January 27, 2022

Take my Life and Let it Be – New 12-Bell Music

“Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.”

Our latest 12-bell arrangement is the hymn Take my Life, and Let it Be. The hymn tune is MESSIAH, written by Louis Herold – also used for the hymns Come, Ye Weary Sinners, Come, and Cross of Jesus. This 12-bell arrangement was recently requested by a Choraegus customer, and we were happy to add it to our catalog!

More about this 12-bell arrangement

Take my Life, and Let it Be is suitable for 3-6 ringers, and is fairly straightforward to play. As with most of our 12-bell music, the score is available in a choice of two handbell ranges – either C5-G6 or F5-C7. No special techniques are required, and there’s no bell-sharing, and no need for tables. This makes it great for handbell choirs still observing social distancing! Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

Buying handbell music from Choraegus

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded as a PDF file. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this 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 title (Take my Life, and Let it Be) and arranger (Larry Sue) of the piece 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 this piece, 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!

January 24, 2022

How Can I Keep from Singing? – New 12-Bell Music

How Can I Keep from Singing? – sometimes known by the title My Life Flows on in Endless Song – is a traditional hymn, set to music written by Robert Wadsworth Lowry in the 1860s.

“My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation,
I hear the sweet , tho’ far-off hymn
That hails a new creation;
Thro’ all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?“

In more recent years, How Can I Keep from Singing? has been popular with folk singers, and a version (with slightly altered lyrics) was sung by Pete Seeger in the 1960s. Irish musician Enya brought the song back to public attention again in 1991 by including it on her Shepherd Moons album.

Our new 12-bell arrangement is fun to play!

More about this 12-bell arrangement

How Can I Keep from Singing? is suitable for 3-6 ringers. We demonstrate it 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.

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 title (How Can I Keep from Singing?) and arranger (Larry Sue) of the piece 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 this piece, we’d love to see it!

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!

January 19, 2022

America the Beautiful – for Handbells

It’s the time of year when people start looking for patriotic music for handbells. America the Beautiful is a much-loved song, with lyrics written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893. After the poem’s initial publication in 1895, people sung the words to a variety of traditional folk tunes, including Auld Lang Syne. Eventually it was paired with Samuel A. Ward’s tune MATERNA, and they were first published together in 1910. These days, we can’t imagine singing America the Beautiful to any other tune!

“O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountains majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!“

Here’s our 3-5 octave arrangement, recorded last summer.

More information about this arrangement

America the Beautiful is a Level 4 arrangement, with soaring arpeggios and plenty of challenge in each ringing assignment. Sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. You can either buy 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 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. As part of that agreement, we do ask that you credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, 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 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.

January 19, 2022

Handbell Music for Lent – from Choraegus

We still have snow on the ground here in West Michigan. Even so, we’re already starting to think about handbell music for Lent and Holy Week.

We’ve added quite a few new titles to the Choraegus catalog since the start of the COVID pandemic. We now have a whole new range of pieces for just six bells with piano accompaniment. We’ve continued to arrange 8-bell music, and have also put together some new arrangements for larger handbell ensembles.

Full Choir Handbell Music for Lent

Here’s our most recent full-choir arrangement for Lent – it’s the beautiful hymn A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth. It’s for either 3 or 5 octaves, and we demonstrate the 5-octave arrangement here:

Full choir pieces are available from Choraegus as either individual copies (suitable for previewing), or full-choir licences. Purchase of the full-choir license entitles you to make up to 15 copies of the music for your choir. We also grant permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing for non-commercial purposes.

Music for smaller handbell ensembles

Looking at music for smaller ensembles, we now have two versions of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross! One is for 6 bells and piano, and the other is an entirely different 8-bell version. Here’s the 6-bell arrangement:

And here’s the 8-bell When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

Other 8-bell arrangements suitable for Lent and Holy Week include a challenging arrangement of Ah, Holy Jesus (HERZLIEBSTER JESU). It’s not the Fred Gramann version, but it’s still interesting to play! We also have arrangements of O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, and Go to Dark Gethsemane. You’ll find these and more listed in the Eight-Bell Hymns section of the Choraegus site.

If you have a 2-octave set, you might find 12- or 16-bell music useful. We have several 12-bell hymn arrangements that are ideal for Lent. Our recent 16-bell arrangement of the LEONI hymn tune could also be suitable for a worship service during that time.

We hope you’ll find something useful on our music site. If you have a request for music that’s not in our catalog, you’re always welcome to suggest it to us. If you have questions, please check our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to help!

January 17, 2022

Newness – Spring Handbell Music

Newness is an original composition for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells. Spring is approaching (although it’s going to take a while, here in Michigan), so we thought the time was right to make a demonstration video of the 5-octave version. If you’re looking for spring handbell music that’s suitable for a secular performance or a worship service, this piece could be an option, and it shouldn’t take too long to learn.

More information about Newness

Newness is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes. If all the notes are played on bells, it’s a Level 2 piece. Adding the handchimes adds an extra challenge for several ringers. We found it helpful to be able to play the chimes as 4-in-hand pairs with the bells. When we recorded this piece on 3 octaves, we played the chimes separately, again as 4-in-hand pairs – so that could be an option too, if you have extra ringers. If in doubt, just play the whole thing on bells only!

There’s a lot more spring handbell music available from Choraegus, including titles for Lent and Easter – so take a look, and we hope you’ll find something to interest you!

How to purchase the sheet music

Sheet music for Newness is available to purchase, download and print 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 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!

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.

Any questions?

January 14, 2022

Come Down, O Love Divine – Handbell Music for Pentecost

“Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.”

We’re happy to bring you this new recording of Larry’s arrangement of the hymn Come Down, O Love Divine. The tune is DOWN AMPNEY, written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1906. This hymn is ideal for Pentecost worship.

More information about this arrangement

Come Down, O Love Divine is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes. It’s a Level 3- arrangement. Sheet music is available to download from Choraegus – available as an individual score, or as a full-choir license.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

When you purchase handbell music from Choraegus, the music score will come to you as a PDF file. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment (for the full-choir copy) entitles you to print up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information about this. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope) stress-free way!

Purchasing this arrangement gives you no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please take some time to read about what you’re allowed to do with Choraegus handbell music. In these times of live-streaming, and online worship services, it’s particularly important that we all understand and follow the laws concerning performance licensing and copyright.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, please look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Come Down O Love Divine handbell music for Pentecost

January 9, 2022

Gaudete! Handbell Music for Christmas

In the handbell world, we know the importance of preparing early. We started the new year by preparing super-early for Christmas 2022 – with a new recording of the carol Gaudete! Okay, we we’ll admit it; we were actually late with this one. The original plan had been for us to record it before Christmas. However, December turned out busier than we expected it to be, and we had to postpone our recording until we’d finished our holiday handbell performances!

Gaudete! dates back at least as far as the 16th century, and this arrangement is fun to play. It sounds tricky, and it probably is, but once you’ve got the hang of the rhythms and mixed meter, it flows along quite nicely. It has handchimes, an opportunity for singing bell, and we added a lively cajón part too!

How to buy Gaudete! Handbell music from Choraegus

Gaudete! is a Level 4+ arrangement, and sheet music is available to purchase, download and print 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 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) 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 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.