We’ve read that Chinese Guardian Lions have mystical powers of protection. For many years, they have traditionally stood in front of Imperial palaces, government offices, temples and the homes of high-ranking members of society. You’ll find a pair of them in the Terrace Room at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. We were there recently, for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 spring handbell conference.
In Western society, people often refer to these lions as “Foo Dogs”. We’re not sure that they’ve mastered the techniques needed to play bass handbells. They lack a certain flexibility, it’s true. But who cares about that, when they’re so golden, so mystical, and so protective and wise?
Totally scientific research
From our detailed research at Grand Hotel, we’re confident that this one would definitely recommend The Bass Ringer’s Notebook. It’s the ultimate guide to playing bass handbells. Have you bought your copy yet?
Any questions?
If you need more than just a recommendation from some Chinese foo dogs, Larry will be happy to give you more information. If you have questions about The Bass Ringer’s Notebook, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!
It was an honor for us to be invited to be guest artists at the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island. We were excited to go back to the island! We’d only visited a couple of times before – in 2010 and 2013 – and hadn’t stayed for more than a few hours.
No cars on Mackinac Island!
One of the unusual things about Mackinac Island is you can’t drive your car there! Motorised vehicles have been banned since 1898. For this reason, our journey there began by parking our car in Mackinac City and taking the ferry across to the island.
Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island – seen from the ferry!
Being West Michigan’s smallest handbell choir has its advantages. We didn’t need to transport tables, foam pads and multiple cases of bells over to the island. We had just one handcart loaded with our equipment, and we pushed it all the way from the ferry dock, up the hill to Grand Hotel.
On our way to Grand Hotel for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival!
We arrived at Grand Hotel on Thursday morning and the staff instantly made us welcome. The hotel hadn’t officially opened for the 2018 season yet. We were fortunate to be able to stay there and enjoy the very special and unique atmosphere. We were also able to observe some of the preparations as the hotel staff prepared for the first guests of the season to arrive. The hotel has 393 guest rooms, and each one is decorated in its own individual style. If you like flowers (particularly geraniums), you’d love Grand Hotel!
Our room at Grand Hotel!
A handchime workshop at the school
Thursday afternoon’s adventure involved some handbell education! We went to Mackinac Island Public School, where a group of us presented a program of music on handbells, flute and keyboard. The event was coordinated by Martha Matthews, with Gary Matthews playing keyboard. Members of the Area 5 Board were also there, to supervise the students with the sets of chimes.
The students were each given a color-coded handchime to play. They were able to play chords to accompany “Amazing Grace” and “Jingle Bells”, with the aid of a chart showing coloured dots. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the students as they played. For most of them, it was their first opportunity to play these instruments. They did very well, learning how to use the correct techniques for playing the chimes and stopping the sound afterwards.
We demonstrated several of our handbell duets for the students. Martha and Gary joined us to perform Silver and Bronze(for handbells and flute) and Ding Dong, Merrily on High(for handbells and piano, with additional soon-to-be-published flute part).
Performing for the students at Mackinac Island Public School
The festival begins!
Friday marked the start of the festival, and we enjoyed a wonderful evening meal at the hotel before performing the opening concert in the beautiful theatre there.
Here’s the list of pieces we played at the opening concert!
Performing a concert for an audience of “handbell people” can be an intimidating experience. There’s definitely some additional pressure involved when performing in front of people who know about handbell stuff! However, handbell people are, in general, a friendly and supportive group. We felt much more relaxed than we’d expected to during our concert. Afterwards, we were pleased to receive some really nice comments from audience members.
Teaching about 8-bell music
On Saturday morning, we had the opportunity to teach a class on 8-bell music. We were pleasantly surprised by how many people arrived for the class! We answered questions about our music, specific techniques involved in playing it, and how to buy our sheet music online. Participants enjoyed played some simple pieces such as Aura Lee, Kingsfold and The Water is Wide. Finally, they tried the more challenging I Saw Three Ships.
Our eight-bell music workshop at Grand Hotel. Did we mention the weekend involved lots of coffee?
Other classes at the festival
During the festival, participants had the chance to attend other interesting classes, such as Artistry and the Big Box of Crayons: Techniques for a Variety of Tone Color and Handbells: a Full-Body Sport, both led by Martha Matthews, Maori Sticks, led by Susan Oxley, Music Theory, led by Ann Wood, and Finale and Handbells, led by Judy Phillips. There was also FredChat – an opportunity to chat with guest conductor Fred Gramann. We enjoyed a fascinating tour of Grand Hotel, where we were able to find out more about the building and its history. We even saw “behind the scenes” in the impressive kitchen!
The closing concert
Throughout the weekend, rehearsals continued in the Grand Hotel Theatre, as the festival participants prepared five pieces, ready to perform at the closing concert. The massed ringing pieces were Acclamation in G Minor (Karen Thompson), Within the Darkest Night (Derek Hakes), Hosanna (Jason Krug), What Child is This (Brenda Austin) and Jubilation (Fred Gramann). Fred Gramann conducted the festival choirs during rehearsals and at the closing concert.
Festival choirs rehearse under the baton of Fred Gramann
Fred Gramann at the closing concert at the 2018 Area 5 Spring Festival
The closing concert was well attended, with audience members coming from Grand Hotel and the island. Afterwards we spoke to several people who had never heard handbells before, and wanted to hear more!
Leaving the island
We’d have liked to stay longer on the island, but we were playing duets in a worship service in Harbor Springs the following morning. We’d made plans to travel back on the 6:00pm ferry to Mackinac City. Before we left, though, we had time to walk for a while and admire the scenery. We followed a trail of steps, thinking it would lead to a beach. Maybe it would have done, but before we reached the bottom of the steps, the ground was covered in a thick (and sloping) layer of ice. It seemed that winter was as reluctant to leave the island as we were!
Enjoying a walk on the island after the festival
Handbells and equipment leaving the island
It was fun to see the handbell equipment at the Shepler’s ferry dock. Transporting bells, chimes and foam pads is an interesting challenge on an island that doesn’t allow cars. All the equipment had to come to and from the hotel on horse-drawn transport, and it was transferred onto luggage carts to be loaded onto the ferry. Our own equipment was much more manageable, and we were able to wheel our handcart onto the ferry ourselves.
Handbells and foam pads ready to go onto the ferry. Our own equipment is in the foreground.
Thanks to all at HMA Area 5
We had an amazing time at the Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island. Grand Hotel is a dream location for any conference or vacation. It’s a fascinating place, full of history, with people who go out of their way to make guests feel cared about. Our thanks go to the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 for inviting us to be guest artists at this event. We appreciated the opportunity to stay at Grand Hotel and share our music with other handbell musicians and students on the island. We hope to go back there again someday!
It’s that time of year when people start contacting us to ask about handbell music for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter. Here are a few suggestions!
For full handbell choir, we have an original composition called “Meditation“, with the alternative title “Lenten Piece”. It’s a thoughtful and contemplative piece for 2-5 octaves of handbells. This demonstration video is by Tintabulations Handbell Ensemble.
This piece is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
Are you looking for music for a smaller group?
If you don’t have a full handbell choir to work with, we have music arranged for twelve or eight bells too. For Lent, Holy Week or Good Friday, you could look at our twelve-bell arrangement of “There is a Fountain“, shown in the rehearsal video below. This and other twelve-bell hymns are available from Choraegus.
We have lots of eight-bell pieces suitable for this time of year. You can find all of our published eight-bell hymn arrangements in a repertoire list on this website. Sheet music is available to download and print from Choraegus. As an example, we have a straightforward but effective arrangement of “O Sacred Head“, suitable for 2-4 ringers.
There are many wonderful hymns for Easter. Our arrangement of “Come Christians, Join to Sing” has a version for eight bells with organ accompaniment by T. Paul Rosas, who played it with us at Los Altos United Methodist Church on Easter Sunday in 2016.
Thank you for considering our handbell music. If you need more information, check out some frequently-asked questions, and contact us if you don’t find what you’re looking for!
We regret that we’re currently unable to offer gift vouchers for the Choraegus site, because of a technical issue that’s outside our control. Thank you to everyone who purchased them! We do hope to be able to bring them back at some future date.
We’re excited to introduce something new on our music site – gift vouchers! You can now purchase and download a gift voucher for $10, $20, $50 or $100, give it to a friend, and let them choose their own music from the wide selection of pieces available on our site. It could be an ideal Christmas or birthday gift for the handbell musician in your life!
There’s so much music to choose from!
There are so many handbell titles on Choraegus that it’s sometimes difficult to choose. We have solo handbell arrangements, music for just 6 bells and piano, 8-bell music… all the way up to full-choir music for 5-8 octaves. There’s straightforward music for beginning or improving ensembles. You’ll also find pieces that will challenge even the most skilled and experienced handbell ensembles. There’s something for everyone!
The Bass Ringer’s Notebook
Don’t forget The Bass Ringer’s Notebook (Second Edition), which is also a great choice for any bass handbell musician or aspiring bucket-slinger. Unlike the gift vouchers and music scores, the book isn’t a downloadable file; it’s an actual book which we will lovingly package up and send to you – so order a copy soon if you need it delivered in time for Christmas!
The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – 2nd Edition!
Any questions?
If you have any questions about Choraegus gift vouchers, or about our music in general, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
It’s hard to believe that more than five years have passed since our handbell-music-filled wedding in California. What better way to celebrate a wedding anniversary… than with a new piece of music – for 5 octaves of handbells?
Larry wrote Five as a surprise for Carla, and used secret mysterious powers to compose the whole thing without her even noticing.
Our thanks go to the Carillon Choir at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan and their director Linda Strouf for playing this new piece in the Sunday morning services on our anniversary weekend.
