April 30, 2021

It Is Well With My Soul – for 16 Handbells

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul”

Our latest “cloned” recording project is It Is Well With My Soul; a hymn first published in 1876. The tune was composed by Philip Bliss, with lyrics by Horatio Spafford. We recommend our 16-bell arrangement to any handbell ensemble looking for something interesting and challenging to play, without needing a lot of bells or ringers!

Suitable for socially-distant handbell ensembles

If your handbell ensemble is observing social distancing, our 16-bell arrangements could be useful. It Is Well With My Soul contains no bell changes, and needs no bell-sharing. It’s suitable for up to 8 ringers to play, and doesn’t need any tables or foam. If your handbell ensemble is playing from music stands, with physical distancing, this would work!

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

More information 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 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.

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 information you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

April 26, 2021

Count Your Blessings – for 8 Handbells and Piano

It’s been a while since we published any new accompanied 8-bell music – so here’s a lively arrangement of Count Your Blessings, for handbells and piano. This piece could work well for a Mother’s Day or spring worship service!

“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.“

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, this piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. You won’t even need tables or foam!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Count Your Blessings, 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 without the rest of your ensemble.

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 be happy to help!

April 21, 2021

Winter Dance – for Handbells, 5 Octaves

Our most ambitious recording project in recent months has been this 5-octave arrangement of Winter Dance. Written by Seiichi Kyoda for Uttara-Kuru, this piece was originally performed with traditional and modern Japanese instruments. Here, we demonstrate Larry’s 5-octave arrangement on handbells and handchimes. And look! Carla is actually playing bass bells!

More information about the music

Winter Dance is arranged for 5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes. If you don’t have the chimes, it works without – but they do add an interesting texture to the piece! It’s a Level 4 arrangement; interesting enough to challenge any handbell choir, but still very playable. If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, please note that 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. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment (for the choir version of the score) entitles you to print out up to 15 copies for your group. Individual copy licences are also available, but if you buy one copy as a preview, you’ll need to come back for the choir version for your ensemble to play it. Please read our licensing agreement for full information. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Any questions?

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

April 19, 2021

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art – for 8 Handbells

“I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Savior of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.”

It’s been a while since we published any new 8-bell music! We have several new arrangements that will be available from Choraegus soon… but first, here’s one that we’ve had for a while. It’s a hymn that dates from the 16th century, with the tune TOULON. Our video is another that we recorded early last year, when Larry was waiting to have shoulder surgery.

As with our other 8-bell pieces, 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 I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print up to four copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. 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 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, 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. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art - handbells

April 15, 2021

Peace – for Handbells, 3-5 Octaves

It often seems as if the world is full of so much violence, and our own lives are more stress-filled than we’d like them to be. Sometimes we just long for a bit of peace! In our house, that can mean sitting down with a cup of tea in front of the TV, but sometimes playing music is exactly what’s needed.

Peace is an original composition for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes. It’s a Level 2+ arrangement, and fairly straightforward to play. This video was one of the first 3-octave pieces we put together. It was a sight-read, with no rehearsing beforehand, but the notes all seem to be there, so you’ll get the idea.

Where to get the sheet music

Peace is suitable for secular performances, as well as for worship services. If you’d like to this original composition, the sheet music is available to download 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. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment (provided you bought the choir version) entitles you to print out up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

If you enjoyed Peace, you might also enjoy another of Larry’s original compositions, Newness! Purchase of either of these pieces gives you the benefit of our no-fuss permissions for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing – so you won’t need to apply for a separate licence for any of these.

Any questions?

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

April 9, 2021

Happy – for Handbells, 3-5 Octaves

Happy – for handbells, 3-5 octaves – is one of our recent “just the two of us” recording projects. We played the 5-octave version this time, and added the cajón too – a box-shaped percussion instrument, originally from Peru. For anyone interested, Larry’s cajón is the El Guapo from Malmark Bellcraftsmen.

