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.
Thanks to all at Christ United Methodist Church in Warner Robins, GA for inviting us to present a concert of handbell duets there.
We arrived in Georgia, and instantly noticed the change in temperature. April in Michigan tends to be a cool month. There’s still snow around in places, and we were totally overdressed for the heat of Warner Robins! Still, we receive a friendly welcome, and were happy to be there for our concert.
Our names in lights. Fame at last!
We played some of our current favorite 8-bell pieces, including several that haven’t yet been published. Here’s the full list of the duets we performed:
Our Warner Robins concert program
After the concert, we played duets during the Sunday morning service at Christ United Methodist Church. Larry also enjoyed the opportunity to be the pianist for the morning!
Larry rehearsing at the piano!
Our weekend also included a trip to Macon to see the Cherry Blossom Festival, and a look at the historic Depot Row in Warner Robins.
At the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA
Thanks to everyone who came to our concert and made us feel so welcome. It was a tiring and busy weekend, but so much fun!
If you’d like to book us to come to your church and perform a concert, please get in touch with us, and let’s see if we can make it happen!
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!
Here’s another one from the archives – recorded during a rehearsal in California in the summer of 2016, before we moved to Michigan. It’s a traditional hornpipe – The Boys of Bluehill.
This tune has an uncertain history. No one seems to be entirely sure if the music is originally Irish or Scottish. Alternatively, it could even be an old American tune that made its way to Ireland and was claimed by musicians there. Either way, it’s fun to play, and not as challenging as some of our traditional Irish jigs. St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and this could work well!
Would you like to play this hornpipe?
If you’d like to play The Boys of Bluehill, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
When you buy music from Choraegus, please note that you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your music will come to you as a PDF file, and you’ll be responsible for printing it yourself. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.
If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we highly recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the purchase process in a stress-free way.
Any questions for us?
We’re always happy to answer any questions about buying or playing our music. Please get in touch if there’s anything you need help with!
Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the hymn tune Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. It’s interesting to note that the tune (MARTYRDOM) is an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody, originally used for the ballad “Helen of Kirkconnel”, which is now more commonly sung to a completely different tune.
“Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for sinners such as I?”
Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed is particularly suitable for worship services during Lent and Holy Week. This arrangement is straightforward to play, and could also work well as a quartet piece.
Where to find the sheet music
If you’d like to play this arrangement, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
When you buy music from Choraegus, it will come to you as a PDF file. This means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!
If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might find our Frequently-Asked Questions useful. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
We recently unearthed some long-forgotten rehearsal videos from the summer of 2016, when we were still in California. Our latest 8-bell piece is an Irish Jig Nead Na Lachan. It’s most often referred to in English as The Foxhunter’s Jig.
We haven’t (yet) managed to play this one with 100% accuracy. In fact, Larry has declared it to be “not the most cooperative of pieces”. But one of us still thinks it’s fun to play! You could make it less exhausting shorter by cutting out some of the repeated sections. We performed it a few times during our street performing sessions here in Holland, Michigan last summer. It was very popular with our audience, as most Irish jigs seem to be.
Feeling insane enough to play this piece?
Honestly, Larry’s really not a fan of The Foxhunter’s Jig. He arranged it, so he only has himself to blame, of course. If you’d like to give it a try, the music is available to download from Choraegus.
When you buy music from Choraegus, please note that the music will come to you in digital (PDF) format. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please see our licensing agreement for full details. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group.
If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. It will take you through the process, with pictures!
Any questions?
If you have any questions about buying or playing our handbell music, you might like to check some Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the information you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Larry and Carla – The 2017 Downtown Holland Street Performer Series
“The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended The darkness falls at thy behest; To thee our morning hymns ascended Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping, While earth rolls onward into light, Through all the world her watch is keeping, And rests not now by day or night.”
One of Carla’s all-time favorites, The Day Thou Gavest, is an English hymn. A Cheshire vicar, John Ellerton, wrote it in 1870. The hymn tune is ST CLEMENT. has remained popular in the UK since then.
Here’s our 8-bell arrangement, recorded in Los Altos, California in May 2016, before we moved to Holland, Michigan:
Would you like to play this arrangement?
If you’d like to play The Day Thou Gavest, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
When you purchase music from Choraegus, please note that it will come to you as a PDF file. 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 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.
If you haven’t bought Choraegus handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed the guide to take you through the process and make it stress-free!
Any questions?
If you have any questions, you might like to look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you seek, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
The Kesh is a popular traditional Irish jig. It’s usually a fiddle tune, but it turns out to be a fun tune to play on handbells. That’s a good thing, since we have no idea how to play the fiddle!
We recently found this recording in a batch of long-forgotten rehearsal videos from before we moved from California to Michigan:
This arrangement is suitable for 2-4 ringers, and could be useful for St Patrick’s Day!
Information about the sheet music
If you’d like to play The Kesh, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
When you buy handbell music from Choraegus, it comes 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. Your purchase will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for full details.
If this is your first time buying music from Choraegus, you might find our step-by-step guide helpful. We designed it with pictures, to take you through the process in a stress-free way.
Any questions for us?
If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might like to check our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
We’re starting 2017 with a new arrangement for eight handbells. This is the German hymn O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright.
“O Morning Star, how fair and bright thou beamest forth in truth and light, O Sovereign meek and lowly! Thou Root of Jesse, David’s Son, my Lord and Master, thou hast won my heart to serve thee solely! Thou art holy, fair and glorious, rich in blessing, rule and might o’er all possessing.”
Over the years, this hymn has been popular for weddings and funerals in Germany. However, in the USA it’s now more often sang at Epiphany.
More information about this arrangement
This arrangement isn’t too challenging to play, and would be also be very suitable as a quartet piece. If you’d like to play it, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.
When you purchase music from Choraegus, it 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. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell choir.
If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed the guide to take you through the purchase process in a stress-free way.
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 seek, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
We’ve been rehearsing Christmas and holiday handbell duets for a couple of months now. Still, it’s hard to believe how quickly the holiday season has arrived. We probably say that every year… but for handbell musicians, it’s the truth!
Starting the holiday season here in Holland
The Salvation Army Red Kettle
In the last few weeks, we’ve been having fun playing festive handbell music at the Salvation Army Red Kettle here in Holland, at D&W Fresh Market. We had an exciting time being interviewed and filmed by Tracy Hinson from Fox 17, and we’ve been enjoying sharing our music with shoppers. We still have a few more sessions planned. You can see us between 10:00am and midday on the following dates:
Monday, December 5
Thursday, December 15
Tuesday, December 20
Salvation Army Bell Ringers at D&W, Holland. Photo courtesy of Fox 17
In the next few weeks, we’re looking forward to providing holiday entertainment at events and parties in Grandville and Holland, driving to Ypsilanti for a Christmas party at a Senior Living Community, and performing in concert with the Zeeland Community Band (more information coming soon!)
Our Carol a Day project
Our other project for this December has been to make new video recordings of some of our Advent and Christmas carols. We’re calling it A Carol A Day, and you can find our new videos on our YouTube channel or on our Facebook page, or by searching on Facebook for the hashtag #ACarolADay.
It’s not too late to book us for your holiday event
We still have a limited amount of availability for this holiday season. If you’re looking for last minute holiday music for your event, it’s worth contacting us to see if we have a space in our calendar!
