January 15, 2024

Mack the Knife – for Handbells

Mack the Knife was written in 1928 by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, for the Threepenny Opera. The song has been performed by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bobby Darin… and now it’s available for handbells!

It’s dark… but fun!

We really enjoyed recording our demonstration video. As Larry states on Choraegus, this arrangement isn’t for the faint of heart, being a solid Level 5 score – but it’s just SO much fun to play! You can’t necessarily tell from our faces how much fun we were having, but it might help you to know that when we make our demonstration videos, we don’t rehearse first. We just start the camera, start playing, and see how it goes. We may be back with some outtake video from this song! Mack the Knife is arranged for 5-8 octaves of handbells, with 3 octaves of handchimes. The introduction starts simply enough, then there’s a beautiful running sixteen-note line on the chimes… then the fun begins! The subject matter of the original song is dark (look it up if you don’t know it), but there are no lyrics in our version, so you can just enjoy it!

More information about Mack the Knife

Mack the Knife is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We ask that you credit the composer (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music. If you record a video of your group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it. You’re welcome to share it with us by email or on our Facebook page!

Please note that Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a downloadable PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there, along with the answer. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

January 14, 2024

Mahler Swing – for Handbells

Mahler Swing is a Level 5 original composition for 5-8 octaves of handbells. We had a lot of fun recording this demonstration video!

The story behind Mahler Swing

Here’s Larry’s account of the story behind the piece, from Choraegus:

“I fell in love with Mahler’s symphonies a long time ago. They’re gigantic works which stretch the limits (so far…) of how musical expression can be built. As of the twentieth century, they represent the pinnacle of orchestral composing.

Mahler’s first symphony is about an hour in length (around three times the length of Mozart’s symphonies, and nearly twice as long as Beethoven’s). Arranging the entire work would result in a very, very large score. The use of thematic material, however, allows a bit of “compression”.

Several decades after Mahler’s time came the Swing Era, with luminaries such as Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Count Basie (and by no means is this an exhaustive list!). This was some of the popular music of the 1930s and 1940s, and the hits from that time endure to the present.

So… the thought crossed my mind: What about melding Mahler and the Swing Era for handbells? The result is the Mahler Swing, which takes elements of the first movement of Mahler’s first symphony and makes them swing. The result is a piece that’s a marvelous earworm!“.

More information about Mahler Swing

Mahler Swing is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Any questions?

October 5, 2023

Angels from the Realms of Glory – for 3 Octaves of Handbells

Angels from the Realms of Glory is a popular 19th-century Christmas carol. Our arrangement of the REGENT SQUARE tune for 3 octaves of handbells is a straightforward Level 2, and it’s available to purchase and download from Choraegus. It’s one of those pieces where you can just repeat the verse as many times as you need to, giving you lots of flexibility for your worship service or holiday performance.

How to purchase Angels from the Realms of Glory

The full choir license for this carol is currently available for the bargain price of just $10! Purchase gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license also includes permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we ask you to credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). See our licensing agreement for full details.

Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

In need of more 3-octave Christmas music?

Your 3-octave handbell choir might also enjoy our recent arrangements of Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming and Jingle Bells! There’s lots more 3-octave music available from Choraegus, so please feel free to look around the website. There will also be more easy 3-octave Christmas music coming soon!

Any questions?

Angels from the Realms of Glory handbells

September 26, 2023

Easy 3-octave Christmas Music – New from Choraegus

Easy 3-octave Christmas music is always useful, whether it’s for a beginning handbell choir, or for a more experienced group looking for music they can put together quickly without needing a lot of rehearsal time. Our new arrangement of the 16th-century carol Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is simple enough for a less-experienced choir to play, but still sounds effective.

Bonus: you can repeat the verses as many times as you need to! We recorded our demonstration video on handchimes, because we really like the way they sound, but bells will obviously work too.

More information about Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, How a Rose is for 3 octaves of handbells, Level 1. Sheet music for this arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. The full choir license is currently available for the bargain price of just $10! Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license also gives permission for you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service without the need for any additional license or fee, although we ask you to credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). See our licensing agreement for full details.

Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a PDF file, which you’ll need to download. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

Up for a little more of a challenge?

Your 3-octave handbell choir might also enjoy our recent arrangement of Jingle Bells! There’s lots more 3-octave music available from Choraegus, so please feel free to look around the website. There will also be more easy 3-octave Christmas music coming soon!

Any questions?

Easy 3-octave Christmas music for handbells

August 29, 2023

Escape from No-Note Island – for Handbells

Escape from No-Note Island is a Level 5 original composition for 5-7 octaves of handbells. Larry actually wrote the piece in 2018, but we’ve only just recently managed to record a demo video for it. It’s the perfect piece for the Position 11 diva in your handbell choir!

The story behind Escape from No-Note Island

Here’s Larry’s account of the story behind the piece, from Choraegus:

“Handbell compositions are usually written for note ranges that constitute complete octaves of bells. Having this agreed-on convention between manufacturers, composers, publishers, and performers makes it easier to maintain consistency within the ringing art. For instance, “five octaves” refers to the range C3-C8. Because of this, we start with a common knowledge about the music to be written and the bells needed to play it.

Although this is an excellent way of doing things, the resulting music tends to prefer the middle of its designated note range. This often results in the lowest and largest bells seeing less action. Bass ringers can often accept this situation because it means they can get a short break between spates of heavy lifting.

