September 27, 2025

Now Thank We All Our God – 8-bell arrangement

“Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.“

Now Thank We All Our God is a popular hymn for Thanksgiving and Harvest. The tune, NUN DANKET, was written by German composer Johann Crüger in 1647, so this hymn has a lot of history!

We first recorded Larry’s 8-bell arrangement in 2020, in our northern Michigan cottage. We couldn’t remember having played it since then, and it seemed like a good time of year to play it again, so we found the music and made a new recording!

More information about this 8-bell arrangement of Now Thank We All Our God

Sheet music for Now Thank We All Our God is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement from Choraegus gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need to! Purchase also gives you permission to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title (Now Thank We All Our God) and arranger (Larry Sue) on video-sharing sites and social media.

Please note that Choraegus 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 with pictures, to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a stress-free way.

Click here to go to the Choraegus website

Click here for a 2-octave arrangement of the same hymn!

Any questions?

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

Now Thank We All Our God, 8-bell handbell music by Larry Sue, from Choraegus

September 12, 2025

Here I Am, Lord – for 8 Handbells

Here I Am, Lord (sometimes also known as I, the Lord of Sea and Sky) is a hymn written by Dan Schutte. It was first published in 1981, and its lyrics are based on Isaiah 6:8 and 1 Samuel 3:4.

“I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin
My hand will save.

I, who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright,
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart.”

© 1981, Oregon Catholic Press.

We’re pleased to be able to bring you an 8-bell arrangement of Here I Am, Lord. This arrangement requires no accompaniment track, and is suitable for 2-4 ringers. We recorded it as a duet, but no 4-in-hand is needed if you have four people to play it! Here’s our demonstration video:

More information about this 8-bell arrangement of Here I Am, Lord

Sheet music for Here I Am, Lord is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement from Choraegus gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need to! 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.

A special note about broadcasting, live-streaming and social media/website sharing

Most Choraegus handbell music includes permission for broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing. The reason for that is that the original compositions are in the public domain. That’s not the case with Here I Am, Lord, which is under copyright.

For permission to broadcast, livestream, or upload/archive a video to social media or websites, please contact: Oregon Catholic Press, 340 Oswego Pointe Drive, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 https://www.ocp.org USA T: +1-800-LITURGY (548-8749) liturgy@ocp.org

Click here to see Here I Am, Lord on the Choraegus website

Any questions?

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

July 27, 2025

Come, Thou Almighty King – a new 8-bell arrangement

“Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy name to sing;
Help us to praise:
Father, all glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.“

Come, Thou Almighty King is sung to the hymn tune ITALIAN HYMN. We’ve had an 8-bell arrangement of this for some years now, but this new arrangement is a “surprisingly easy” version. We recommend our Surprisingly Easy™ arrangements for quartets in particular. When there are four ringers, it helps when there are fewer sixteenth notes, and straightforward rhythms. These arrangements can also be helpful for groups of 2-4 ringers to put together without needing a lot of rehearsal time.

Here’s our demonstration video of Come, Thou Almighty King:

More information about this 8-bell arrangement

Sheet music for Come, Thou Almighty King is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need to! 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 (Come, Thou Almighty King) and arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) 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.

Other arrangements of Come, Thou Almighty King

As well as the two 8-bell arrangements (Standard and Surprisingly Easy), we also have a 16-bell arrangement of this hymn, available to download from Choraegus.

Any questions?

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

July 19, 2025

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing – new 8-bell music

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing has been one of our favorite 8-bell arrangements over the years, ever since we played it at an event in downtown Holland, and a group of local college students stopped to listen, and started singing along. This new arrangement of the NETTLETON hymn tune has fewer sixteenth notes than our standard version, and is more straightforward to play.

We recommend our Surprisingly Easy™ arrangements for quartets in particular. When there are four ringers, it helps when there are fewer sixteenth notes! These arrangements can also be helpful for groups of 2-4 ringers to put together without needing a lot of rehearsal time.

Here’s our demonstration video of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing:

More information about this 8-bell arrangement

Sheet music for Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need to! 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 (Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing) and arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) 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.

Other arrangements of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

As well as the two 8-bell arrangements (Standard and Surprisingly Easy), we also have a 12-bell arrangement of this hymn, and an arrangement for 2 octaves. All are available from Choraegus.

