Here’s a list of Christmas music for handbell choirs, available from Choraegus. Many of these pieces are suitable for Advent and Epiphany too! Click on a title, and you’ll be taken to our music site, where you’ll find more details about each piece, with preview pages, audio files, and information about how to purchase music from us!
Angels We Have Heard on High
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2-
This popular Christmas carol is a very accessible Level 2-, with “repeat as many times as you need to” verses, available to download at a bargain price for your handbell choir!
Angels from the Realms of Glory
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
Another of our straightforward 3-octave arrangements, this is designed to be repeated as many times as you need to, making it easy to learn and play in a short amount of time. It’s a very accessible Level 2 arrangement of a popular traditional Christmas carol.
As With Gladness, Men of Old (DIX) / For the Beauty of the Earth
3-5 octaves of handbells and 2 octaves of handchimes, Level 3-
This is a popular carol for Christmas or Epiphany! You can also use it year-round as a setting for the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth.
Away in a Manger
3 octaves of handbells and 2 octaves of handchimes, Level 2
Our handbell choir arrangement of James Murray’s Away in a Manger is written for three octaves of handbells and two octaves of handchimes (you can add doublings for your bells beyond C4-C7, of course). Its gentle feel will add a reflective touch to your Christmas Eve service.
Christmas (December) – The Seasons
2 octaves of handbells
This is a 2-octave arrangement of December from Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, designed to challenge your small handbell choir!
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
Set to the Welsh tune HYFRYDOL, this popular Advent carol can also be used with other hymn texts for other times of year, such as Alleluia! Sing to Jesus and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. This is a straightforward arrangement for the 3-octave handbell choir.
The First Nowell
16 handbells, 2 or 3 octaves
This popular Christmas carol has been arranged for 16 handbells, and is suitable for 4-8 ringers.
From a Distant Home
16 handbells, 2 or 3 octaves
This joyous Puerto Rican Christmas carol From a Distant Home fits beautifully into sixteen bells.
Gaudete
16 handbells, 2 or 3 octaves
This lively and challenging arrangement is fun for a 4-8 ringers!
Gaudete!
3-8 octaves of handbells and 3-4 octaves of handchimes, Level 4+
Gaudete! is a Christmas song dating back to at least the sixteenth century. You’ll find this arrangement (with handchimes, singing bell, and optional cajón part) exciting and fun to play!
Gesu Bambino
3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with piano – Level 3
Gesu Bambino (“the Christ Child”) is a Nativity song from 1917. It’s a lullaby for the Child, but also a call to worship for all others as He awaits them at the Bethlehem manger. You’ll enjoy this arrangement for handbells and piano.
Go, Tell It on the Mountain
3 octaves of handbells, Level 3-
This lively Christmas carol is arranged for 3 octaves, Level 3-.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
16 handbells, 2 or 3 octaves
This a fun option for the small handbell choir to play for Christmas, requiring just 16 bells.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
This is a straightforward, single verse, “repeat as many times as you need” arrangement of this popular Christmas carol, available for 3 octaves for a bargain price!
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3 or 5 octaves of handbells, Level 5
This exciting arrangement will be a sparkling addition to a holiday concert. It’s a mixed-meter celebration, with an optional (but worthwhile) flute part!
How Far Is It to Bethlehem?
Our 3-5 octave arrangement of the folk melody Stowey can be used with this Christmas/Advent title.
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
One of the most beautiful Christmas carols, this accessible Level 2 arrangement can be played on handbells or handchimes.
Jingle Bells
3 octaves of handbells, Level 3-
This laid-back, jazzed up arrangement of Jingle Bells features syncopation and mallets, and is fun to play, without being too much of a challenge.
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
3 octaves of handbells, Level 1
This is a very straighforward arrangement of the gentle German carol. For a change, why not try playing this one on handchimes?
