November 16, 2020

New Accompanied 6-Bell Music – Marvelous Grace

Since Larry had his shoulder surgery in May, his recovery has been going well. He still occasionally feels the need to put the sling back on, but only to demonstrate a new 6-bell arrangement. The newest title available from Choraegus is the hymn Marvelous Grace, also known as Grace Greater Than Our Sin. We recorded this demonstration video at the end of a very long day, and we’d have liked another try at the tricky section – but we hope you’ll get the idea of how it should sound with a little more practice.

This arrangement works well as a duet, but a trio could also play it, with social distancing as required. There are no techniques that need tables or foam, and no bell-sharing between ringers. If you’d like to play Marvelous Grace, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. We also have an mp3 piano accompaniment track available to purchase separately; useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

More information about our 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 and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Your 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, 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.

You might like to look at our step-by-step guide to buying music from Choraegus, especially if you’re new to purchasing music online. 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 you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

November 12, 2020

New 8-Bell Music for Worship Services – Somos del Señor

Our latest hymn arrangement is an 8-bell arrangement of Somos del Señor – a traditional melody often used nowadays as the setting for a popular hymn Pues si vivimos (When We Are Living).

This arrangement has no bell-sharing, no picking-up of accidentals during the piece, and no need for tables. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but there are no special techniques written into the score, so it could also be suitable for a trio or quartet to play.

How to purchase the sheet music

If you’d like to play Somos del Señor, 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. 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.

Please also note that our music is designed as downloadable 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. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Somos del Señor 8-bell music for worship — At Los Altos Lutheran Church, CA (Photo: Carl S. Gutekunst)

November 9, 2020

New Accompanied 8-Bell Music – The Skye Boat Song

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is from 19th-century Scotland – The Skye Boat Song. This is a very straightforward arrangement, suitable for a handbell duo, trio or quartet – even if there isn’t a lot of rehearsal time available. If you need a “pick up and play” piece for your group to perform at short notice, this could be the one!

The tune is also used as the setting for the hymn Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind, so it’s versatile enough to be suitable for worship services as well as any other performances. We’ve also been told that it was used as the theme song for the popular historical drama Outlander. We’ll have to put that on our “must-watch TV shows” list!

“Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that’s born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.”

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, this piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. It can be played from just music stands, making it suitable even for socially-distanced handbell groups.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play The Skye Boat Song, 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; useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or if you 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 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. 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 do what we can to help!

November 8, 2020

Woohoo! We Played Handbell Duets in Muskegon!

Yay for handbell duets! 2020 has been a challenging year for us, as far as handbell performances are concerned. Larry had shoulder surgery in May, so we initially couldn’t accept any performance bookings for the spring or summer months. Larry eventually recovered enough for us to start playing duets again. However, all the events where we might have played had been cancelled by then! Our summer duet “performances” mostly took place on the porch at our summer cottage in Bay View. Instead, we focused mainly on writing and rehearsing new music.

We eventually had an opportunity to give a duet performance in September. We presented an outdoor handbell program for members of the local branch of the American Guild of Organists. Since then, our booking calendar has been a bleak wasteland… until today, a long-awaited Sunday, when we took our bells to Muskegon for our second visit to Central United Methodist Church.

Playing for an online worship service

This is such a beautiful church to play handbells in! We were initially planning for a socially-distanced in-person worship service today. However, COVID-19 cases have been increasing here in Michigan, so the church wisely made the decision to broadcast the service online instead.

We played To God Be the Glory and I Stand Amazed for the Prelude today, followed by Beach Spring and Great Is Thy Faithfulness later in the service.

Even though the congregation was an online one this morning, we enjoyed being able to share our music during worship again. Our thanks go to all at Central United Methodist church for the warm welcome we received. We hope it won’t be too long before we’ll be able to go back and play handbells again for an in-person congregation!

Do you need handbell music in your church?

If you’d like us to come to your church and share our handbell music in worship, please get in touch with us!

November 2, 2020

New Music for Christmas – How Great Our Joy – for 6 Handbells and Piano

Our latest handbell arrangement for Christmas is the traditional German carol How Great Our Joy, also known by the title While by the Sheep. It’s a fun and cheery arrangement for just 6 handbells that will give your small handbell ensemble a great opportunity to practise dynamics!

“While by the sheep we watched at night,
glad tidings brought an angel bright.
How great our joy!
Great our joy!
Joy, joy, joy!
Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!”

As with all our 6-bell arrangements, this piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals, and no shared bells. There are no techniques that require tables or foam pads, and it could also be played by three people without needing to use 4-in-hand.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play How Great Our Joy, 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; useful if you don’t have an available accompanist, or for rehearsal purposes.

