds. We started by playing some of our 8-bell duets, and we answered questions from audience members, about the techniques involved in playing our instruments, and how our shared love of handbells brought us together when we were living 5,347 miles apart. We played a selection of popular hymns, including Amazing Grace, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and I Stand Amazed. There were also some lively secular pieces – our 8-bell arrangement of Chopsticks, and the popular Irish jig Calliope House.

After our duet presentation, some of our friends from the Bay View Week of Handbells joined us for a sight-read of some of our 12-bell music. We were impressed and thankful that so many of the usual Week of Handbells participants were willing and able to join us. Some are based in northern Michigan, but others had traveled from as far as Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska! Together we read through some music that most of the ringers hadn’t seen or played before. It was a fun challenge, and everyone did well. Several people commented that they hadn’t played handbells in over a year, so it was great to get back to it! We played Annie Laurie and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, among others, and ended with a 16-bell arrangement of God Be With You Till We Meet Again.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event possible!

We’re thankful to the Bay View Association for allowing us to use the big events tent for this event. It was reassuring to be able to gather in an outdoor (but sheltered) setting. We provided masks, hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes to try to make the event as COVID-proof as possible!

We’re also thankful to the musicians who came along to share their musical skills with each other and our audience. Special thanks go to everyone who helped by bringing bells and music stands.

Thanks also to everyone who dropped by to listen, and to everyone who asked questions, applauded, and encouraged us as we played!

Would you like handbell music at your own event?

As a professional handbell duo, we are available for worship services, weddings, memorial services and Christmas events. We’re members of the Bay View Association, and during the summer months you can often find us on our porch at the corner of Woodland and Pine. If you’d like to book us to play handbell duets at your event (and yes, we’re willing to travel outside of Michigan), please get in touch with us!

August 23, 2021

Sing We Now of Christmas – Handbells, 3-5 Octaves

Sing We Now of Christmas was a fun recording project for us! This arrangement of the NOËL NOUVELET hymn tune was written for the Carillon Choir at Third Reformed Church of Holland, and they played it for a Christmas Eve service. We decided to put together a recording of our own!

The useful thing about Sing We Now of Christmas is that, with a quick change of title (and maybe no red accessories), it can become Now the Green Blade Riseth. Two playing opportunities for the price of one, and perfect for a spring or Easter worship service.

More information about Sing We Now of Christmas

This arrangement is for 3-5 octaves of handbells. It’s a Level 3 arrangement. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus. It’s available as an individual score, or as a full-choir score.

More arrangements for fewer bells and smaller groups

We have several other arrangements of this piece! If you don’t have a full handbell choir, or if you’d like to introduce some variety into your worship service or Christmas concert, one of these might work:

8-Bell Standard Version

8-Bell Surprisingly Easy Version

and an arrangement for 6 Handbells and Piano

Buying Choraegus handbell music

Any questions?

August 15, 2021

Wexford Carol – New Handbell Music for Christmas

The Wexford Carol is a traditional Christmas carol from County Wexford in Ireland. It’s also known as The Enniscorthy Carol, as William Grattan Flood first heard the tune there in the early 20th century, and transcribed the carol for publication in The Oxford Book of Carols. The lyrics are believed to date back as far as the 12th century, but the tune seems to have been written later; perhaps in the 15th or 16th century. In any case, this is an unusual and interesting carol!

“Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending His beloved Son
With Mary holy we should pray,
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born.”

Our 16-bell arrangement of Wexford Carol is perfect for anyone who’s a fan of unusual Christmas carols. The piece contains full-sounding chords, and some really interesting dissonance, which makes for a mysterious and slightly spooky sound. This was one of the first 16-bell arrangements we recorded with just the two of us – at the end of 2020 – with our skinny Christmas tree in the background!

Note: If a Christmas tree salesman ever tells you, “The tree only looks skinny because it’s cold. It’ll get bigger when it warms up”, you can let them know that it doesn’t work like that for trees.

More information about this 16-bell arrangement

Wexford Carol is suitable for 4-8 ringers. The arrangement contains no bell changes, and needs no bell-sharing, so you can play it without needing tables or foam. There are no special techniques, and there’s no requirement to play 4-in-hand. This arrangement is available in two ranges – either from G4 to Eb6 (2 octaves), or from D5 to Bb6 (3 octaves).

In recent weeks, there have been increasing concerns about COVID-19 cases. This arrangement might be useful if you need to play something for your ensemble to play for Christmas while observing social distancing.

If you’d like to play this Wexford Carol, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.

More about Choraegus handbell music

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please be sure to 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. Just about every question anyone has ever ask us is there, along with answers! However, if you don’t find the answer you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

August 12, 2021

The Lord is My Shepherd – Handbells, 4-5 Octaves

The Lord is My Shepherd is an arrangement that Larry wrote in 2008, for Caroline Harnly, in honor of her mother. Caroline was, until recently, the long-term director of the San Francisco State University Handbell Choir. The hymn tune POLAND is an unusual one; it was written by Koschat in 1862.

“The Lord is my shepherd, no want shall I know,
I walk in green pastures, safe-folded I rest,
He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow,
Restores me when wand’ring, redeems when oppressed,
Restores me when wand’ring, redeems when oppressed.”

We enjoyed the opportunity to make a video of this 5-octave arrangement!

More information about The Lord is My Shepherd

This arrangement is for 4-5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes. It’s a Level 3 arrangement. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus. It’s available as an individual score, or as a full-choir score.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

Any questions?

August 8, 2021

Dance of the Sugar Plum Sumo Fairy – for Bass Handbell Trio

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Sumo Fairy takes Tchaikovsky’s ballet music to a whole new low! If you’re into bass handbell ringing, this arrangement could be an entertaining addition to your holiday repertoire. We had fun performing it for the Kalamazoo Ringers’ online Home for Christmas concert last year!

More information about Dance of the Sugar Plum Sumo Fairy

This arrangement is for bells from C#2 to G5. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

When you purchase Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Choraegus site, the music score will come to you 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 sufficient copies for your group. For your convenience, the score package for this arrangement comes with a complete three-staff score, plus separate parts for each ringer. If you need more than three people to play it, that’s okay; you don’t need to pay for extra copies.

Please read our licensing agreement for full information about this. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope) stress-free way!

Purchasing this arrangement gives you no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please take some time to read about what you’re allowed to do with Choraegus handbell music. In these times of live-streaming and online concerts, it’s particularly important that we all understand and follow the laws concerning performance licensing and copyright.

Any questions?

August 5, 2021

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth – Handbells, 3 or 5 Octaves

“A lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
‘Tis laden with the sin of earth,
None else the burden sharing;
It goes its way, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
Its spotless life to offer;
Bears shame, and stripes, and wounds, and death,
Anguish and mockery, and saith,
“Willing all this I suffer.”

Lord, all my life to you I’ll cling,
This love forever holding.
You ever, as you ever me,
With loving arms enfolding.
Lord, you will be my beacon-light,
Guiding me safe through death’s dark night,
Cheering my heart in sorrow.
Therefore my self, and all that’s mine,
To you, my Savior, I consign,
From whom all things I borrow.”

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth was written by Paul Gerhardt, a German Lutheran pastor, in 1647, with music by Wolfgang Dachstein. It’s a beautiful and meaningful hymn for Lent, Holy Week and Good Friday. Here’s our handbell arrangement:

More information about A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth

This arrangement is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with 2 octaves of (optional) handchimes. It’s a Level 3- arrangement. If you’d like to play this piece, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

Any questions?

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth handbells

August 2, 2021

Our 6th Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Collection

Some of our most popular 8-bell titles are the Surprisingly-Easy hymn arrangements. We’re pleased to announce the arrival of our 6th Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Collection!

Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Arrangements from Choraegus

We refer to our Surprisingly-Easy arrangements as “All of the music, but without the twiddly bits”. These arrangements are more straightforward to play than the standard versions. They avoid complicated rhythms, and can be played at a tempo you’re comfortable with. If you’re part of an advanced handbell group, these arrangements should be “pick up and play” pieces for you; useful if you need to put together a performance at short notice. They’re ideal for worship services, contain no special techniques, and are suitable for 2-4 ringers to play. If you’re part of a duo, trio or quartet, or your full handbell choir is unable to play together because of COVID-19 restrictions, these hymns could be what you’re looking for.

The hymns included in this 8-bell hymn collection are:

All Things Bright and Beautiful
Holy is the Lord
In Babilone
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Let All Things Now Living (The Ash Grove)
My Song is Love Unknown
Linstead Market (the tune used for the hymn Let All Talents and Tongues Employ

Each of these arrangements is also available to purchase individually from Choraegus, our music site.

More information about buying music online from Choraegus

As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. For more information, we have a step-by-step guide to purchasing music from Choraegus. This music also comes with permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please include the title and arranger (Larry Sue) in any online video link, and in printed materials such as concert programs or worship bulletins.

There are more Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Collections available from Choraegus, as well as our standard 8-bell arrangements – some more challenging than others.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help.