Category Archives: Handbells and Handbell Music

Wait Five Minutes – for Handbells (3 octaves)

A popular saying here in Michigan (and probably in other places too) is “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes!” It often seems that the weather can go through several seasons in a single day. We wake up to clouds, the sun comes out and we dress for spring… then suddenly the weather turns cold, and rain is pouring down!

Here’s an original handbell composition called Wait Five Minutes. Michigan weather was Larry’s inspiration for this piece. Carla took the photos and video; most of them at Bay View, a summer community in northern Michigan. Highlights include footage of a torrential downpour, a foggy day on a Lake Michigan beach, and an unusual-looking squirrel!

More information about Wait Five Minutes

Wait Five Minutes is for 3 octaves of handbells, Level 2+. Sheet music for this original composition 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.

Your purchase of the full-choir license also gives permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we ask you to credit the composer (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). 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 on our Facebook page too!

Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. 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.

More Choraegus handbell music about the weather

People often ask us about handbell music on a particular theme. Here are some other pieces on the theme of “weather”:

Hoe Leit dit Kindeke (Cold is this Little Child) – a chilly Dutch carol, arranged for 8 handbells

In the Bleak Midwinter – this English carol arrangement is available for 8 or 12 handbells

Jingle Bells – dashing through the snow… for 8 handbells with piano accompaniment

See, Amid the Winter’s Snow – an 8-bell arrangement of this traditional English carol

Snow – an original composition about snowy days!

The Snow Lay on the Ground – another lively English carol

‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime – a mysterious and lovely 3-5 octave arrangement of The Huron Carol.

Vårvindar Friska (Fresh Spring Winds) – a 3-5 octave arrangement of a Swedish folk song

Winter Dance – a 5-octave, Level 4 arrangement of Seiichi Kyoda’s wonderful, wintry piece

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.

Bay View Memorial Garden

A busy month of holiday handbell performances

Christmas Day has been and gone, but we’re determined to celebrate the full twelve days of Christmas. We’re at the blissful stage of the year when we can finally take a break, catch our breath, and relax after a busy month of holiday handbell performances!

The holiday season is always our favorite time of year. We get the chance to go out and share our Christmas handbell music, meet new people, and visit new places. We were fortunate that the recent snowy-blizzard weather waited until the second half of December to hit West Michigan, so we didn’t have to make any long drives in bad conditions. It’s always a risk when we arrange our holiday performance schedule, because we all know how unpredictable Michigan winter weather can be! Having said that, we’ve lived in Michigan since 2016, so we’re more used to driving through the snow now. Remember when we drove six hours a day for Larry’s radiation treatment in the winter of 2021? If we can survive that, we can survive anything!

Our 2022 holiday performances

Our 2022 holiday performance season began early this year, on November 19th, with our first of three performances at the Kerstmarkt. This Christmas market in Downtown Holland is always a highlight of our holiday season, but this year was a bit different! The opening day of the Kerstmarkt arrived on a day when snow was falling, and the temperature was… well, chilly, to say the least. Still, we’ve never cancelled a performance yet, so we were determined that this one would go ahead. We still managed to have fun, and we admired the courage of anyone who came out to shop in such terrible weather!

Handbells in the snow

For anyone worrying about our handbells and how they cope with extreme cold, we did take some precautions. We took the bells out into the garage a couple of hours before the performance, so that they’d get used to the drop in temperature gradually. We also didn’t play them too loudly when we got to the event. When we play in the cold, we always notice the change in the way the bells sound, so we don’t put any undue strain on them. There are some bells that really, really don’t like the cold, and they simply refuse to play, so we generally leave everything higher than G6 in the case, and don’t play any pieces that involve any “unhappy” bells.

Holiday handbell performances - Kerstmarkt bell ringers in the snow

Fortunately, we had two more opportunities to play at the Kerstmarkt. The weather was never as fierce as that first session, and we even had a bit of sunshine and blue sky!

Kerstmarkt Holland handbell duo

We were privileged to be invited to perform two duet concerts during Advent. The first was at First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo, as part of their lunchtime Advent Concert Series. It was wonderful to be able to share our music in such a beautiful space.

Advent handbell concert in Kalamazoo

Our second concert was at Second Reformed Church in Zeeland. We performed as part of their Second Series: Sublime Art in a Sacred Space concert series. We didn’t have piano accompaniment this time; just an hour of seasonal handbell duets. It was fun to meet and chat with audience members at the post-concert reception.

Second Reformed Church Zeeland handbell concert

“Return visit” handbell performances

We’re always pleased to be invited back to give handbell duet performances for groups we’ve played for in past years. This year was our fourth Christmas performance at the Gary Byker Memorial Library in Hudsonville. It’s always a popular event, run by the Friends of the Library. We also spent another evening in concert with the Zeeland Community Band. We’ve been at the ZCB Christmas concert since 2016, and it’s become an annual tradition for us. The band has been growing in number over the last few years, and they sound better than ever! We made return visits to several senior communities and local organizations this year too.

Corporate parties are some of our favorite holiday events, and we had fun playing at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. We played Christmas music to welcome guests as they arrived at the party.

