Hark, the Glad Sound is the latest 12-bell arrangement from Choraegus. The CHESTERFIELD hymn tune is suitable for Advent or Palm Sunday.
“Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, The Savior promised long! Let every heart prepare a throne, And every voice a song.“
More information about Hark, the Glad Sound!
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Hark, the Glad Sound! is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Refer to the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version!
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
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 arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music – and if you make a video of your handbell choir playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
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!
Nocturne is an original Larry Sue composition, for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes. It’s an accessible Level 2+ piece with a thoughtful, introspective mood. It’s suitable for secular or sacred settings.
More information about Nocturne
Nocturne is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.
Please note that Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a downloadable PDF file. 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, we recommend 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.
Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We askthat youcredit the composer (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.
We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music. If you record a video of your group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it. You’re welcome to share it with us by email or on our Facebook page!
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there, along with the answer. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.
“How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! What more can he say than to you he has said Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In ev’ry condition, in sickness, in health, In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth, At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea — The Lord, the Almighty, your strength e’er shall be.
Larry’s new 8-bell arrangement of the hymn How Firm a Foundation is now available! It’s suitable for 2-4 ringers.
More information about this 8-bell arrangement
Sheet music for How Firm a Foundation is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. When you look at the page on the Choraegus website, you’ll see that there are two arrangements of this carol. This one is Version 2. Make sure you add the correct one to your shopping cart! This version is less challenging than our earlier version, and more straightforward for a quartet or beginning/improving duo to play.
Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group, so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives you permission to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services. 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.
Please 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.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this with pictures, to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a 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!
Just a Closer Walk With Thee is the latest 16-bell arrangement from Choraegus. If you like your hymn arrangements with a bit of swing, you’ll love this one! As with all our 16-bell music, it’s designed to show that music for 4-8 ringers doesn’t have to be boring!
More information about Just a Closer Walk With Thee
This arrangement is available from Choraegus in two handbell ranges – C5-G6 and F5-C7. Please check the bells-used charts on the Choraegus page for this piece, to make sure you get the version for the bells you want to play. There are no bell changes, and no techniques that require tables or foam pads. Our 16-bell music is designed to be suitable for groups to play using just music stands.
Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. – so 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. Please be sure to mention the arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) and the publisher (Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus, and we’d love to see a video if you record one with your ensemble!
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. You’ll find just about every question anyone has ever asked us, along with answers. However, if you don’t find what you’re looking for, please ask us!
Did you catch Larry’s recent performance of Danny Boy (also known as the Londonderry Air) on our Facebook page recently? In case you missed it, here’s the video, now available to watch on Vimeo:
Larry first performed Danny Boy as a bass handbell solo at the at the Los Altos Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Center in California, way back in 2001. At the time, he was helping out with a young handbell choir Valley Vibrations, based at Valley Church in Cupertino. The group was performing at the rehabilitation center, and since the bass bells weren’t getting much use, Larry was able to do a “test run” of his bass solo as part of that performance.
He performed the piece again at the Handbell Musicians of America Area 12 Conference in 2004, in two locations: Ontario, CA and Honolulu, Hawaii, where David Davidson was the clinician.
Fast-forward to 2024, and after 20 years, it seemed like the right time to get this piece out again, and see if Larry was still up to the challenge of playing it.
Some of the challenges involved in this arrangement
A bass handbell solo will inevitably have its challenges! This piece uses handbells ranging from C3 to A5. The lowest bells weigh around 9 lbs each, and the first section of the piece starts with the melody played on those bells.
The first section was challenging to play, not only because of the weight of each bell, but because of the layout and spacing. You can’t be casual about picking up and putting down bass bells, because if it goes wrong, it could be disastrous. The second section requires concentration, because of the double malleting. Larry modified the layout of the bells in this piece from the way he’d done it in 2004, to add the 4-in-hand option for the final section.
The other challenge, of course, is that Larry is twenty years older than he was when he first played this bass solo! Still, after just a few weeks of practising, he managed to get to the point where he could play the whole thing (more than six minutes) from beginning to end, and that felt like quite an achievement. If you watch the video closely, you’ll even catch a few instances of Larry using the “aerial self-pass” technique to transfer a bell swiftly from one hand to another. It’s impressive-looking with the bass bells!
A few outtakes!
Needless to say, there were a few outtakes before Larry got this one right!
Would you like to play this bass handbell solo?
If you’d like to play this piece, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus. A piano accompaniment mp3 is also available, which can be useful if you don’t have a pianist available. It’s the same backing track Larry used in his performance.
Finally, don’t forget that The Bass Ringer’s Notebook remains one of the must-have instruction books for anyone serious about bass handbell ringing. The book is available in hard copy only, from Choraegus.
The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – available from Choraegus
2024 is here, and our 2023 holiday handbell performances are finished. As we pack away our carols and start thinking about what’s next, we’d like to thank everyone who helped to make December 2023 a fun month for us!
A quieter-than-usual holiday season
The 2023 holiday season was probably the quietest one we’ve had since the pandemic. We were invited to perform at several events outside Michigan, which would have been exciting. Ultimately, though, we ended up sticking with bookings in an area very local to us. Our run-up to Christmas began with a couple of outdoor performances at the Kerstmarkt in downtown Holland. We always enjoy starting our Christmas ringing at this European-style Christmas market. It’s a fun way to practice ringing for a couple of hours at a time, even in icy weather. This time we even had our photo taken with Sinterklaas! We didn’t actually manage to persuade him to do any handbell-ringing, though.
An event that was new to us in 2023 was the Otsego Hometown Christmas. This was another outdoor performance, and wow, it was cold! It was a fun community event, though, and it was very well attended. The Otsego District Library sponsored our performance at the Hometown Christmas, and we’ll be going back there in April, to give a handbell duet presentation in the library.
Handbell duet concerts and demonstrations
Christmas 2023 marked our return to Freedom Village in Holland; the first time we’d given a performance for the residents there since 2018! We also enjoyed sharing our music with the Century Club in Holland, and for the seniors of Chester Township. We made a return to Hudsonville Library, and also to the Village at the Pines in Grand Haven. The Century Club had requested a demonstration of our 19th-century Taylor handbells from England. Last time we played for that group, our Taylor bells were over in Ireland, being restored. We enjoyed being able to play them this Christmas, because they’re so different from our usual bells. You can see them on the table in the photo below:
Another Christmas performance with the Zeeland Community Band
One of our favorite 2023 holiday handbell performances was the Zeeland Community Band Christmas concert. This band just gets bigger and better with every passing year! This year’s Christmas concert was thoroughly festive, with some really good music by the band. This was how they looked from where we were, at the side of the stage:
Advent and Christmas worship services
We enjoyed playing handbell duets in Advent services at Ridge Point Community Church here in Holland. It was fun to play in the service on the first Sunday of Advent, then again in the Christmas Eve services on the Saturday evening and the Sunday morning as Christmas Day approached. We always enjoy the Christmas Eve services at this church, and we approved of the purple lighting this year!
Our final Christmas event of the season was at Glenn United Methodist Church, at the very end of the year. We played a total of six 8-bell duets in that service, to a small but friendly and appreciative congregation. The pastor gave a sermon about bells and Christmas, which we really appreciated. There’s definitely something special about bells at that time of year. Yes, we may be biased, but we believe it! It’s a very special church community, in a historic building, and we appreciated the turn-of-the-century architecture there. We also loved having the opportunity to chat and have coffee with the congregation afterwards. When the service was finished, and the coffee cups were put away, we went for a nice walk around the area. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Glenn (not far from South Haven), you should!
Thank you to all for your support and encouragement in 2023!
As we start our new year, and look forward to snow finally arriving in our part of Michigan (fingers crossed!), we’d like to thank everyone for your friendship and encouragement in our busy holiday season. If you booked us for a performance, thank you! If you came to one of our concerts, or chatted with us after a worship service, thank you too! To the people who made coffee or tea for us, put money into our tip jar at the Kerstmarkt, or gave us flowers; thank you. If you prayed for us, sent us a Christmas card, or wished us safe travels, we appreciate you too.
Finally, thanks to everyone who bought music from Choraegus, liked or shared videos from our Facebook page, and generally helped to keep us smiling during our busiest month of the year. We appreciate you all, and wish you good health and happiness in 2024!
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is a popular 19th-century carol. We recently recorded a brand-new 8-bell arrangement, in the beautiful Crouse Memorial Chapel at the Bay View Association in northern Michigan.
More information about this 8-bell arrangement
Sheet music for It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. When you look at the page on the Choraegus website, you’ll see that there are two arrangements of this carol. This one is Version 2. Make sure you add the correct one to your shopping cart! This version is less challenging than our earlier version, and more straightforward for a trio or quartet group to play.
Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group, so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives you permission to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services. 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.
Please 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.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this with pictures, to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a stress-free way.
Looking for more of a challenge?
If you’re looking for a more-challenging version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, try Version 1, available from the same page on the Choraegus website. This version has a lot more running notes, and is fun to play, but definitely takes a bit longer to get the hang of.
Other versions of this carol available from Choraegus
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!
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is the latest handbell arrangement from Choraegus. This African-American spiritual is perfect for a Christmas concert or worship service, and is arranged for 12 handbells.
“There’s a star in the East on Christmas morn; Rise up, shepherd, and follow; It will lead to the place where the Christ was born; Rise up, shepherd, and follow.“
More information about Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version!
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
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 arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music – and if you make a video of your handbell choir playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
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!
Last weekend’s Handbell Weekend in Madison, WI was a lot of fun! The event was organised by two churches — Westminster Presbyterian and Covenant Presbyterian — who invited us to visit Madison and lead workshop classes on various handbell topics. We appreciated the opportunity to talk about handbells for an entire morning, with around 40 workshop participants from churches and community groups in the area. We taught five classes between us, and shared a lot of information during that time.
Larry’s Bass Handbell Class
Larry’s class for bass ringers aimed to answer questions submitted by workshop participants before the event. He covered topics such as: how to lift bass handbells safely, how to assign parts when short-handed, bell placement on the table to avoid weaving, and how to use mallets effectively. The session also included an photo opportunity with bass shelleys; a chance for all the class participants to demonstrate their ability to hold two bass bells at the same time!
Notes for class participants: If you were at Larry’s class on Bass Ringing, and you’d like to learn more, you can find out everything you need to know and more by reading his very own book, The Bass Ringer’s Notebook. This book is available for purchase from Choraegus. If you were at the workshop and you regret not buying the Notebook at the special discount price, get in touch with us, and we’ll arrange to make that possible (although you’ll still need to pay for shipping). Alternatively, use the coupon code given out at the event to save 20% on Choraegus purchases.
Carla’s Treble Ringing Class
Carla’s treble ringing class focused on some of the challenges treble ringers face, including topics such as how to make quick bell changes, how to play stopped sounds, and how to make martellato easier.
Adventures in 8-Bell Music
We enjoyed sharing some of our 8-bell music with workshop participants. We talked about the reasons for playing 8-bell (or small group) music, handbell assignment, space requirements, and the challenges and considerations to bear in mind. Then we all enjoyed playing some 8- and 12-bell music together as a group. We were able to add higher and lower bells to fill out the sound, and it all sounded great!
Note for class participants: If you enjoyed our 8-bell music class on Saturday morning, you can find lots of small-group music available for purchase from Choraegus. Don’t forget to use the coupon from the event to save 20% on every purchase!
British-Style 4-in-Hand Ringing
This is not actually an accurate representation of how it’s done, but Carla always enjoys the opportunity to teach other ringers how to play 4-in-hand in the traditional British way. Some of the class participants were trying 4-in-hand for the first time, while others were proficient in the ring-and-knock style most often used here in the USA. Either way, learning a new technique is a challenge, but everyone rose to the occasion and eventually succeeded in making it work!
Note for class participants: If you went to the class, and your hands forgot everything the minute you left the room, you can find more information (with extra pictures) in this detailed article on our site. If you’re wondering where you can find some free music to practise your new skills without spending any money, you can find it here!
Choraegus “Speed Reading” Session
This was a top-speed sight-read though some of the full-choir music available from Choraegus. Some pieces were more challenging than others, but we kept the session low-stress, and just enjoyed making music together as a group.
The following pieces were included in the session. Click on each title to find out more!
3-5 octaves, plus optional 1-octave handchimes, Level 3+. For groups looking for some extra challenge, this is a recent arrangement of the hymn Tell Out My Soul.
3 or 5 octaves and handchimes (3 octaves), Level 4. A fun, mixed-meter challenge for advanced handbell choirs at Christmas, this arrangement has options for suspended mallets, handchimes, and “unusual” bells. There’s also an additional cajón part, available for purchase separately.
All the “thank you”s
We’re thankful to everyone who worked so hard to make the Handbell Weekend a success. Thanks to Joe and Melissa, from Westminster Presbyterian Church and Covenant Presbyterian church for being such wonderful and welcoming hosts. Thanks also to the Madison Area Concert Handbells, who helped so much with the loan of equipment for the event, and to all the participants who came to the workshop and shared in the fun. We hope to be back in Madison to do it all again someday!
It’s been a while since we played handbell duets for an audience; in fact, we haven’t done that since February! Our handbell duet performance in Decatur gave us a chance to visit a new place, and to meet the friendly women of First Presbyterian Church. What a warm welcome they gave us!
The event was a Mother’s Day tea, and we played a variety of hymns and traditional melodies for an enthusiastic and appreciative audience in this small sanctuary. It was an ideal performance space for a small handbell ensemble, and the sound carried surprisingly well, even without amplification.
The 8-bell arrangements we played included Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Greensleeves/What Child Is This, Amazing Grace, Lucerna Laudoniae, To God Be the Glory, Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, The Gift of Love(The Water is Wide), and Sakura. We also played our fun arrangement of Chopsticks, and demonstrated our handchimes by using them to play Ma Navu.
All the above arrangements are available to purchase from our music site, Choraegus.
During our handbell performance, we gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions. They came up with some interesting ones! We talked about how we met, how often we rehearse, and about Larry’s experience with ringing bass handbells. We also talked about the Kalamazoo Ringers concert coming up on May 21st in Kalamazoo, and encouraged people to go along and see bass chimes taller than Larry!
After the performance, we all went downstairs and enjoyed a reception with coffee and cookies. We received a kind gift of a little glass rooster and some lovely flowers to take home with us.
Our thanks go to the women of First Presbyterian Church for inviting us to give this handbell performance in Decatur. We hope to be back to see you all again someday!
