Category Archives: Wedding Music

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

A Discount Code for Handbell Music!

Today we’re celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary. Here’s a chance to celebrate with us, with a discount code for handbell music from Choraegus! You can save 15% on all your purchases, from today until next Thursday.

Handbell music discount code - Choraegus

It’s a great time to stock up on handbell music!

There’s no limit to how many times you can use the discount code. Now is a great time to stock up on handbell music for fall, and for the holiday season! We’re always adding new pieces to the catalog, and we have a wide range of arrangements and original compositions.

Our music is available to download for your handbell choir; no more waiting for music to arrive by mail! If you’re looking for 5-8 octave arrangements, we have lots, and if your handbell ensemble is down to just a few ringers this season, we have plenty of music for smaller groups too. You’re welcome to browse the site, and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, please ask us, and we’ll do our very best to help you find something suitable.

Don’t forget The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – the must-have guide for anyone who wants to dig deep into the world of playing bass handbells. That’s also available from Choraegus (and you can use the discount code for that too). The only difference is that it’s not available to download. If you order a copy, we’ll lovingly package it up and mail it to you from Michigan.

How to use the coupon code

To use the discount code, simply make your selections from Choraegus in the usual way using the Add to Cart button. In your shopping cart, enter the code ANNIVERSARY in the coupon code box, and your discount should magically appear. If you haven’t purchased music from Choraegus before, and you’d like to test the process, we recommend looking at the Freebies section, where you can download some free handbell music, and see how it all works, without spending any money.

We hope you’ll enjoy playing Choraegus handbell music, and thank you for your interest! If you have any questions, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.



Faith of Our Fathers – 12-Bell Music from Choraegus

Faith of Our Fathers is the latest 12-bell arrangement from Choraegus. Our 8-bell arrangements of the ST. CATHERINE hymn tune have been popular, so we’re happy to be able to introduce an arrangement suitable for 3-6 ringers to play.

More about this 12-bell arrangement

Sheet music for Faith of Our Fathers is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. It’s available in three ranges of handbells, so be sure to refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and be sure to purchase the right version.

Important 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!

Faith of Our Fathers 12-bell

Be Thou My Vision – 12-Bell Music from Choraegus

Our latest 12-bell arrangement is the hymn Be Thou My Vision. SLANE is a traditional Irish folk tune first published in 1909. It’s also used as the setting for Lord of All Hopefulness.

More about Be Thou My Vision, 12-bell version

As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Be Thou My Vision is suitable for 3-6 ringers. We demonstrate our 12-bell arrangements using 4-in-hand, but if you have six ringers, they’ll only need two bells each. 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 Bb4-F6, 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 sure to purchase the right version.

Other arrangements of these hymn tunes available from Choraegus

You’ll find both of these hymns also available as arrangements for just eight handbells. There’s a list of all our 8-bell hymn arrangements on the Choraegus website. Please note that our 8-bell arrangements and 12-bell arrangements aren’t designed to be played together. Each piece is a completely different arrangement. There’s also a Level 3 arrangement of this tune for 3-5 octaves with organ, which was included in the Michigan AGO’s gift to their conference participants in July 201

Important 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!

12-bell music Come Thou Fount

Doxology for Handbells (3-5 Octaves)

We recently offered a free 8-bell arrangement of the Doxology (OLD HUNDREDTH) – the setting for the hymns Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow and All People That on Earth Do Dwell.

We had a request for an arrangement for full handbell choir… so here’s the 3-5 octave version!

More information about this arrangement

Doxology is for 3-5 octaves of handbells. It’s a Level 1 arrangement; very straightforward to play. The downloadable score gives two versions, so that you can choose the one that works for your worship service. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus, for the low price of just $3 for 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 worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we do ask you to credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media and online (in video descriptions) where possible. 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!

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.

Doxology for handbells 3-5 octaves

New 12-Bell Music – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

We’re happy to present some more new 12-bell music – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing; a popular hymn for worship services and weddings. The NETTLETON hymn tune can also be used as the setting for Come, Ye Sinners Poor and Needy, As We Gather at Your Table, and Praise the God of All Creation, among others.

Here’s our demonstration video!

If you missed last week’s announcement on our Facebook page, we also have a new 12-bell arrangement of the hymn Children of the Heavenly Father. This arrangement is a very straightforward choice for a small handbell choir.

