Tag Archives: handbell duet

New Handbell Music – Gwerzy, for 8 Bells!

Some 8-bell pieces are very easy to play, requiring little rehearsal time. Gwerzy is not one of those pieces. Colm O’Snodaigh and Dee Armstrong, of the Irish band Kíla, kindly gave us permission to arrange Gwerzy for handbells. It’s fun to play, for anyone who enjoys a bit of a challenge.

We first performed this arrangement in California at the 2019 Bay Area Spring Ring. We announced it to the audience as a work-in-progress. To be honest, it will probably always be a work-in-progress for us! We had originally planned to record a 100%-accurate and polished performance of this piece before offering it for purchase. We’ve now decided to let others join in the fun, without waiting for something that might never happen!

Gwerzy – at the 2019 Bay Area Spring Ring in California
handbell sheet music
Gwerzy – excerpt

If you’re feeling insane courageous enough to try this arrangement, you’ll find the sheet music to download from Choraegus.

Things to know about Choraegus handbell music

As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. Please also 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 this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

If you’re new to Choraegus, you might appreciate our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help our customers buy and download music in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

We’re happy to answer questions!

If you have any questions about purchasing or playing 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. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!

Gwerzy handbells
Together in California, May 2019

New Handbell Music – Come, All You People, Praise Our God

“Come, all you people, praise our God
and tell his glorious works abroad,
who holds our souls in life;
he never lets our feet be moved
and, though our faith he often proved,
upholds us in the strife.“

Here’s the latest addition to our 8-bell repertoire: Come, All You People, Praise Our God. This hymn tune (ODAWA) – by gospel songwriter Charles H. Gabriel – was first published in 1912.

Sheet music is available from Choraegus

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

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If this is your first time purchasing music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Please also 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 this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

We’re happy to answer your questions!

If you have any questions about purchasing or playing 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. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!

Come All You People Praise Our God

New Handbell Music – Beach Spring – for 8 Bells

Here’s one of our new favorite 8-bell arrangements – Beach Spring – for 8 bells. Many popular hymn texts have been set to this tune. For example, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy, Lord Whose Love Through Humble Service and Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing. It’s a very versatile tune, suitable for services throughout the church calendar.

Our demonstration video was recorded on just our third attempt at playing this piece. It’s less polished than we’d have liked, but the notes are accurate, so it should give you a good idea of how the piece sounds. We had a request to publish this arrangement quickly, but at some point we’ll hope to record a better demonstration video!

Sheet music is available from Choraegus

If you’d like to play Beach Spring for 8 bells, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If this is your first time purchasing Choraegus music, we also recommend our step-by-step guide! Please also 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 this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

We also have a 12-bell arrangement of Beach Spring, available from Choraegus.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about purchasing or playing 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. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our music!

Beach Spring for 8 bells

New Handbell Music – At the Cross – for 8 Bells

Here’s our new 8-bell arrangement of the hymn At the Cross. The hymn tune is HUDSON, and this one is particularly suitable for Good Friday as well as throughout the church year.

“Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nz8wFlZ4DQ

Sheet music is available from Choraegus

If you’d like to play At the Cross, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If you haven’t downloaded music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Please also 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 this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

Other titles for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter

If you’re looking for the alternative MARTYRDOM hymn tune, we have an eight-bell arrangement of that too. You’ll find it under the title Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed.

If you’re interested in other 8-bell music suitable for Lent, Easter and Holy Week, we have a list of other hymn suggestions. Many of these pieces are also available on Choraegus.

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 be happy to help!

At the Cross - handbells

New 8-Bell Music – Mfurahini, Haleluya

Mfurahini, Haleluya is the traditional Swahili title for the popular hymn most commonly sung as Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia. This lively tune is from Tanzania, and is particularly suitable for Easter! We recorded the video a couple of weeks ago, before the snow arrived here in West Michigan.

For extra entertainment value, watch the video carefully. You might notice a black squirrel running across the garden behind us. It’s not the first time one of our rehearsal videos has featured a squirrel!

How to get the sheet music for Mfurahini, Haleluya

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

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us. If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed the guide in an attempt to make the purchasing process stress-free!

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. A single purchase of this 8-bell title gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need!

If you’re interested in other 8-bell music suitable for Lent, Easter and Holy Week, we have a list of other hymn suggestions. Many of these titles are available from Choraegus.

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!

Mfurahini, Haleluya - Easter handbell music

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

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