February 23, 2022

Blest Be the Tie that Binds

“Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.“

Here’s our 16-bell arrangement of this popular hymn:

More information about Blest Be the Tie that Binds

This hymn arrangement is available in two handbell ranges – C5-D7 and G4-A6, making it suitable for a 3-octave handbell choir to play. If you have 2 octaves from G4 to G6 plus the extra A6 at the top, that would also work. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand piece, but it’s suitable for up to 8 ringers. There are no bell changes during the piece, there’s no bell-sharing, and no need for tables and foam.

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

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 title (Blest Be the Tie that Binds) and arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) 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 performance, we’d love to see it! You’re welcome to share your video on our Facebook page if you’d like to.

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 the information you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

January 21, 2021

Come, Thou Almighty King – 16-Bell Music

Come, Thou Almighty King is our newest arrangement for sixteen handbells. We received a request for this piece, and recorded the demonstration video after Larry came back from his first radiation treatment. It’s more of a read-through than a performance, but you should get the idea of how the piece could sound with the benefit of more rehearsal time!

Come, Thou Almighty King is sung to the ITALIAN HYMN tune, written in 1769. This arrangement is the most straightforward (so far) of all our 16-bell arrangements. It contains no bell changes, and needs no bell-sharing. There are no techniques that require tables. Up to 8 ringers could play it from music stands, even with social distancing.

If you’d like to play Come, Thou Almighty King, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Other 16-bell music is also available. If you don’t see the title you’re looking for, you’re always welcome to suggest a piece you’d like to play. Larry is writing new music all the time!

More information (the small print)

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. 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. In addition, please mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

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.

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!

March 29, 2016

New Handbell Music – the Waltz from Sleeping Beauty – with Pizzazz

During our recent visit to England, we enjoyed the opportunity to rehearse some handbell music with friends. Our trip was mainly for the purpose of meeting our new granddaughter for the first time and catching up with family members we hadn’t seen for far too long. However, we didn’t want to miss the chance to get together with Gay and Alan Cooper, the other half of Pizzazz Handbell Quartet.

More about Pizzazz

Back in the days when Carla lived in England, Pizzazz was a trio, with Gay, Alan and Carla as members. They rehearsed in Wallingford, with coffee, sometimes pizza, and lots of music. The three of them would often keep rehearsing until very late into the night. After all, who needs to sleep when there are handbells to play? The three group members shared a willingness to squash far too many bells, tables, foam pads, table covers, music and people into a car. They’d travel just about any distance to give a performance or take part in a handbell event.

As a group, Pizzazz gave performances and workshops at local and national events. They had success at music festivals and in the Trinity College London intermediate and advanced recital exams. The trio recorded a handbell track on a CD by London-based avant pop duo French for Cartridge. They also performed at parties, weddings, charity events and open-mic nights, and represented the UK at an exciting handbell event in Talinn, Estonia.

Pizzazz Handbell Trio at Heathrow Airport — Christmas festivities at Heathrow Airport

Pizzazz Handbell Trio in Estonia — In concert in Estonia

Carla’s move to California

After all the fun they’d had, the members of the trio were understandably reluctant to break up the group, when Carla moved to California (and got married) in 2012. The best solution was obviously for the trio to become a quartet – an international one – with Gay and Alan on one side of the ocean and Larry and Carla on the other. We had our first opportunity to rehearse together during our visit to England at the beginning of 2014.

Since then, we’ve been more than 5,000 miles apart, communicating on Facebook and by email, but not able to rehearse or perform together as a group. When we knew we’d be visiting England again, it was exciting to be able to make plans to get together with Gay and Alan for another rehearsal!

The Waltz from Sleeping Beauty

As we only had one evening to rehearse, we decided to use our time to try out something new. We played through Larry’s 16-bell arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz. You might recognise the tune as the Once Upon a Dream song from the Disney movie.

This piece was new to all of us. It meant that we weren’t able to get a note-perfect performance in the time available. Still, we hope this video will give you some idea of how the piece should sound. We had a lot of fun with it! We hope to be able to get together again someday, and perhaps try for a more polished performance next time!

Our thanks go to Gay and Alan! We appreciated their continued willingness to play insane handbell stuff at crazy hours of the day (and night).

Would you like to play the Waltz from Sleeping Beauty?

If you’d like to play this piece, the music is now available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a digital download (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 16-bell arrangement allows you to print up to 8 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.