Tag Archives: handbell duet

FREE Handbell Music – Dona Nobis Pacem, for 8 Bells

Yay! Free handbell music! After our busy holiday season, we were happy to be able to start the new year by working on some brand-new eight-bell music to be published on Choraegus. The first of these new pieces is Dona Nobis Pacem.

The scene outside our window would look so much prettier with some snow!

We’re pleased to offer the sheet music for this piece to you for free, as a thank-you to everyone who has encouraged and supported us in our musical endeavours since we started playing handbells together in 2012. You can find it in the Freebies section of our music site, where there’s also free music for Happy Birthday and Auld Lang Syne. You’ll also find printable covers for anyone who’s storing their 8-bell music in binders.

There’s no obligation to make any other purchase from Choraegus to get the free handbell music. Of course, we hope you’ll take a look at other titles we have to offer, but if you want to grab the free music and go, we don’t mind at all. It’s a good way to try our eight-bell music without having to spend any money! Dona Nobis Pacem would also be very suitable for playing as a quartet; useful for those times when you’re working with less than a full handbell choir.

Instructions for downloading the free handbell music

To get your free sheet music, add it to your cart on the Choraegus site, and click on the yellow “Check out with PayPal” button. Enter your details, and click “Confirm Order” (there’s no need to click on the PayPal button a second time). Then check your email inbox! If the download link doesn’t arrive, check your spam folder, and it might be there.

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us (or claiming your free music), especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. You won’t receive anything in the mail, and will be responsible for printing your own music.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

free handbell music Dona Nobis Pacem

New Handbell Music – De Drie Koningen

Looking for something a bit unusual for your Christmas handbell performance or worship service? Here’s our latest eight-bell arrangement! It’s a sixteenth-century Flemish carol called De Drie Koningen (The Three Kings). This carol is suitable either for Epiphany or Christmas. We recorded the video last January, before we took down our Christmas tree!

“De Drie Koningen” – recorded in front of our Christmas tree!

Would you like to play this 8-bell piece?

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

If you’re new to buying our music online, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement first. Please note in particular that music from Choraegus is designed to be downloaded and printed by the customer. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you’re new to Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide! We designed this to help you navigate the purchasing process in a stress-free way.

Any questions?

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

We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!

De Drie Koningen - handbells

New Music for Handbells – Silent Night

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

After more than six years of arranging and performing eight-bell Christmas music, we finally managed to publish an arrangement of the popular Austrian carol Silent Night. 

We recorded our video at the Kerstmarkt. This is a European-style Christmas market that takes place annually in downtown Holland, Michigan. It was a cold, breezy and rainy Saturday morning, but it’s still one of our favorite events of the holiday season.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’re still looking for Christmas music for handbells, Silent Night is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. For Christmas 2018, you can get it for the special price of just $3, with permission to print up to 4 copies for your group.

If you haven’t bought music from us before, please read the licensing agreement before making your purchase. We also recommend our step-by-step guide to buying music from Choraegus. As with all our music for handbells, Silent Night comes to you as a digital download. You’ll be responsible for printing the music yourself, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music for handbells, Silent Night in particular, or anything else on our website, please ask! You can look at our Frequently-Asked Questions, but if you don’t find the information you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

handbells - Silent Night

Handbell Duets at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan

September 2 at 10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT

Larry and Carla will be playing handbell duets during the morning service at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan.

Details

Date:
September 2
Time:
10:00 am – 11:00 am EDT
Event Tags:
, , , , , ,

Third Reformed Church

111 W 13th St
Holland, MI 49423 United States + Google Map

New Music for Handbells – I Vow To Thee, My Country

“I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love.
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there’s another country I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know.
We may not count her armies, we may not see her king,
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering.
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.”

I Vow to Thee, My Country is a much-loved British patriotic hymn. Sir Cecil Spring Rice wrote the lyrics, and Gustav Holst set them to music. The melody is adapted from a section of Jupiter from Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets. Nowadays, you might recognise it as the hymn tune THAXTED.

A much-loved patriotic hymn

I Vow to Thee, My Country has strong associations with Remembrance Sunday. Its patriotic text has ensured that it remains popular today. It was sung at the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965, and at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981. It was also sung at the funeral of the Princess of Wales in 1997, and at the memorial service ten years later. In 1982, Michael Perry wrote an alternative text for the THAXTED melody; O God Beyond All Praising.

We first performed our arrangement of I Vow to Thee, My Country on our last Sunday at Los Altos United Methodist Church, before we moved from California to Michigan. We played it in concert for the first time in Warner Robins, Georgia and again in concert at the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival on Mackinac Island, and at the recent Area 8 Festival in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s not the easiest of our 8-bell arrangements! The middle section took us a while to learn, and still has the ability to surprise us sometimes. Still, it’s been a fun challenge.

Would you like to play this piece?

If you’d like to play I Vow To Thee, My Country, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus. If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded for you to print at home. You won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group; you only need to pay once.

Any questions?

If you have any questions, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions! If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

I Vow to Thee My Country - handbells

HMA Area 8 Festival – “Bring It! Ring It!” – Follow-Up Information

At the HMA Area 8 Festival in Omaha, we told lots of people: “You’ll find all that information on our website!” We’ve now put all the information together in one place, to make it easy to find.

Bass Handbell Techniques

If you were at Larry’s class on Bass Techniques, or Bass Layout/Teamwork, and you’d like to learn more, you can find out everything you need to know and more by reading The Bass Ringer’s Notebook. This book is available for purchase from Choraegus. If you order a copy, wherever you are, you’ll be able to hear us rejoicing here in Michigan. We’ll lovingly package up your book, and will make a special trip to the Post Office to mail it to you. Truly, we will appreciate you forever. If you missed Larry’s classes, maybe it’s even more important to buy his book!

