New 8-Bell Music – The Ash Grove / Let All Things Now Living

Here’s our latest 8-bell arrangement – the traditional Welsh tune The Ash Grove. This melody also used as the setting for the hymn Let All Things Now Living. We prepared this video in May, before Larry had his shoulder surgery, as offertory music for our church’s online Zoom service.

We’re playing this arrangement as a four-in-hand duet, of course – because there are only two of us. However, it could also work for a trio or quartet, playing from music stands, with no bell sharing. It’s an ideal piece for social distancing!

How to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play this hymn arrangement, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. 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. You can also use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services and performances. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.

Other options to consider

If you’re looking for a version of this piece suitable for a larger handbell choir, we have two other options you might like to consider:

Let All Things Now Living/The Ash Grove – a Level 3 arrangement for 3-5 octaves of handbells.

Let All Things Now Living – Available from From the Top Music, this fun and challenging arrangement is written in 11/8 time and filled with rhythmic changes and stopped techniques. It’s a lively and exciting arrangement for 5-7 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes – the perfect Level 5+ piece for an advanced handbell choir.

More information about Choraegus handbell music

Please note that our 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. 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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

The Ash Grove - Let All Things Now Living

New Handbell Music – Be Thou My Vision – for 8 Bells and Piano

Our 8-bell arrangement of Be Thou My Vision was commissioned earlier this summer for the Jubilate Ringers at St Anne’s Episcopal Church in Damascus, Maryland. The Irish hymn tune SLANE is also the setting for the popular hymn Lord of All Hopefulness. We enjoyed making the demonstration video of this accompanied arrangement; it’s the first 8-bell duet we’ve played since Larry had his shoulder surgery in May!

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light“

Your handbell choir could play this arrangement as a duet or trio, or as a quartet with each ringer holding two bells. There are no bell changes, and there are no techniques that need tables or foam. This piece could be ideal for playing from music stands, spaced apart to allow for social distancing.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Be Thou My Vision, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

Please note that our 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. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

Be Thou My Vision - handbells and piano accompaniment

New Handbell Music for 8 Bells – Christ, the Life of All the Living

“Christ, the life of all the living,
Christ, the death of death, our foe;
who Thyself for me once giving
to the darkest depths of woe,
patiently didst yield Thy breath
but to save my soul from death;
praise and glory ever be,
blessed Jesus, unto Thee.”

Here’s another hymn arrangement that uses only eight handbells. It’s the 19th-century tune Christ, the Life of All the Living. This demonstration video was another of the videos we rushed to record before Larry had his shoulder surgery – with apologies for the back-lighting. We were running out of time, and had no idea when Larry would be recovered enough to play eight-bell music again! This one could also work well for a socially-distant trio or quartet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgiJdNlTLgM

UPDATE (October 2020): We made a new recording of this arrangement, with better lighting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIT-D7MNbo8


If you’d like to play this hymn arrangement, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus.

More information about buying Choraegus handbell music

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 you permission to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so 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. We designed this with pictures, to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

Christ the Life of all the Living - 8-bell

New Handbell Music – Kingsfold, arranged for 6 Bells and Piano

Kingsfold is one of the pieces we performed in the virtual concert at the recent HMA Area 12 “Handbell Encounters” conference.

Kingsfold is an old English tune, also known as Dives and Lazarus. We use it as the setting for the hymns I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say and When Life Well Lived Is At An End. It’s also the Christmas carol O Sing a Song of Bethlehem. People in folk circles know the song as the Irish ballad The Star of the County Down, and also as My Love Nell. Yes, it’s a very versatile tune!

Our 6-bell arrangement is suitable for 2 or 3 ringers to play. Handbell groups are looking for ways to keep playing, with fewer people and social distancing – and this is one of the ways!

Would you like to play this piece?

If you’d like to play Kingsfold, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. You can also purchase a separate mp3 accompaniment track. This could be useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

Important information about Choraegus music

Please note that our 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. Purchasing a 6-bell arrangement allows you to print up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials.

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!

New Accompanied 6-Bell Music – Hyfrydol

We used to live in California before we moved to Michigan. We were excited to receive an invitation to teach and/or perform at the recent Handbell Musicians of America Area 12 online conference! We’re officially in Area 5 now, but our Area 12 friends will always hold a special place in our heart.

At the time the invitation arrived, Larry had only just had his shoulder surgery. For that reason, we didn’t feel ready to offer an online class. Instead, we prepared two brand-new 6-bell pieces for the virtual concert at the end of the conference. Hyfrydol is the first of those that we’d like to share with you.

A versatile secular and hymn tune!

Hyfrydol is a much-loved Welsh song, often used as a setting for the hymns Alleluia, Sing to Jesus, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. Our 6-bell arrangement could be played as a duet, or by a trio of three ringers if you prefer just two bells each. People have said that our six-bell music has been useful for handbell duos where one ringer is more experienced with 4-in-hand technique than the other, but you could just as easily have three bells each. Of course, if one of the ringers is wearing a sling, you have fewer options!

If you’d like to play Hyfrydol, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. You can also purchase an mp3 accompaniment track. This could be useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

Please note that our 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. Purchasing a 6-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Hyfrydol for handbells and piano

New 8-Bell Music – King of the Fairies

King of the Fairies is a traditional Irish hornpipe that’s one of the arrangements we enjoy playing during street performances. It’s one of those pieces that can be played with the repeated sections or without, depending on how long you want to play for! It’s another one of our pieces that could also work well for a socially-distanced handbell quartet, with no bell-sharing, and no need for tables.

In the last few weeks, we’ve been thinking a lot about street performances – normally a regular part of our summer. With Larry having shoulder surgery a couple of months ago, and the global pandemic, we haven’t yet done any street performances this year. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get out into the streets with our bells at some point before the cold weather arrives!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is now available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also allows you to perform the piece, broadcast and/or live-stream it, and share a performance video on social media etc.

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. Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

New Accompanied 6-Bell Music for Christmas – Silent Night

Too early for Christmas music? Can we have a Silent Night for handbells this early in the year? We’ve definitely heard of “Christmas in July”! This seems like a good time to introduce our latest arrangement for six bells, a piano and an optional sling!

We recorded this version of Silent Night for handbells and piano several months ago, in a desperate attempt to make a Michigan spring day look like Christmas. We failed, of course. No amount of red clothing or poinsettia music-stand decorations will disguise the sunshine outside! Well, at least we tried, and you’ll get an idea of how the music should sound.

Feeling Christmassy?

If you’d like to play Silent Night, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately, for anyone who doesn’t have a pianist available or wants to practise at home.

Please note that sheet music from Choraegus is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this 6-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score), and also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

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.

Looking for a version that doesn’t need piano accompaniment?

If you’re looking for handbell pieces that don’t need accompaniment tracks and can be played by 2 – 4 ringers, we also have an 8-bell version of Silent Night that you might like to try!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Silent Night - handbells and piano

New 8-Bell Music – Al die Willen te Kaap’ren Varen

Last week we published our fun arrangement of Calliope House, with a demonstration video filmed at our “All the Way from Holland” concert in California in May 2019.

This week we’re pleased to bring you another piece that we performed during our trip to California. We played this one at the lunchtime concert at the Bay Area Spring Ring. It’s the traditional Dutch tune Al die Willen te Kaap’ren Varen, usually known to us as the “Dutch pirate song”. It’s another one of the pieces we enjoy playing during street performances.

If you’d like to play Al die Willen te Kaap’ren Varen, the sheet music is now available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

How to purchase handbell music from Choraegus

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. Please note that our 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. Purchase gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please remember to mention the title and arranger in any video descriptions and on any printed materials.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Al die Willen te Kaap'ren Varen - 8-bell arrangement

New Accompanied 6-Bell Music – Creator of the Stars of Night

While Larry’s been recovering from shoulder surgery, we’ve enjoyed working on some music that only needs six bells and piano. Our latest 6-bell arrangement is the Advent hymn Creator of the Stars of Night.

This hymn is based on a 7th-century Latin plainchant Conditor alme Siderum. It’s one of the oldest pieces of music in our repertoire! It proved impossible for us to create a December mood for our demonstration recording. However, we can easily imagine this piece being played at an Advent or Christmas Eve service. It would be extra special by candlelight!

Would you like to play this piece?

This arrangement is straightforward to play as a duet, or by a trio of three ringers if you prefer just two bells each. The sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately, for anyone who doesn’t have a pianist available or wants to practise at home.

If you’re looking for handbell pieces that don’t need accompaniment tracks and can be played by 2-4 ringers, we also have an 8-bell version of Creator of the Stars of Night that you might also like to try!

Information about Choraegus handbell music

Sheet music from Choraegus 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. Purchasing this 6-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Creator of the Stars of Night - 6-bell music

New 8-Bell Music – Calliope House

Calliope House is a fun addition to our 8-bell repertoire. It’s a jig written by Dave Richardson of the Irish band Boys of the Lough. The piece was originally written in honor of George Balderose, the founder of the Pittsburgh Folk Music Society, who used to host house concerts in his home – Calliope House.

This tune is, oddly, more difficult to play than it looks. We usually save it for street performances. Somewhere on Facebook there’s a video entitled The Perils of Street Performing. The video shows us playing this piece on a ridiculously-windy day in Downtown Holland.

Anyway, we brought the piece out for this slightly jet-lagged performance at our All the Way from Holland concert in the California Bay Area in May 2019. The third page has a tendency to trip us up when we haven’t quite had enough sleep, and this performance was no exception. Still, we always enjoy playing it, and we love a challenge, of course.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Calliope House, the sheet music is now available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video sharing.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so 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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Calliope House, 8-bell handbells
In concert in California – May 2019