Tag Archives: Church

New Music for Handbells – He Keeps Me Singing

Here’s our latest 8-bell arrangement; it’s the popular hymn He Keeps Me Singing.

We know this hymn as a lively and joyful melody. However, we recently read about the circumstances that led Luther Burgess Bridgers to write it – and they were far from happy. He was a pastor and evangelist who wrote the hymn after his wife and three sons had died in a house fire while he was away preaching.

“There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.”

Our thanks to Los Altos United Methodist Church for allowing us to rehearse in their beautiful sanctuary. It’s the place where we had our wedding ceremony in September 2012.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play this piece, 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. 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 will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide! We designed this in an attempt 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 information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

He Keeps Me Singing - handbells

New Music for handbells – For the Beauty of the Earth

As we say hello to the month of April, here’s a new 8-bell arrangement – the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth.

The useful thing about this tune is that it also doubles as the Christmas carol As With Gladness, Men of Old. Two titles for the price of one!

Would you like to play For the Beauty of the Earth?

If you’d like to play this piece, it’s available from Choraegus.

When you buy handbell music from Choraegus, it will come to you as a digital (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 of this 8-bell arrangement for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you haven’t previously purchased music from Choraegus, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to make the process as stress-free as possible!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions, 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.

New Music for Handbells – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise is our second new 8-bell piece of 2016. The tune is originally a ballad from Wales, called ST. DENIO.

Here’s a rehearsal video, from the day of the AGO January Jubilee event. Carla made a decision to rehearse this piece without shoes. She then decided that it was the wrong decision, and managed to put them back on without missing a note. Multi-tasking is a good thing, right?

More information about this 8-bell arrangement

Sheet music for Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise is available for purchase and download from Choraegus. We play it as a duet piece, of course, but it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers. It’s not essential to play it 4-in-hand.

Please note that when you purchase handbell music from Choraegus, you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your music will come to you in digital (PDF) format, and you’ll be responsible for printing it yourself. Your purchase will entitle 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, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Any questions?

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

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise - handbells

New Year, New Music for Handbells – O Worship the King

“O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.“

Here’s our first new handbell piece for 2016! It’s the English hymn O Worship the King. William Croft composed this hymn tune (HANOVER), in the early eighteenth century. The tune is also used as the setting for the hymn You Servants of God, your Master Proclaim.

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

Important things to know about Choraegus handbell music

Choraegus handbell music comes in a digital (PDF) format. When you buy the music, you’ll receive a download link, and you’ll be responsible for printing your own music. You won’t receive anything in the mail!

Your purchase of this 8-bell hymn arrangement will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please read our licensing agreement for full details. If you haven’t bought Choraegus music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. This will take you through the process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, you might like to look at some of 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 – I Sing the Mighty Power of God

I Sing the Mighty Power of God will probably be our last 8-bell hymn arrangement of 2015. We need to turn our thoughts to Christmas and holiday music! This hymn tune is ELLACOMBE; the name of a village in England. This tune is also used as the setting for the Palm Sunday hymn Hosanna, Loud Hosanna.

This piece was a lot of fun to learn, particularly in those moments when the repeated notes failed us, and we felt as though we were playing something more akin to “Waltzing Matilda” than the tune we were aiming for. Try it for yourself, and see if you notice the same thing!

More information about the sheet music for this piece

If you’d like to play I Sing the Mighty Power of God, 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. Your purchase of this 8-bell hymn arrangement allows you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please 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 useful. We designed this to take you through the purchase process and make it stress-free!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions, 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.

Coming Soon – Another Alzheimer’s Benefit Concert

We’re excited to be taking part in another Alzheimer’s Benefit concert! These concerts help raise money for research and services provided by the Alzheimer’s Association.

This concert will take place at Los Altos United Methodist Church on October 3rd, 2015 at 3:00pm. The performance will feature Larry and Carla Sue playing handbells, and Brian Holmes on the Alphorn. Dylan Damonte will play percussion, and concert organiser T. Paul Rosas will play organ and piano.

Admission to the concert is free, and an offering will be collected for the Alzheimer’s Association. There’s no need to apply for tickets in advance. You’ll be very welcome on the day! If you’ve never heard an Alphorn, there’s even more reason to attend. Brian Holmes is an expert, and he’ll tell you everything you need to know about this unusual instrument. You might even get the opportunity to participate in the performance of one of the pieces!