The Bass Ringer's Notebook
The Bass Ringer’s Notebook – 2nd Edition. So much prettier than the 1st edition!

British-Style Four in Hand Ringing

If you went to one of Carla’s British-Style Four-in-Hand classes, and your hands forgot everything the minute you left the room, or if you missed the classes but still have some curiosity about this strange alternative multiple bell technique – do not fear. You can find more information (with extra pictures) in this detailed article on our site. If you’re wondering where you can find that free download of Happy Birthday to practise your newfound skills without spending any money, you can find it here!

Adventures in 8-Bell Music

If you enjoyed our 8-bell music class on Saturday morning, or if you missed it and would like to know more, you can find lots of 8-bell music available for purchase from Choraegus. Please note that our sheet music is designed to be downloaded and printed out by YOU. We recommend reading our step-by-step guide to make the process easier. Don’t sit and wait for the music to arrive by mail, because it won’t reach you that way. Once you’ve purchased the music, you are allowed to print out a certain number of copies for your group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Questions about anything in our classes?

If you have questions about anything you heard in any of our classes, or anything you wish we’d covered, or problems with any of the techniques we demonstrated, you’re always welcome to get in touch with us.

Our 8-Bell Duet Concert

Many of the pieces we performed at our lunchtime concert on Friday are available for purchase and download from Choraegus. A few of the pieces haven’t yet been published – for example Creator of the Stars of Night and Calliope House. However, we plan to make them all available before the end of this year. We’re hoping to get new Advent and Christmas pieces published by the end of August, once we’re back from our annual trip to the Bay View Week of Handbells.

We had so much fun at the HMA Area 8 festival! Several people asked us if we’re available for further concert performances, and events such as worship services and weddings. The answer is yes, we are, so if you’re interested in booking us for an event in the future, please contact us!

HMA Area 8 Festival - handbell duet concert
Our 8-Bell Duet Concert at the Area 8 festival

BronzeFest

We had a great time with the Area 8 BronzeFest Ensemble – Larry directing and Carla playing. Three of the pieces performed in the concert were original compositions written by Larry. You can find A Minor Crash, Rescue and The Final Crossing on our music site, along with many other compositions and arrangements for handbell choir. We’re also pleased to be able to present Susan T. Nelson’s beautiful Elysium, which was also performed by the BronzeFest Ensemble.

Any questions about our music?

If there’s anything you’d like to ask, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

New Music for Handbells – Klein Vogelijn

Klein Vogelijn – “Little Bird”. Since moving to Holland, Michigan, we’ve enjoyed seeing how the people here still celebrate their Dutch heritage today. We’ve tried on traditional Klompen (wooden shoes) and watched them being made. We’ve had several tours of the De Zwaan windmill, and we’ve tiptoed through the tulips at the city’s annual Tulip Time event.

Klein Vogelijn - handbells
Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan

We’ve eaten Dutch food, and even risked the Michigan December weather to play Christmas handbell duets at the wonderful Kerstmarkt in Downtown Holland. We’ve been living here for nearly two years now, and we thought it was time for a new adventure – Dutch music!

Our first Dutch piece is an arrangement of the traditional song Klein Vogelijn. We performed this piece for the first time at our concert on Mackinac Island, for the opening of the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 spring festival. Our video is from a rehearsal at the beginning of the year.

We’re looking forward to expanding our repertoire of traditional Dutch music over the next few months!

Would you like to play this piece?

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

Please note that Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. Don’t wait for anything to arrive in the mail! If you’re new to buying our music online, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help make the process (we hope!) a stress-free experience!

When you buy 8-bell music, your purchase entitles you to print up to 4 copies of the sheet music for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more music than you need! Purchase also gives permission for you to perform this piece and make a video of your group playing it.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our handbell music, please read our Frequently-Asked Questions first. However, if you don’t find the answers you need, you’re welcome to contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

New Music for Handbells – Botany Bay

Here’s our latest 8-bell piece – Botany Bay!

“Farewell to old England for ever,
Farewell to my rum coes as well,
Farewell to the well-known Old Bailey
Where I used for to cut such a swell.

Botany Bay first became popular in theatre shows of the late 1800s, in London, England and Melbourne, Australia. However, its roots may be from an even earlier time! The song describes the period in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when many British convicts were deported to penal colonies in Australia. We have another 8-bell piece about this period of history – Moreton Bay.

How to get the sheet music for Botany Bay

If you’d like to play our arrangement of Botany Bay, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Please remember that Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded. You’ll be responsible for printing the music at home, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece entitles you to pay once, and print up to 4 copies for your group. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, we have some Frequently-Asked Questions that might help. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us!

Botany Bay Handbells

New Music for Handbells – Morning Song

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the beautiful hymn tune Morning Song. You might also know it as The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns.

We recently performed this piece for the first time at the opening concert for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island. We’ll be sharing photos and information about that event soon!

Here’s a video of us, recorded a few months ago, rehearsing this piece for the concert:

We’ve enjoyed working on this piece, and think it’s set to become one of our favorites for playing in church. If you’d like to play Morning Song, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

More information about buying handbell music from Choraegus

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. That means you’ll be responsible for the printing, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased our handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the process stress-free!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group. You only need to pay once, so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for more details.

Any questions?

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

Morning Song - 8-bell handbells
On our way to Grand Hotel for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival!