Tag Archives: Choraegus

New 12-Bell Music – Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose

“Thou hidden source of calm repose,
thou all-sufficient love divine,
my help and refuge from my foes,
secure i am, if thou art mine:
and lo, from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Jesus, in thy name.”

This is an 18th century hymn by Charles Wesley. We hadn’t heard it until very recently! The tune is ST PETERSBURG. If you’re looking for an unusual hymn for your worship service, this could work well. It’s suitable for 3-6 ringers, and it’s available in two bell ranges – either C5-G6 or F5-C7.

Thanks to J.C for joining us for this recording during his recent visit to Michigan!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

Sheet music for this new 12-bell arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You only need to pay once, and you can print up to 6 copies for your group.

We ask you to read our licensing agreement, and if you’re new to buying our music online, we recommend our step-by-step guide.

Any questions?

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’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!



Handbell Music Suggestions for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter

It’s that time of year when people start contacting us to ask about handbell music for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter. Here are a few suggestions!

For full handbell choir, we have an original composition called “Meditation“, with the alternative title “Lenten Piece”. It’s a thoughtful and contemplative piece for 2-5 octaves of handbells. This demonstration video is by Tintabulations Handbell Ensemble.

This piece is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Are you looking for music for a smaller group?

If you don’t have a full handbell choir to work with, we have music arranged for twelve or eight bells too. For Lent, Holy Week or Good Friday, you could look at our twelve-bell arrangement of “There is a Fountain“, shown in the rehearsal video below. This and other twelve-bell hymns are available from Choraegus.

We have lots of eight-bell pieces suitable for this time of year. You can find all of our published eight-bell hymn arrangements in a repertoire list on this website. Sheet music is available to download and print from Choraegus. As an example, we have a straightforward but effective arrangement of “O Sacred Head“, suitable for 2-4 ringers.

There are many wonderful hymns for Easter. Our arrangement of “Come Christians, Join to Sing” has a version for eight bells with organ accompaniment by T. Paul Rosas, who played it with us at Los Altos United Methodist Church on Easter Sunday in 2016.

Thank you for considering our handbell music. If you need more information, check out some frequently-asked questions, and contact us if you don’t find what you’re looking for!

Handbell music for Lent, Holy Week, Easter and spring

New Music for 12 Handbells – How Great Thou Art

Here’s our latest 12-bell piece – an arrangement of the popular hymn How Great Thou Art. Thanks to J.C, who came to visit us for a few days last month and was happy to play through some new stuff with us.

This piece proved to be fun to play, and came together surprisingly quickly. As with all our 12-bell pieces, we’ve made it available in two versions – one for the traditional twelve-bell range C5-G6, and one for F5-C7, so you can pick the one that suits your group.

How to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play How Great Thou Art, it’s available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy music from Choraegus, you’ll receive instructions to download the file as a PDF. That means you’ll be responsible for printing the music at home, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please read our licensing agreement for all the details. If you haven’t bought music from us before, you might like to read our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the purchase process stress-free!

Your payment gives you permission to print out up to 6 copies of this arrangement for your group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying and playing our music, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

How Great Thou Art - 12-bell

Now Available from our Music Site – Gift Vouchers!

UPDATE for 2026:

We regret that we’re currently unable to offer gift vouchers for the Choraegus site, because of a technical issue that’s outside our control. Thank you to everyone who purchased them! We do hope to be able to bring them back at some future date.

We’re excited to introduce something new on our music site – gift vouchers! You can now purchase and download a gift voucher for $10, $20, $50 or $100, give it to a friend, and let them choose their own music from the wide selection of pieces available on our site. It could be an ideal Christmas or birthday gift for the handbell musician in your life!

Gift vouchers for handbell music

There’s so much music to choose from!

There are so many handbell titles on Choraegus that it’s sometimes difficult to choose. We have solo handbell arrangements, music for just 6 bells and piano, 8-bell music… all the way up to full-choir music for 5-8 octaves. There’s straightforward music for beginning or improving ensembles. You’ll also find pieces that will challenge even the most skilled and experienced handbell ensembles. There’s something for everyone!