If you’re unable to attend the Alzheimer’s Benefit Concert, you can still make a donation if you’d like to. Please contact us and we can tell you how!

Alzheimer's Benefit Concert 2015

Here we are, pictured with T. Paul Rosas at Los Altos United Methodist Church. We hope to see you at the concert!

New Music for Handbells – To God Be the Glory

Here’s our latest addition to our 8-bell hymn repertoire – a new arrangement of To God Be the Glory.

We play this as a 4-in-hand duet, of course, as there are only two of us. However, there are no special techniques required, and it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play To God Be the Glory, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy handbell music from Choraegus, please note that it will come to you as a PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music scores, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchase of this 8-bell piece entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need to!

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

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions, in case the answer is there. If you don’t find the information you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

To God Be the Glory - 8-bell

New Music for Handbells – Praise Him! Praise Him!

We interrupt our preparations for the Bay View Week of Handbells… to bring you a new 8-bell piece. Here’s Praise Him! Praise Him! This one is fun to play! We recorded it on a beautiful, sunny day in Los Altos.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play this piece, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus. We play it as a duet, since there are only two of us, but it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers.

Please note that Choraegus handbell music will come to you as a PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own copies of the score, and won’t receive anything in the mail. If you’re new to buying our music, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this with pictures, to help make the purchasing process as stress-free as possible!

Your purchase of this piece entitles you to print up to 4 copies of the music for your handbell group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have questions, you’re welcome to check our Frequently-Asked Questions, and you might find the answer there. If not, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

Praise Him Praise Him - handbells

Handbell Duets at the Chapel of the Chimes, Hayward

What do you do when it’s the Fourth of July, and you’ve finished eating party food and having fun with family and friends? The answer is… play handbell duets, of course!

handbell duets at the Chapel of the Chimes

An impromptu handbell duet performance

We were in Hayward, California for a family gathering, and we decided we needed to burn off some of the calories we’d consumed at lunch time. We were driving in the direction of home, and noticed the Chapel of the Chimes. Suddenly looked like a great location for a Concert With No Audience! 

The Chapel of the Chimes is a 61-acre cemetery, crematorium and funeral home complex. It didn’t appear that we’d be disturbing anyone with our music, so we set up our table and bells. We played duets for around forty minutes! It was a great opportunity to play through some of the music for our visit to Los Altos Lutheran Church the following day. We also brought out some of the older pieces we hadn’t played for a very long time!

We had the usual interesting challenges that go with outdoor performances – a strong breeze, traffic noise, and even some festive firecrackers! The location and the sunshine also made it a very stripy-looking performance, as you can see from the video!

The following pieces are on the video:

  • America, the Beautiful
  • Come, Christians, Join to Sing
  • Drink to Me Only
  • Beautiful Dreamer
  • A Mighty Fortress
  • Moreton Bay
  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
  • Danny Boy
  • Botany Bay
  • Earth and All Stars
  • I Need Thee Every Hour
  • The King of Love My Shepherd Is
  • Allegro

We hope you enjoyed our handbell duets at the Chapel of the Chimes. All the pieces we played are available (or coming soon!) from Choraegus. If you’d like to book us for a performance with an audience, please let us know!

The Festival of Carols in San Jose

The 14th Festival of Carols at Foothill Presbyterian Church, San Jose was a very enjoyable evening. A variety of musical ensembles from around the Bay Area took part, and performed for a large audience. We played two of our 8-bell duets there: the Ukrainian Bell Carol and a brand-new, unpublished version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. It’s always slightly daunting to perform an unpublished piece for the first time, but this one went well.

The following musicians provided the entertainment for the evening:

Larry and Carla
Brass Bells
Santa Teresa High School Guitar Ensemble
Peralta Consort
The Chancel Choir of Foothill Presbyterian Church
Glory Ringers of Foothill Presbyterian Church,
Ukelele Scramble
Voices of the Valley

We enjoyed all of these performances, and so did the audience. A Festival of Carols event is always such a good way to welcome Christmas and enjoy the music of the holiday season.

Thank you to everyone involved!

Our thanks go to Jay Jordana for inviting us to take part in the Festival of Carols, and to everyone who worked so hard to make the evening such a success. If you’d like to see more of our photos from the event, we’ve posted them on our Facebook page.

Festival of Carols - San Jose