This carol is also available as a (completely different, unaccompanied) 8-bell arrangement, in two different bell ranges.

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. 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.

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 do what we can to help!

October 29, 2020

Handbell Music for Halloween – the 8-Bell Funeral Tango

From time to time, people ask us if we have any handbell music for Halloween. It’s that spooky time of year again, so here’s something new. It’s our 8-bell arrangement of Funeral Tango.

This piece originally began life as one of the Low Ding Zone arrangements for bass handbell ensemble. A short while ago, we decided we wanted to be able to play it as an 8-bell duet. We have absolutely no idea if it will ever be a performance piece – and 2020 is clearly not going to be an appropriate year for that. Still, it’s fun to play, and Halloween is probably the only suitable time for us to introduce this arrangement. Ready? Here it is!

Feeling spooky enough to play this piece?

If you’d like to play Funeral Tango, 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 ensemble – so you only need to pay once. 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.

For more Halloween music, we also have an arrangement of The Spider Song (Incy Wincy Spider or Itsy Bitsy Spider, depending on your preference). Sheet music is available to download free of charge, from Choraegus.

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 for us?

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’re looking for, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Handbell music for Halloween - Funeral Tango

October 26, 2020

Handbell Duets at South Haven First United Methodist Church

December 27 at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST

Handbell duo Larry and Carla will be playing handbell duets as part of this Christmas worship service. Please note that this service will take place ONLINE ONLY.

First United Methodist Church

429 Michigan Ave
South Haven, Michigan 49090 United States + Google Map

October 25, 2020

New Advent Music for 8 Handbells and Piano – Hills of the North, Rejoice

We’re pleased to introduce some new Advent music for handbells and piano. This Advent hymn from England was written by Charles Edward Oakley. The words are most often set to the tune Little Cornard, written by Martin Shaw. Hills of the North, Rejoice is our latest 8-bell arrangement for handbells with piano accompaniment. We recorded our demonstration video at our Victorian summer cottage in Bay View, Petoskey. If you listen carefully, you might hear the heavy rain falling outside!

“Hills of the North, rejoice,
river and mountain-spring,
hark to the advent voice;
valley and lowland, sing.
Christ comes in righteousness and love,
he brings salvation from above.”

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, there are no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals, and no shared bells. There are no stopped-sound techniques, and no need for tables or foam pads. This makes it particularly suitable for a socially-distanced handbell duo, trio or quartet, playing from music stands.

If you’d like to play Hills of the North, Rejoice, 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 an available accompanist, or for rehearsal purposes.

Important information about buying Choraegus handbell music

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. 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 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 answers you need, and we’ll do what we can to help!

October 22, 2020

Now the Green Blade Riseth / Sing We Now of Christmas – for 6 Handbells and Piano

Now the Green Blade Riseth is our latest 6-bell arrangement. We’ve been arranging and publishing small-group music since 2012 – i.e. before it was cool! One of our goals has always been to write music that’s challenging and interesting enough for skilled handbell musicians to want to play, even when only a very limited range of bells is used. When Larry had shoulder surgery and we started arranging music for just six bells, we wanted to continue this goal. Our latest 6-bell arrangement turned out to be one of the more-challenging pieces in that range. If you’re looking for something different and fun for Christmas or Easter, this piece might work for your group! After all, who doesn’t appreciate a 7/8 time signature? Wait. Don’t answer that.

A versatile arrangement – for Easter and Christmas!

The arrangement was originally written as Now the Green Blade Riseth, but we recorded it with a batch of Christmas music, with a red poinsettia on the music stand. Thus, it became Sing We Now of Christmas as well. One arrangement for two occasions!

As with all our 6-, 8-, 12- and 16-bell arrangements, there are no bell changes and no shared bells. There are no techniques that require tables or foam pads, so any of these arrangements could work for a socially-distant handbell ensemble. They’re also useful for performances where space is limited. Four-in-hand technique is not required; this 6-bell arrangement could also be played as a trio, with each ringer holding two bells.

If you’d like to play this piece, 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’d looking for an arrangement of this carol that doesn’t need piano accompaniment, we also have standard and “surprisingly easy” 8-bell arrangements available from Choraegus, and a 3-5 octave, level 3- arrangement for full handbell choir.

More information about Choraegus handbell music

Please note that 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. Purchase of a 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. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials.

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 do what we can to help!

October 20, 2020

Handbell Duets at Muskegon Central United Methodist Church

November 8 at 9:30 am – 10:30 am EST

Handbell duo Larry and Carla will be playing duets in the 9:30am worship service at Central United Methodist Church in Muskegon, on Sunday, August 18th.