O Come, All Ye Faithful (ADESTE FIDELES)
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
This is a very straightforward arrangement of the popular Christmas carol, for 3-octave handbell choirs. Quick to learn; a simple one-verse, “repeat as many times as you need to” arrangement at a bargain price.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
16 handbells, 2 or 3 octaves
For the advanced 16-bell ensemble (4-8 ringers), here is a beautiful arrangement of the Advent carol that will enchant your audience.
O Holy Night
3 octaves of handbells, Level 3-
This accessible 3-octave arrangement of the popular song is a wonderful addition to an Advent or Christmas concert or worship service.
Of the Father’s Love Begotten (DIVINUM MYSTERIUM)
3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with 3 octaves handchimes and cajón, plus optional alternate bells, Level 3+
One of the best-known Christmas pieces for handbells, here’s an arrangement of the DIVINUM MYSTERIUM melody that features handchimes, a cajón part (available to purchase separately) and an opportunity for “alternate bells”. If you have access to Silver Melody Bells, Whitechapel or Petit and Fritsen handbells, it will add a fun touch of mystery to the start of the piece. If not, handchimes will do just fine!
Once in Royal David’s City
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2+
This is another “repeat the verse as many times as you need to” arrangement, suitable for handbell choirs without a lot of time to rehearse for Christmas services or performances.
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
3 or 5 octaves of handbells, Level 3
Your handbell choir will have a blast with this lively arrangement, written for the Praise Ringers of Portage United Church of Christ, in Michigan. There’s even a cajón part!
Sing We Now of Christmas (NOEL NOUVELET)
3-5 octaves of handbells, Level 3
Here’s a dual-purpose arrangement that you can play as Sing We Now of Christmas for Christmas, or as Now the Green Blade Riseth for Easter!
Sleigh Ride (November) – The Seasons
2 octaves of handbells, Level 5
This arrangement of November from The Seasons by Tchaikovsky is intended to challenge 2-octave handbell choirs. We read a lot about 2-octave handbell choir music being “too easy”. This one is for intrepid ensembles only!
Snow
3 octaves of handbells, Level 1+
For handbell choirs in search of a secular piece to include in winter performances, here is an original composition for beginning/improving handbell choirs. It describes the Michigan winter weather perfectly!
Still, Still, Still
2 octaves of handbells, Level 2
This Christmas lullaby is perfect for a Christmas Eve service. It sounds especially mellow played on handchimes, but is suitable for handbells too.
Sussex Carol
2 octaves of handbells, Level 3
This traditional English Christmas Sussex Carol is also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”. This arrangement makes a lively and uplifting addition to your Christmas concert or worship service!
Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2
This is a straightforward arrangement of the hymn tune MARGARET. Just repeat the verse and refrain as many times as you need to!
‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime
3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes
This is the oldest known Canadian carol. Gitchi Manitou is Algonquian for “Great Spirit”, the Native American name for God, and the lyrics tell the Christmas story as it might have told been near the Great Lakes.
Wexford Carol
16 bells, 2 or 3 octaves of handbells
For fans of dissonance and lush harmonies, traditional songs and Irish music, this Christmas tune dates from the 15th or 16th century. This arrangement uses just 16 bells, making it a flexible choice for a handbell ensemble with 8 or fewer ringers.
While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night
3 octaves of handbells, Level 2-
This is a simple 3-octave arrangement of the CHRISTMAS tune used for this hymn in the USA. It’s one that you can simply repeat for as many verses as you need, making it a good choice for handbell ensembles without a lot of time to learn music for Christmas!
Winter Dance
5 octaves of handbells and 2 octaves of handchimes, Level 4
Seiichi Kyoda composed this wonderful piece. His group Uttara-Kuru performed it with a synthesis of traditional Japanese instruments (shakuhachi, koto, etc.) and electronica. The picture is of the citizens of a remote village celebrating life with a community dance.
Ye Jazzy Gentlemen
5 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes, Level 4-
This “à la Brubeck” arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen now has a cajòn part!
