Tag Archives: handbell duet

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 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!

Angels from the Realms of Glory

We added this lively carol to our holiday repertoire last Christmas, and it proved to be an audience-pleaser!

From Starry Skies Descending (Tu scendi dalle Stelle)

This is possibly our favorite of this year’s new eight-bell Christmas music. It’s an Italian carol. If you’re a fan of sixteenth notes (semiquavers), you’ll enjoy playing this one!

Joy to the World

This piece was new to us in December 2016, and it quickly became a favorite!

The Seven Joys of Mary

This is a lively English carol, which we very much enjoyed playing for the first time in December 2016.

Sussex Carol

Also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”, this traditional English carol has an optional repeat section, and is a lot of fun to play. We recorded the video as part of our “A Carol A Day” project for December 2016.

Up on the Housetop

This arrangement is a fun one, mostly straightforward, but with a little triplet challenge in the middle! We recorded this video in December 2016, as part of our “A Carol A Day” project.

The Wassail Song

Also known as “Here We Come A-Wassailing”, this is another traditional carol from England, which we recorded as part of our A Carol A Day project last December.

While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night

This is an arrangement based on the “Winchester Old” tune, commonly used in the United Kingdom. It’s rhythmically straightforward to play, and could be a good choice for a quartet.

These new pieces, together with our other Christmas music for 8 bells, are available from Choraegus. We hope you’ll enjoy them!

Any questions?

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

8-bell music for Christmas - from Choraegus
Choraegus – Bringing Music to the People

The 2017 Downtown Holland Street Performer Series

We had a lot of fun taking part in our first Downtown Holland Street Performer Series since moving to Michigan last year. We performed on two evenings – one in June and one in August – in two different locations on 8th Street.

Downtown Holland - street performing
Larry and Carla – Handbell Duets in Downtown Holland

We enjoyed playing our handbell duets in Downtown Holland. We especially appreciated how many people stopped to chat with us about the bells and our music. Even though many people here in Holland have seen and heard handbell choirs before, there are many people who haven’t seen handbell music performed by just two people holding two bells in each hand. We always enjoy showing people how we play, and explaining some of the techniques we use in our music.

Four-in-hand handbell duets in Holland, Michigan
Four-in-hand handbell duets in Holland, Michigan

Thank you to all the event supporters!

The Street Performer Series is a fun community event, and we’re happy to have been given the opportunity to take part. Our thanks go to the Gentex Corporation and Holland Christian Schools for sponsoring this event. Thanks also to the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs for their support through the Holland Area Arts Council. Special thanks to everyone who stopped to listen to our music and chat with us. We hope to perform on 8th Street again next summer!

Holland Street Performers series thank you
Thank you!

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 – 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

Our Handbell Concert in Warner Robins, Georgia

Larry and Carla - Handbell Concert in Warner Robins, GA

We’re excited to be making our first-ever trip to Georgia soon – to present a concert of handbell duets at Christ United Methodist Church in Warner Robins. We’re already looking for our summer clothes, and anticipating a big change in temperature between Michigan and Georgia!

We’ll be performing some of our favourite 8-bell handbell duets. Our concert will include a selection of hymns, classical pieces, and traditional folk melodies. We’ll be playing Holy Manna, which was one of the very first pieces we ever performed as a duo. We’ll also play the poignant Australia ballad Moreton Bay, and several new and unpublished arrangements. It will be an opportunity to hear our eight-bell arrangements of the beautiful Japanese melody Sakura, and the energetic Gwerzy; a piece originally written by members of the Irish band Kila. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions, and to find out more about our handbells and how we play them.

On Sunday, April 2nd, we’ll play some more of our duets in the 10:00am service at Christ United Methodist Church. Then we’ll return to our home in Holland, Michigan, to get ready for our next performance!

We hope you’ll join us for our handbell concert in Warner Robins!

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

The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended – New 8-Bell Music

“The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended
The darkness falls at thy behest;
To thee our morning hymns ascended
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

We thank thee that thy Church unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.”

One of Carla’s all-time favorites, The Day Thou Gavest, is an English hymn. A Cheshire vicar, John Ellerton, wrote it in 1870. The hymn tune is ST CLEMENT. has remained popular in the UK since then.

Here’s our 8-bell arrangement, recorded in Los Altos, California in May 2016, before we moved to Holland, Michigan:

Would you like to play this arrangement?

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

When you purchase music from Choraegus, please note that it will come to you as a PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase 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 Choraegus handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed the guide to take you through the process and make it stress-free!

Any questions?

If you have any questions, 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.

The Day Thou Gavest - handbells