It’s a different matter for the upper treble ringers. Treble ringers generally prefer being active and occupied, and so there are some who have an aversion to being sent to the far right end of the table, which to them is a desolate place known as “Position 11”. This aversion has led some to label Position 11 with epithets such as “no-note island”.

This piece is dedicated to those of you who feel marooned and forsaken when you’re sent to the topmost position. I hope you’ll feel better about being there when you play this work.

Escape from No-Note Island is dedicated to our friend Caleb Onstead, who is also a published handbell composer. Caleb’s use of the phrase “no-note island” to describe the Position 11 assignment was the inspiration behind this piece. During the recent Bay View Week of Handbells event, Larry had the opportunity to present Caleb with a copy of the score.

More information about Escape from No-Note Island

Escape from No-Note Island is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Any questions?

August 28, 2023

The Twelve Days of Christmas – Handbell Trio

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a holiday favorite, and now it’s available for handbell trio!

The twelve days are there in full, and we’ve included some musical surprises in the score. You should be able to hear the swans-a-swimming, some hints of farm animals, some dancing, and some drumming! We put together an audio file in a short time last year, and it’s not rehearsed or polished, but you should get the idea. We had plans to record a video, and we still have those plans, so we’ll see how the next few months go!

This arrangement was commissioned by St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Their intrepid trio performed it last year for the church’s Christmas concert, again without a lot of time to prepare. They did a great job, and the piece was a definite audience-pleaser!

More information about the sheet music

Sheet music for The Twelve Days of Christmas – Handbell Trio is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. The music score will come to you as a PDF file. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. When you’ve downloaded your music, your one-time payment entitles you to print sufficient copies for your group. For your convenience, the score package for this arrangement comes with a complete three-staff score, plus separate parts for each ringer. If you need more than three people to play it, that’s okay; you don’t need to pay for extra copies.

Please read our licensing agreement for full information about this. If you’re new to buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope) stress-free way!

Purchasing this arrangement gives you no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please take some time to read about what you’re allowed to do with Choraegus handbell music. In these times of live-streaming and online concerts, it’s particularly important that we all understand and follow the laws concerning performance licensing and copyright.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, please look at 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.

March 28, 2023

Boat on Lake Tai – Handbells

Boat on Lake Tai (Tàihú Chuán 太湖船) is a traditional Chinese pentatonic song, about Lake Taihu; the third-largest freshwater lake in China. It’s a beautiful, peaceful melody, arranged her for 3-5 octaves of handbells:

More information about Boat on Lake Tai

Boat on Lake Tai is a Level 4- arrangement for 3-5 octaves of handbells, with 2 octaves of handchimes. It’s a peaceful melody, with legato running lines to create a tranquil mood, and it ends with a chord on suspended mallets.

If you’re planning a performance for Lunar New Year, or a concert of handbell music from around the world, you might also like to consider other recent arrangements of Chinese melodies:

Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua)

Flower Drum Song (Fengyang Flower Drum)

Sheet music for Boat on Lake Tai is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We ask that you credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

Any questions?

Boat on Lake Tai handbells — There are days when it takes two hands to pick up those bass bells!

March 19, 2023

Happy Birthday – for Handbells

Today is Larry’s birthday! Thank you to everyone who took the time to wish him a happy day on our Facebook page today. We decided to celebrate with a new arrangement of Happy Birthday – for handbells!

More about Happy Birthday – for handbells

Happy Birthday is our gift to you, completely free of charge. You’ll find it in the Freebies section of our music site. There’s also free music for an 8-bell version of Happy Birthday, arrangements of the Doxology, Dona Nobis Pacem, Auld Lang Syne and several other pieces.

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 music without having to spend any money! We’re hoping this music will prove to be a useful addition to your group’s repertoire.

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!

Happy Birthday, Larry Sue! — *Larry – celebrating having made it through another year!*

March 9, 2023

2-Octave Handbell Music – Lift High the Cross

In recent weeks, Larry’s been working on some new 2-octave handbell music. These hymn arrangements were written with the handbell choir at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan in mind; a choir that’s small in number, but high in enthusiasm! The hymn arrangements are designed to be fairly straightforward to play, but still interesting enough for ringers and congregations to enjoy.

Lift High the Cross (CRUCIFER) is a popular Easter hymn:

Be Thou My Vision a beautiful hymn based on an Irish folk tune – SLANE – first published in 1909. It’s also used as the setting for Lord of All Hopefulness. Here’s our 2-octave arrangement:

More information about this 2-octave handbell music

Sheet music for these arrangements is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Click on the links below!

Lift High the Cross

Be Thou My Vision

You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We ask that you credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

Any questions?

2-octave handbell music - Larry and Carla

January 23, 2023

It Is Well With My Soul – New Handbell Music

“When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul“.

It Is Well With My Soul was arranged for First United Methodist Church of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The piece was commissioned in honor of their handbell director, on the occasion of her retirement. Larry is always honored to be asked to write music for someone who’s made a great contribution to their church’s music ministry.

A new handbell director is now leading the handbell choir at First UMC. We wish the group every blessing as they continue to share their music with their church family.

More information about It Is Well With My Soul

It Is Well With My Soul (VILLE DU HAVRE) is a Level 3 arrangement for 3-5 octaves of handbells. Handchimes are optional, but add a beautiful texture to the piece. Sheet music for this arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You can either purchase an individual copy (useful for massed ringing events, or for preview), or purchase the full choir license. Purchase of the full choir license gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.

Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We ask that you credit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.