More about these 12-bell arrangements

As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing and Children of the Heavenly Father are suitable for 3-6 ringers. We demonstrate our 12-bell arrangements using 4-in-hand, but if you have six ringers, they’ll only need two bells each. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. These arrangements are available in two ranges of handbells – one version using C5-G6 and another for D5-A6. There are a couple of accidentals involved, so be sure to refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and be sure to purchase the right version.

Other arrangements of these hymn tunes available from Choraegus

You’ll find both of these hymns also available as arrangements for just eight handbells. There’s a list of all our 8-bell hymn arrangements on the Choraegus website. Please note that our 8-bell arrangements and 12-bell arrangements aren’t designed to be played together. Each piece is a completely different arrangement.

Important 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!

12-bell music Come Thou Fount

Smiles – for Handbells, 4 or 5 octaves

Our latest handbell piece is a lively arrangement of the 1917 song Smiles!

“Dearie, now I know
Just what makes me love you so,
Just what holds me and enfolds me
In its golden glow;
Dearie, now I see
‘Tis each smile so bright and free,
For life’s sadness turns to gladness when you smile on me.”

Smiles 1917 song cover

Smiles is a popular song, featured in The Passing Show, a Broadway musical review, in 1918. The music was written by Lee S. Roberts, and the lyrics by J. Will Callahan. This song is particularly interesting to us because Callahan wrote the lyrics in a cottage at Bay View, Michigan – the place where we have a summer cottage of our own!

Here’s our demonstration video of Smiles – arranged for handbells. If you keep watching after we’ve finished playing on the video, you’ll see a picture of the sign at the Bay View Association, marking the place where the lyrics were written.

More information about Smiles

Smiles is for 4-5 octaves of handbells, with an optional 2 octaves of handchimes. It’s a Level 3+ arrangement. Sheet music 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 do 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!

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.

Smiles - Callahan song for handbells

A Celebration of Our Life – for Handbells

Larry wrote A Celebration of Our Life for a California couple, in celebration of their 30th wedding anniversary in 2008. Their church’s handbell choir played it when they renewed their vows. As we didn’t have a video, we thought it was about time we made one!

About A Celebration of Our Life

(From Choraegus): Fun abounds in this piece, as it describes parts of their story. For instance:

The introductory melody is both thirty beats long and thirty notes long (not counting ties), and it also has three tenuti (three ten.’s = 30!)
Three children are represented as the lines in a three-voice fugue. This fugal melody also appears in the last section as a countermelody.
There’s a bit of theory geek stuff in the final chord sequences:
– In bars 87 and 88: VII + vi + VII + VII + ii + I = 30
– In bars 89 and 90: ii * iii * V * I = 30
– and in bars 91 and 92 (not counting the suspended 4th): VI * V * I = 30

Apart from all that “fun”, the piece is a challenging Level 4, written for 5 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes. 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.

How to get the music

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.

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 information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

A Celebration of our Life Handbells

He Leadeth Me – for Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves

We recently enjoyed putting together a video of Larry’s arrangement of He Leadeth Me. Fans of bass malleting will appreciate this one! It’s a useful year-round hymn arrangement, and would be particularly appropriate for a Good Shepherd Sunday worship service.

More information about He Leadeth Me

He Leadeth Me is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, Level 3. It’s fairly straightforward to play, and a strong bass/low battery team will appreciate the challenge of some malleted running lines. 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 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.

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.

He Leadeth Me handbells

Five – an Original Composition for Handbells

We made another 5-octave handbell video! Five is an original composition for handbells, written in celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary, back in 2017.

This piece has an interesting story, because Larry wrote it as a surprise anniversary gift. He shared the sheet music with the Carillon Choir at Third Reformed Church here in Holland, and they played it for the first time during one of the morning services. It was such a romantic and sweet gesture. As it’s an original composition, it was easy to turn the music into a nice prelude for the service.

We didn’t get a video of the whole piece that morning, and we decided a couple of weeks ago that it was time to record it ourselves. We published the video in time for Valentine’s Day!

The fun thing about Five is that there are secret 5s in the music – so it’s a bit of a treasure hunt – starting with the number of octaves and the key signatures, of course. Larry didn’t make it a Level 5 piece, though; it’s a Level 2+, and quite straightforward to play.

Would you like to play this piece?

Sheet music for this original composition for handbells 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 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 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.

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.

Original composition for handbells - by Larry Sue