Tag Archives: 8 bell

New Music for Handbells – Linstead Market

Linstead Market is our latest 8-bell piece. We first played this at Los Altos Lutheran Church, a couple of weeks before we left California in the summer of 2016. We didn’t manage to get a recording at that time, but brought the piece out again for our recent concert in Warner Robins, Georgia. Linstead Market is a Jamaican folk song. It’s also used as the tune to the hymn Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ. Here’s a recent rehearsal video, recorded in our home here in Holland, Michigan.

Where to get the sheet music for Linstead Market

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

Choraegus music comes to you as a digital file to download. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, so you won’t need to wait for anything to arrive in the mail! Your purchase of this 8-bell piece will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group.

If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to make the purchase process stress-free! Please also read our licensing agreement.

Any questions?

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

Our Concert Weekend in Warner Robins, GA

Thanks to all at Christ United Methodist Church in Warner Robins, GA for inviting us to present a concert of handbell duets there.

We arrived in Georgia, and instantly noticed the change in temperature. April in Michigan tends to be a cool month. There’s still snow around in places, and we were totally overdressed for the heat of Warner Robins! Still, we receive a friendly welcome, and were happy to be there for our concert.

Warner Robins - handbell concert by Larry and Carla
Our names in lights. Fame at last!

We played some of our current favorite 8-bell pieces, including several that haven’t yet been published. Here’s the full list of the duets we performed:

Warner Robins handbell duet concert program
Our Warner Robins concert program

After the concert, we played duets during the Sunday morning service at Christ United Methodist Church. Larry also enjoyed the opportunity to be the pianist for the morning!

Larry rehearsing at the piano!

Our weekend also included a trip to Macon to see the Cherry Blossom Festival, and a look at the historic Depot Row in Warner Robins.

Larry and Carla Macon Cherry Blossom Festival
At the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA

Thanks to everyone who came to our concert and made us feel so welcome. It was a tiring and busy weekend, but so much fun!

If you’d like to book us to come to your church and perform a concert, please get in touch with us, and let’s see if we can make it happen!

New Music for Handbells – The Boys of Bluehill

Here’s another one from the archives – recorded during a rehearsal in California in the summer of 2016, before we moved to Michigan. It’s a traditional hornpipe – The Boys of Bluehill.

This tune has an uncertain history. No one seems to be entirely sure if the music is originally Irish or Scottish. Alternatively, it could even be an old American tune that made its way to Ireland and was claimed by musicians there. Either way, it’s fun to play, and not as challenging as some of our traditional Irish jigs. St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and this could work well!

Would you like to play this hornpipe?

If you’d like to play The Boys of Bluehill, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy music from Choraegus, please note that you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your music will come to you as a PDF file, and you’ll be responsible for printing it yourself. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we highly recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the purchase process in a stress-free way.

Any questions for us?

We’re always happy to answer any questions about buying or playing our music. Please get in touch if there’s anything you need help with!

New Music for Handbells – Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the hymn tune Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. It’s interesting to note that the tune (MARTYRDOM) is an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody, originally used for the ballad “Helen of Kirkconnel”, which is now more commonly sung to a completely different tune.

“Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?”

Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed is particularly suitable for worship services during Lent and Holy Week. This arrangement is straightforward to play, and could also work well as a quartet piece.

Where to find the sheet music

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

When you buy music from Choraegus, it will come to you as a PDF file. This means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

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

Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed - handbells

New Music for Handbells – The Foxhunter’s Jig –

We recently unearthed some long-forgotten rehearsal videos from the summer of 2016, when we were still in California. Our latest 8-bell piece is an Irish Jig Nead Na Lachan. It’s most often referred to in English as The Foxhunter’s Jig.

We haven’t (yet) managed to play this one with 100% accuracy. In fact, Larry has declared it to be “not the most cooperative of pieces”. But one of us still thinks it’s fun to play! You could make it less exhausting shorter by cutting out some of the repeated sections. We performed it a few times during our street performing sessions here in Holland, Michigan last summer. It was very popular with our audience, as most Irish jigs seem to be.

Feeling insane enough to play this piece?

Honestly, Larry’s really not a fan of The Foxhunter’s Jig. He arranged it, so he only has himself to blame, of course. If you’d like to give it a try, the music is available to download from Choraegus.

When you buy music from Choraegus, please note that the music will come to you in digital (PDF) format. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please see our licensing agreement for full details. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group.

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. It will take you through the process, with pictures!

Any questions?