Larry originally wrote Happy for the Low Ding Zone Murder Mystery shows in early 2013. It has that 1920s flavor, and was a lot of fun to play — both as the original bass piece, and more recently as a 3-5 octave full-choir piece. As with all our put-together full-choir videos, we recorded it without rehearsing first, so please think of any minor inaccuracies as “adding character”!

More information about the music

Happy is an original Level 4 composition for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes — F6, G6, G#6, A6, B6, and C6. The sheet music is available to download 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. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment (for the full-choir score) entitles you to print out up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Any questions?

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

April 5, 2021

The Heavens Declare Your Glory – for Handbells

“The heavens declare your glory, the firmament your power;
day unto day the story repeats from hour to hour.
Night unto night replying, proclaims in every land,
O LORD, with voice undying, the wonders of your hand.“

The Heavens Declare Your Glory is the hymn tune FAITHFUL, written by J.S. Bach. We enjoyed putting together this arrangement for 3-5 octaves of handbells! With lots of opportunity for mallets in the bass, a lively beginning and ending, and a thoughtful and contemplative middle section, there’s plenty in this piece to keep your ringers and audience entertained!

How to get the music, and more information about Choraegus

The Heavens Declare Your Glory is a Level 3 arrangement, for 3-5 octaves of handbells. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

When you buy 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, which we designed to take you through the process in a stress-free way!

Purchasing this 3-5 octave arrangement gives you no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing, as part of a performance or worship service.

Any questions about buying or playing our music?

If you have any questions for us, please look at the Frequently-Asked Questions first, in case the answer is there. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

The Heavens Declare Your Glory handbells

March 31, 2021

Kingsfold – for Handbells, 3-5 Octaves

Kingsfold is a folk tune that’s thought to date back to the Middle Ages. It’s a tune used for a variety of texts, both sacred and secular. As a folk song, you might know it as Dives and Lazarus or The Star of the County Down. In worship, it’s sung as the popular hymn I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, and also as When Jesus Walked Upon This Earth. For Christmas, it’s the setting for O Sing a Song of Bethlehem. Our arrangement of Kingsfold for handbells and optional handchimes is a very versatile piece!

We enjoyed putting this video together. Playing 3-5 octave music has been a good way to keep up our ringing skills during a time when duet performances haven’t really been happening. The urge to rehearse for events that aren’t taking place… well, it just isn’t there. So these “full choir” videos have been a fun alternative for us!

More information about Kingsfold

Kingsfold is for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with optional 2-octave handchimes. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, 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 entitles you to print up to 15 copies for your group. Please read our licensing agreement for full information. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide, which we designed to take you through the process in a stress-free way!

Other versions of this piece

An unaccompanied arrangement for 8 handbells

An arrangement for 6 handbells and piano

Any questions?

March 29, 2021

Vårvindar Friska – Handbell Music for 3-5 Octaves

Vårvindar Friska (Fresh Spring Winds) is a traditional Swedish folk song celebrating the coming of spring. The tune is also used for the hymns Breath of the Living God and O Living Breath of God.

We’ve had this arrangement since 2018, but it took a COVID-19 pandemic to give us the idea of recording some of our 3-5 octave pieces with just the two of us! This one has probably been our favorite, so far. It’s light and breezy, and just skips along. We enjoyed playing it so much that we’re already making plans to try the 5-octave version too!

More information about the music

Vårvindar Friska is for 3-5 octaves of handbells. The sheet music is available to download from Choraegus. It’s versatile enough to be played as part of a worship service, or performed in a spring or summer concert.

Any questions?

March 25, 2021

Fairest Lord Jesus / Beautiful Savior – for Handbells (3-5 Octaves)

“Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown

Fairest Lord Jesus is a popular Christian hymn, also sung as Beautiful Savior. We enjoyed putting this video together with just the two of us. Again, it was an opportunity to test our sight-reading skills. The last year has been a quiet one for us, performance-wise, and this video-recording project has certainly kept us busy!

More information about the music

Fairest Lord Jesus is for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with optional 2-octave handchimes. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.