Any questions?

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

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - handbells - flowers

September 10, 2018

New 8-Bell Music for Advent and Christmas

The summer is ending (at least here in Michigan, anyway) and autumn is in the air. It’s the time of year when we start thinking about Christmas and holiday music – and we’re excited to be able to present some new eight-bell titles for this year!

Creator of the Stars of Night

This Advent hymn made it into our concert repertoire this year. We didn’t want to wait for Advent, so we performed it for the first time at the opening concert for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 spring festival on Mackinac Island. This hymn was originally written somewhere between the 7th and 9th centuries, and it works really well on handbells!

The Friendly Beasts

This melody first appeared in France in the 12th century, and was a very late addition to our Christmas performance repertoire last year; so late that we only had the opportunity to perform it once – at the Kerstmarkt (European-style Christmas market) in Downtown Holland. We’re looking forward to playing it more this holiday season!

The Cherry Tree Carol

If you’re looking for an unusual Christmas carol, this is a good one. It’s from Cornwall, England, from way back in Medieval times. It’s not difficult to play, and could also work well as a quartet piece.

Hoe lei dit Kendeke/Cold is this Little Child

Since we moved to Holland, Michigan, we’ve been having fun finding traditional Dutch melodies that can be played using just eight bells. This is a children’s carol that’s also sung in Belgium. It’s not difficult to play, and would also be particularly suitable for a quartet.

De Zak van Sinterklaas / Santa’s Bag

This is a cheery traditional Dutch Christmas song that’s been sung by many generations of children in The Netherlands. We found it during our search for Dutch music after moving from California to Holland!

Pat-a-Pan

This French carol was first published in 1720. It’s about the birth of Jesus, and the shepherds celebrating by playing flutes and drums. We don’t play either of those instruments, so here’s our handbell version:

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

We published the US version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear a while ago, but this version is the one more often heard/sung in the UK.

How Great Our Joy

This traditional German carol was unknown to us until we heard it for the first time in church last year. Our version for eight handbells is great for practising dynamics!

Go, Tell It on the Mountain

This popular spiritual is fun to play, particularly if you’re a fan of syncopation!

From Starry Skies Descending

This Italian carol, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, is fast becoming one of our favorite carols to play!

This year’s eight-bell Christmas music definitely seems to have quite an international flavour. Remember to check out the other Christmas and holiday titles for eight bells on our music site. There are also some 12-bell Christmas pieces and some new titles for full handbell choir too. We hope you’ll find something you’ll enjoy playing!

August 28, 2018

Music Binder Covers

Have you seen our music binder covers yet? In recent months we’ve enjoyed demonstrating our 8-bell music and teaching workshops at the Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island and the Area 8 “Bring It! Ring It!” festival in Omaha, Nebraska.

If you were at these festivals, and you looked at sample copies of our 8-bell music, you might remember that our music binders looked like this:

Where to find these music binder covers

We’ve had several enquiries, so we decided to make these binder inserts available on our music site. If they’d be useful to you, you can download them free of charge from Choraegus.

We have Christmas/holiday and the-rest-of-the-year versions, for both our standard arrangements, and the surprisingly-easy versions too. Just pick the ones you need and download them, ready for printing.

Also in the Freebies section of our music site, you’ll find free scores to download for your handbell group. This free handbell music can be a great way to try out our 8-bell music without having to spend any money.

Let us know if you have more ideas!

If you have any other ideas for what you’d like to see available on Choraegus, please let us know. We’re always open to new ideas and suggestions!

July 5, 2018

HMA Area 8 Festival – “Bring It! Ring It!” – Follow-Up Information

At the HMA Area 8 Festival in Omaha, we told lots of people: “You’ll find all that information on our website!” We’ve now put all the information together in one place, to make it easy to find.

Bass Handbell Techniques

If you were at Larry’s class on Bass Techniques, or Bass Layout/Teamwork, and you’d like to learn more, you can find out everything you need to know and more by reading The Bass Ringer’s Notebook. This book is available for purchase from Choraegus. If you order a copy, wherever you are, you’ll be able to hear us rejoicing here in Michigan. We’ll lovingly package up your book, and will make a special trip to the Post Office to mail it to you. Truly, we will appreciate you forever. If you missed Larry’s classes, maybe it’s even more important to buy his book!