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

Foxhunter's Jig - handbell duet
Larry and Carla – The 2017 Downtown Holland Street Performer Series

New Music for Handbells – The Kesh – for 8 Bells

The Kesh is a popular traditional Irish jig. It’s usually a fiddle tune, but it turns out to be a fun tune to play on handbells. That’s a good thing, since we have no idea how to play the fiddle!

We recently found this recording in a batch of long-forgotten rehearsal videos from before we moved from California to Michigan:

This arrangement is suitable for 2-4 ringers, and could be useful for St Patrick’s Day!

Information about the sheet music

If you’d like to play The Kesh, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy handbell music from Choraegus, it comes 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. Your purchase will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for full details.

If this is your first time buying music from Choraegus, you might find our step-by-step guide helpful. We designed it with pictures, to take you through the process in a stress-free way.

Any questions for us?

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

The Kesh - handbells

New Music for Handbells – O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

We’re starting 2017 with a new arrangement for eight handbells. This is the German hymn O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright.

“O Morning Star, how fair and bright
thou beamest forth in truth and light,
O Sovereign meek and lowly!
Thou Root of Jesse, David’s Son,
my Lord and Master, thou hast won
my heart to serve thee solely!
Thou art holy,
fair and glorious,
rich in blessing,
rule and might o’er all possessing.”

Over the years, this hymn has been popular for weddings and funerals in Germany. However, in the USA it’s now more often sang at Epiphany.

More information about this arrangement

This arrangement isn’t too challenging to play, and would be also be very suitable as a quartet piece. If you’d like to play it, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you purchase music from Choraegus, it 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. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell choir.

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed the guide to take you through the purchase process in a stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might like to look at our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you seek, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

O Morning Star
Christmas handbells!

New Music for Handbells – Crown Him with Many Crowns

Our latest 8-bell piece is the hymn tune Diademata, written in 1868 by English organist and composer George J Elvey. It’s most often sung as Crown Him with Many Crowns.

We recorded this piece several months ago in Los Altos, California. We brought it out into the open again (quite literally) when we played duets on 8th Street here in Holland last Sunday. It prompted a surprise sing-along from a group of shoppers passing by. It’s always fun when people recognise a tune, especially when it’s one we haven’t played for a while!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Crown Him with Many Crowns, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Please note that Choraegus handbell music comes to you as a digital score to download and print. You’ll be responsible for printing the correct number of copies of the sheet music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, you might like to read our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take some of the stress away from the online purchasing process!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus music, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to help!

Crown Him with Many Crowns - handbells

New Music for Handbells – Barney Brannigan

“Twas on a windy night, at two o’clock in the morning,
An Irish Lad set out, all wind and weather scorning;
Twas on a windy night, at two o’clock in the morning,
An Irish Lad set out, all wind and weather scorning;
At Judy Callaghan’s door, sitting upon the railing,
His love tale he did pour, and this was part of his wailing;
Only say, you’ll have Barney Brannigan,
Dont say nay, Charming Judy Callaghan.
Only say, you’ll have Barney Brannigan,
Dont say nay, charming Judy Callaghan.”

Here’s our latest eight-bell piece – it’s a traditional Irish slip jig called Barney Brannigan – also known by several other titles, including Barney Brallaghan, Blewitt’s Jig and Twas on a Windy Night.

This piece is a nice challenge for four-in-hand duet. It is actually fun to play – not that you can tell from our faces in the video!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Barney Brannigan, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you purchase music from Choraegus, please note the music 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. Purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you’re unfamiliar with buying music from Choraegus, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our handbell music, please get in touch, and we’ll be happy to help!

Playing Handbell Duets in Holland, Michigan!

We celebrated our recent arrival in Holland, Michigan by spending a couple of hours playing our handbell duets on 8th Street. Thank you to everyone who stopped to listen to our music!

Playing handbell duets in Holland - Larry and Carla
We had fun being street musicians in Holland today!

Downtown Holland is a great place to play music. We arrived armed with a street performers’ permit, and a map of approved locations. After that, it’s just a question of finding a spot along the street where you won’t be in anyone’s way. Then you have to park the car in a location not too far from your chosen performance spot. After that, you simply hope that people will enjoy the music you have to offer. We enjoyed playing our handbell duets in Holland today!

8th Street, where we played handbell duets
8th Street, where we played handbell duets

You can book us to play handbells at your event!

We had some enquiries about our availability to play our duets at other events. The answer is yes, you can book us to play handbells at your wedding, church service, party, Christmas event, wine-tasting… well, the list goes on. We’re new to West Michigan, so we have lots of dates available in the coming months!

Check out our YouTube channel to see some more of our duets. If you’d like to book us for your event, request a copy of our current fee schedule, or have any questions, please get in touch!