Concerts with the Kalamazoo Ringers

This December, we also enjoyed playing in a couple of concerts as part of the Kalamazoo Ringers. We took part in the annual Christmas in Kalamazoo event and the group’s Christmas concert at Grace Harbor Church. We even played one of Larry’s arrangements – Gaudete – and the full concert is now available to watch on YouTube.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this holiday season fun!

If you booked us for a performance or Christmas program or wrote a review of our performance – thank you. If you came to one of our concerts, we appreciate you too! To all those who offered us coffee or a meal, chatted with us, or prayed for us – thank you. We enjoyed sharing our handbell music with you, and we hope 2023 will be a happy and healthy year for you all!

O Holy Night – 12-Bell Handbell Music

O Holy Night is one of the most beautiful and popular carols for Christmas. Also known as Cantique de Noël, it was written as a poem by Placide Cappeau, and set to music by Aldolphe Adam in 1847.

“O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope–the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees!
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!“

We’re in the middle of a snowstorm here in West Michigan. It’s unusual for us to have so much snowfall on the ground this side of Christmas. But one thing’s for certain; it makes a beautiful backdrop for a Christmas handbell video. Here’s our new 12-bell arrangement of O Holy Night:

More about O Holy Night, 12-bell version

As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, O Holy Night is suitable for 3-6 ringers. We’ve deliberately kept it free from techniques that need tables or foam pads, so that handbell musicians can play from music stands easily. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. This arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells – one version using C5-G6, another for F5-C7, and another for Bb4-F6. Be sure to refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and be certain to purchase the right version.

Other arrangements of O Holy Night from Choraegus

O Holy Night is also available as an arrangement for 8 handbells.

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!

O Holy Night 12-bell handbells

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen – for 8 Handbells and Piano

“God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember, Christ, our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day,
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!“

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is our latest addition to the Choraegus handbell music catalog. This traditional English Christmas carol has the alternative title Tidings of Comfort and Joy. This lively arrangement will be fun for anyone who enjoys mixed meter! We recorded our demonstration video in our Victorian summer cottage at Bay View in northern Michigan.

More information about this arrangement

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is an accompanied 8-bell arrangement. The meter switches between 12/8 and 5/4 to create a lively feel and provide some extra challenge! We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but you don’t need any special techniques to play it. This piece is suitable for 2-4 ringers, and sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. The piano score is included with the piece, and there is an mp3 backing track available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have a pianist available, or for rehearsing.

Buying handbell music from Choraegus

Your Choraegus music score will come to you in a download link, as a PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. You can order the music, download and print it on the same day, and be ready to rehearse!

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 permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. You can find full details in our licensing agreement, and in our instructions about what you’re allowed to do with Choraegus music. 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 enjoy playing our music, please share our website link with other handbell musicians, and help us to get the word out!

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. Just about every question anyone’s ever asked us is there, along with answers. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus – for 12 Handbells and Piano

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus is an Advent hymn written by Charles Wesley. The tune, JEFFERSON, is also used for the Pentecost hymn Wake, the Dawn is Now Full Rising, and the hymns Tears of Suffering and God, Our Author and Creator. Our 12-bell arrangement has piano accompaniment.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus is suitable for 3-6 ringers, with no special techniques required. This means you can play the piece without the need for tables or foam. The piano accompaniment score is included with this arrangement and there is an mp3 available to purchase separately; useful if you don’t have a pianist available, or need to practise without an accompanist.

Where to find the music

If you’d like to play Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus the sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, please note that the 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. 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.

Other 12-bell music with piano accompaniment

In the Bleak Midwinter

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Still, Still, Still

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!

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus handbells

Gaudete – for 16 Handbells

Gaudete – for 16 handbells – is the latest arrangement from Choraegus. This arrangement is part of our continuing effort to show that music for small handbell choirs doesn’t have to be boring, and doesn’t necessary have to be easy to play. Our 16-bell music is designed for 2-3 octave groups looking for something interesting and challenging for 4-8 ringers. This new arrangement of this 16th century sacred Christmas carol is one that we’d be tempted to describe as “fiendish”, but in a good way, of course.

More information about Gaudete – for 16 handbells

This arrangement is available from Choraegus in two handbell ranges – C5 to C7 and G4-G6. Please check the bells-used charts on the Choraegus page for this piece. Our video shows the C5-C7 version, because that’s easier for 4-in-hand. If you have more than four ringers, you can pick whichever version you prefer. There are no bell changes, and no techniques that require tables or foam pads.

Click here to find out more, or purchase sheet music (digital download) on our Choraegus site.

There is also an arrangement of Gaudete! for 3-8 octaves of handbells.

More about Choraegus handbell music

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!

Gaudete 16 handbells

The WOODLANDS Hymn Tune for Handbells

The WOODLANDS hymn tune was written by the English composer Walter Greatorex in 1916. Since then, it has been used for several hymn texts, the most popular of which is probably Tell Out My Soul, written by Timothy Dudley-Smith in 1961:

“Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of his word –
in God my Saviour shall my heart rejoice.”