The Bass Ringer's Notebook — The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – 2nd Edition. So much prettier than the 1st edition!

British-Style Four in Hand Ringing

If you went to one of Carla’s British-Style Four-in-Hand classes, and your hands forgot everything the minute you left the room, or if you missed the classes but still have some curiosity about this strange alternative multiple bell technique – do not fear. You can find more information (with extra pictures) in this detailed article on our site. If you’re wondering where you can find that free download of Happy Birthday to practise your newfound skills without spending any money, you can find it here!

Adventures in 8-Bell Music

If you enjoyed our 8-bell music class on Saturday morning, or if you missed it and would like to know more, you can find lots of 8-bell music available for purchase from Choraegus. Please note that our sheet music is designed to be downloaded and printed out by YOU. We recommend reading our step-by-step guide to make the process easier. Don’t sit and wait for the music to arrive by mail, because it won’t reach you that way. Once you’ve purchased the music, you are allowed to print out a certain number of copies for your group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Questions about anything in our classes?

If you have questions about anything you heard in any of our classes, or anything you wish we’d covered, or problems with any of the techniques we demonstrated, you’re always welcome to get in touch with us.

Our 8-Bell Duet Concert

Many of the pieces we performed at our lunchtime concert on Friday are available for purchase and download from Choraegus. A few of the pieces haven’t yet been published – for example Creator of the Stars of Night and Calliope House. However, we plan to make them all available before the end of this year. We’re hoping to get new Advent and Christmas pieces published by the end of August, once we’re back from our annual trip to the Bay View Week of Handbells.

We had so much fun at the HMA Area 8 festival! Several people asked us if we’re available for further concert performances, and events such as worship services and weddings. The answer is yes, we are, so if you’re interested in booking us for an event in the future, please contact us!

HMA Area 8 Festival - handbell duet concert — Our 8-Bell Duet Concert at the Area 8 festival

BronzeFest

We had a great time with the Area 8 BronzeFest Ensemble – Larry directing and Carla playing. Three of the pieces performed in the concert were original compositions written by Larry. You can find A Minor Crash, Rescue and The Final Crossing on our music site, along with many other compositions and arrangements for handbell choir. We’re also pleased to be able to present Susan T. Nelson’s beautiful Elysium, which was also performed by the BronzeFest Ensemble.

Any questions about our music?

If there’s anything you’d like to ask, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

May 9, 2018

New Music for Handbells – Botany Bay

Here’s our latest 8-bell piece – Botany Bay!

“Farewell to old England for ever,
Farewell to my rum coes as well,
Farewell to the well-known Old Bailey
Where I used for to cut such a swell.

Botany Bay first became popular in theatre shows of the late 1800s, in London, England and Melbourne, Australia. However, its roots may be from an even earlier time! The song describes the period in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when many British convicts were deported to penal colonies in Australia. We have another 8-bell piece about this period of history – Moreton Bay.

How to get the sheet music for Botany Bay

If you’d like to play our arrangement of Botany Bay, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Please remember that Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded. You’ll be responsible for printing the music at home, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece entitles you to pay once, and print up to 4 copies for your group. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, we have some Frequently-Asked Questions that might help. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us!

May 2, 2018

New Music for Handbells – Morning Song

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the beautiful hymn tune Morning Song. You might also know it as The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns.

We recently performed this piece for the first time at the opening concert for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island. We’ll be sharing photos and information about that event soon!

Here’s a video of us, recorded a few months ago, rehearsing this piece for the concert:

We’ve enjoyed working on this piece, and think it’s set to become one of our favorites for playing in church. If you’d like to play Morning Song, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

More information about buying handbell music from Choraegus

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. That means you’ll be responsible for the printing, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased our handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the process stress-free!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group. You only need to pay once, so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for more details.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our handbell music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

Morning Song - 8-bell handbells — On our way to Grand Hotel for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival!

September 28, 2017

New 8-Bell Music for Christmas 2017

As all handbell musicians know, it’s important to start preparing for the holiday season long before it begins. Here’s some new 8-bell music for Christmas!