The Bass Ringer’s Notebook

Don’t forget The Bass Ringer’s Notebook (Second Edition), which is also a great choice for any bass handbell musician or aspiring bucket-slinger. Unlike the gift vouchers and music scores, the book isn’t a downloadable file; it’s an actual book which we will lovingly package up and send to you – so order a copy soon if you need it delivered in time for Christmas!

The Bass Ringer's Notebook
The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – 2nd Edition!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about Choraegus gift vouchers, or about our music in general, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.

Accompanied Christmas Pieces – for 12 Bells and Piano

Here are two newly-available arrangements for 12 bells and piano accompaniment. Larry arranged these pieces for a UK group led by Meg Hostler of Finchampstead Handbell Ringers. Their debut performances were in England on Christmas Eve 2015.

The arrangements are less challenging than our other 12-bell pieces. Larry arranged them to be easy for a small group to learn and perform with minimal rehearsal time!

Both these demo recordings were made during an all-too-brief “Christmas in February” rehearsal session when we got together with Meg for an Inspiration International reunion during our most recent visit to England in February 2016. The first piece is In the Bleak Midwinter:

The second is the Austrian carol Still, Still, Still:

The piano accompaniment score for Still, Still, Still is the same as the accompaniment that goes with the solo version of this carol.

Would you like to play these pieces?

If you’d like to play either (or both!) of these pieces for 12 bells and piano, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. You’ll be responsible for printing your own scores, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you’re new to buying our music, please look at the step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the process stress-free!

Please read our licensing agreement before making your purchase, and read our guide to how many copies your purchase allows you to print. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

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

12 bells and piano - Inspiration Handbells

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.

New Music for Handbells – Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us is our newest 8-bell title. The piece received its first “performance” at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lapeer, Michigan. We played duets during the two morning services, in celebration of Bell Choir Sunday. We were thankful for the warm welcome we received, and enjoyed the opportunity to listen to the Sine Nomine Handbell Choir too!

Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us
At St. Paul Lutheran Church, with the Sine Nomine Handbell Choir

Here’s a video of us rehearsing Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us in our home in Holland, Michigan.

Would you like to play this piece?

If you’d like to play this new arrangement, the music is available from Choraegus.

Please note that when you buy Choraegus handbell music, it comes to you in digital (PDF) format. 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.

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

Ask us questions if you need to!

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.

New Music for Handbells – Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Sakura is our latest 8-bell piece. It’s a Japanese melody, celebrating the season of cherry blossoms.

“Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
In fields, mountains and villages
As far as the eye can see.”

We performed this piece for the first time at our concert in Warner Robins, Georgia a few weeks ago. After the concert, we drove to Macon, for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

We recorded our rehearsal video here at our home in Holland. The music stand was decorated with tulips, because: a) we didn’t have any cherry blossoms; and b) the city’s Tulip Time festival is coming up!

Would you like to play this piece?

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

When you buy music from Choraegus, it will come to you as a digital download; a PDF file. 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 piece will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group.

If this is your first time buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. This guide will take you through the process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our handbell music, you might find our Frequently-Asked Questions useful. If you don’t find the information you need, you’re welcome to contact us. We’ll be happy to help!

Sakura - Cherry Blossom
Cherry blossom in Macon, GA

Tigress Rag – Now Available for Solo Piano

In 2011, Bells of the Sound held a composition contest with the theme All That Jazz! Larry’s piece Tigress Rag took second place in the competition. Now, by popular request because someone asked us about it a week or so ago, this ragtime piece in the style of Scott Joplin is available for solo piano!

Here’s a video to show you how it sounds:

How to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play Tigress Rag, you can now purchase and download the sheet music from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus music, it will come to you as a digital download. This means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please read our licensing agreement for full details.

What about the original handbell arrangement?

If you’re interested in the original full-choir handbell piece, you’ll find a downloadable score on Choraegus. It’s a Level 5 piece, for 5-7 octaves. Bells of the Sound played this piece in concert, and enjoyed it!

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’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

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!