More about Five
Five is an original composition; AGEHR level 2+ . It’s for 5 octaves of handbells and (optional) 2 octaves of handchimes. Quite surprisingly, the time signature is not 5/4 or 5/8. However, there are other “fives” hidden throughout the score.
If you’d like to play this piece, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
Information about buying music from Choraegus
Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase entitles you to print up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full details. If you’re new to buying Choraegus music, we recommend our step-by-step guide!
Any questions?
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might like to look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
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.
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!
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!
We’re excited to announce that the second edition of Larry’s book The Bass Ringer’s Notebook is now available for purchase from Choraegus! If you’re a bass ringer looking for tried-and-tested methods or new ideas, this is the book for you! If you’ve never ventured into the world of bass bells before, and want to know how to “sling the buckets” in a way that’s both musically expressive and won’t endanger your physical health… this book is for you too.
More about Larry’s experience with bass handbells
Larry has been a church musician since 1974, and a handbell musician since 1987. He became a bass-ringing specialist when the five-octave bell choir at his church became shorthanded, resulting in a long-term assignment of “CD4, and anything to the left that you can manage.” He’s been a bass ringer at Distinctly Bronze and the Bay View Week of Handbells, and frequently provides instruction as a bass handbell clinician. As the founder, leader, and composer/arranger of Low Ding Zone, the World’s First Bass-Only Handbell Ensemble, he also proved that the upper staff isn’t absolutely essential to the world of handbells. He knows what he’s talking about – so you can buy this book with confidence!
The new edition of The Bass Ringer’s Notebook contains lots of new information and ideas, on such topics as:
Lifting, Ringing, and Damping Bass Bells
Bass Chime Techniques
Table Layout
Assignments
and lots more!
There’s also a new YouTube playlist of the techniques described in the book, which is a great way to see the techniques demonstrated, in real time and in slow-motion. This book isn’t about giving you a single way to play bass bells; it’s about providing practical options and ideas, so that you can choose the methods that suit you personally. Read it, try the suggestions, and see what works best!
The new edition of The Bass Ringer’s Notebook is available now from Choraegus. This one’s not a file to download; it’s an actual spiral-bound book, which we will lovingly package up and send to you after you place your order. It’s taken ten years for this second edition to appear – but, as all bass ringers know, good things are “worth the weight”!
In 2011, Bells of the Sound held a composition contest with the theme All That Jazz! Larry’s piece Tigress Rag took second place in the competition. Now, by popular request because someone asked us about it a week or so ago, this ragtime piece in the style of Scott Joplin is available for solo piano!
Here’s a video to show you how it sounds:
How to get the sheet music
If you’d like to play Tigress Rag, you can now purchase and download the sheet music from Choraegus.
When you buy Choraegus music, it will come to you as a digital download. This means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please read our licensing agreement for full details.
What about the original handbell arrangement?
If you’re interested in the original full-choir handbell piece, you’ll find a downloadable score on Choraegus. It’s a Level 5 piece, for 5-7 octaves. Bells of the Sound played this piece in concert, and enjoyed it!
Any questions?
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might like to look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
At long last, we can tell our secret, and share some exciting news. Larry’s new original composition for handbells is Coronation and Triumphant Exultation!
Larry received some wonderful news at last year’s Bay View Week of Handbells. He’s the recipient of the Donald E. Allured Original Composition Award! His mission was to write an original piece for the Bay View Week of Handbells in 2017.
What is the Donald E. Allured Award?
The Donald E. Allured Fund was created in 1993. Donald Allured was a composer and director that handbell musicians will always remember for his outstanding contribution to the art. The fund is used to commission original handbell music. Most importantly, each composition must exemplify the standards and quality that Dr. Don Allured would have expected. For that reason, it’s a great honor to receive this award.
Larry dedicated Coronation and Triumphant Exultation (Crùnadh agus Iolach)to Maestro Carl Wiltse, our leader, mentor and friend. This year will be Carl’s 15th and final year as director of the Bay View Week of Handbells. The piece is a musical story about the accession of a Scottish king to his throne. It opens with a bagpipe-like section played on bells. Next comes a reflective middle section. Finally, a majestic closing section as the king takes his throne, and the people rejoice.
Where to hear this new piece!
2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the Bay View Week of Handbells. The Thursday night concert will feature the very first performance of Larry’s original composition. The concert will take place Thursday, August 17, at 8:00pm. As usual, it will be held at the John M. Hall Auditorium, in Petoskey, Michigan. We’ll post more information as the event approaches!
Would you like to play this original composition?
Coronation and Triumphant Exultation is for 5-8 octaves of handbells, with optional 5 octaves of handchimes. It’s published by AGEHR Publishing (AG58002). Best of all, it’s Level 4, so not as challenging as some of Larry’s other compositions have been!
Larry with the Allured Composition Award piece: Coronation and Triumphant Exultation.
Any questions?
Finally, if you have any questions you’d like to ask Larry about Coronation and Triumphant Exultation, please contact us. Larry is always happy to talk about his music. Alternatively, if you’d like to commission an original composition for your handbell choir, please ask!