This hymn holds special memories for Carla, who sung it regularly as a young child at school in England, with different lyrics, written by Basil J. Mathews:

“Far round the world thy children sing their song,
From east and west their voices sweetly blend,
Praising the Lord, in whom young lives are strong,
Jesus, our guide, our hero, and our friend.”

Here’s our arrangement of the WOODLANDS hymn tune for 3-5 octaves of handbells:

More information about WOODLANDS

WOODLANDS is for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with an optional octave of handchimes, Level 3+. Sheet music for this arrangement 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.

Your purchase of the full-choir license also grants permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we ask you to credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). 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!

Please note that Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. 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.

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.

Woodlands hymn handbells

Psalm 22, for 16 Handbells – New Music from Choraegus

Psalm 22 is a 16-century hymn from the Genevan Psalter. It’s often used with the hymn text When We Are Tempted to Deny Your Son, during Lent.

“When we are tempted to deny Your Son,
Because we fear the anger of the world,
And we are few who bear the insults hurled,
Your will, O God, be done.“

Here’s our arrangement of the Genevan Psalm 22 for 16 handbells:

More information about Psalm 22

This hymn arrangement is available from Choraegus in two handbell ranges – D5 to C7 and  G4-F6. Please check the bells-used charts on the Choraegus page for this piece, and make sure you have all the bells you need. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand piece, but it’s suitable for up to 8 ringers. There are no bell changes, and no techniques that require tables or foam pads.

More about Choraegus handbell music

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!

Psalm 22 When We Are Tempted handbells

A Concert for the Monday Musical Club

The Monday Musical Club is a non-profit organisation dedicated to music education and promotion of creative and performing arts. Based in St. Joseph, Michigan, they hold a wide variety of education events and music performances. We were excited to be asked to present a shared concert with our friends Gary and Martha Matthews!

Monday Musical Club handbell concert

About Gary and Martha Matthews

Gary and Martha also live in Holland, and they’re a talented couple! Gary studied organ, music education, and sacred music, and holds a doctorate in Worship Studies. He served as Pastor of Worship and the Arts at Highland Park Baptist Church in Southfield, MI, and at Christ Memorial Church in Holland, MI. He’s a published composer, and has been performing for more than forty years, with piano, organ, trumpet and voice.

Martha holds a Bachelors in Music Education and a Masters in Flute Performance. She has played principal flute with Florida Symphonic Pops, Florida Wind Symphony, Gold Coast Opera, Gold Coast Ballet and the Washington Idaho Symphony. Martha directs the Kalamazoo Ringers, and is a sought-after handbell clinician. In concert with Gary, she plays flute, whistles, bell tree, and piano.

A concert with handbells, flute, piano, trumpet, and more!

We held our shared concert at First Congregational Church of St. Joseph. This is a beautiful sanctuary for a music performance! It was a treat for the four of us to be able to perform together. We’d spent most of our summer at our cottage near Petoskey, and Gary and Martha had been in Holland. Planning a concert and rehearsing is a challenge when you’re in different towns! Thanks to the power of email, and our individual rehearsals, we made it work.

Our program included music on a variety of instruments, including handbells (of course!) Gary and Martha opened the concert with a piece for piano and trumpet, and we continued with a couple of our favorite handbell duets. We also enjoyed the opportunity to get together as a quartet to perform some pieces – including Larry’s infamous arrangement of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing that the four of us had previously played for one of the Kalamazoo Ringers’ online Christmas concerts. We all played Blessed Assurance together, with a brand-new flute part that Larry had written specially for this concert. It was fun to find that some of the audience hadn’t seen handbells played in our 4-in-hand style before. We talked to audience members afterwards, and answered questions about our technique and the way we move.

Here’s the full program!

We enjoyed listening to Gary and Martha’s pieces, particularly Brent Olstad’s I Love to Tell the Story. Martha’s flute-played was enthralling to hear, and the audience clearly loved this piece. We finished the concert with an extra surprise – Larry’s lively arrangement of Ding Dong, Merrily on High. This is another arrangement for handbells, piano and flute, and it makes a perfect ending for a concert.

Our thanks go to the Monday Musical Club for inviting us to share our music in concert, and to everyone who came to listen. We hope to have the opportunity to perform in concert with Gary and Martha again someday!

Monday Musical Club handbell duo

If you’d like to provide an opportunity for us to perform in concert with Gary and Martha again, or you’d like to host a handbell duet performance, please get in touch with us, and we’ll talk more!

Amazing Grace – 12-Bell Version

Larry’s been arranging music for such a long time now… and finally, here is a 12-bell version of Amazing Grace. We’re not quite sure why it took so long for this arrangement to come into being, and we’re certain that the handbell world is already filled with Amazing Grace arrangements. Still, the time has come, and here’s the latest offering from Choraegus.

More about Amazing Grace, 12-bell version

As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Amazing Grace is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. This arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells – one version using C5-G6, another for D5-A6, and another for F5-C7. Be sure to refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and be certain to purchase the right version.

Other arrangements of Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is also available as an arrangement for 8 handbells. There are two versions – one standard and one “Surprisingly Easy”.

Information 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!

Amazing Grace 12-bell