Otsego Hometown Christmas 2024 will take place on December 7th. Holland-based handbell duo Larry and Carla will once again be there to play Christmas carols to celebrate the season!
This annual community event will be fun for all the family! There will be carolers, a live Nativity, a parade, and an opportunity for children to make Christmas ornaments. You can take a hayride along the riverfront, enjoy hot cocoa and cider, and lots more. Santa will be there too! The evening will feature a tree-lighting, and there will be lots of entertainment throughout the day.
Larry and Carla’s handbell performance is sponsored by Otsego District Library.
Would you like to book a handbell group for your event?
Larry and Carla are available to play handbell duets for weddings, worship services, concerts, holiday events, and corporate and private events. If you’re looking to hire a handbell choir for your event in Michigan or beyond, please get in touch! A handbell duo takes up less room than a standard handbell choir, making Larry and Carla particularly suitable for smaller venues. Tell us what kind of event you’re planning, and what type of music you’re looking for.
Come and see us at Otsego Hometown Christmas 2024, and listen to the sound of Christmas bells at this special time of year!
Hark, the Glad Sound is the latest 12-bell arrangement from Choraegus. The CHESTERFIELD hymn tune is suitable for Advent or Palm Sunday.
“Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, The Savior promised long! Let every heart prepare a throne, And every voice a song.“
More information about Hark, the Glad Sound!
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Hark, the Glad Sound! is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Refer to the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version!
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music – and if you make a video of your handbell choir playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this 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. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!
Nocturne is an original Larry Sue composition, for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes. It’s an accessible Level 2+ piece with a thoughtful, introspective mood. It’s suitable for secular or sacred settings.
More information about Nocturne
Nocturne 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.
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.
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 askthat youcredit 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!
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.
Just a Closer Walk With Thee is the latest 16-bell arrangement from Choraegus. If you like your hymn arrangements with a bit of swing, you’ll love this one! As with all our 16-bell music, it’s designed to show that music for 4-8 ringers doesn’t have to be boring!
More information about Just a Closer Walk With Thee
This arrangement is available from Choraegus in two handbell ranges – C5-G6 and F5-C7. Please check the bells-used charts on the Choraegus page for this piece, to make sure you get the version for the bells you want to play. There are no bell changes, and no techniques that require tables or foam pads. Our 16-bell music is designed to be suitable for groups to play using just music stands.
Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. – so don’t pay for more copies than you need! Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please be sure to mention the arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) and the publisher (Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus, and we’d love to see a video if you record one with your ensemble!
Please note that our sheet 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.
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide, designed 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. You’ll find just about every question anyone has ever asked us, along with answers. However, if you don’t find what you’re looking for, please ask us!
She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain is a popular American folk song, and it’s now available to play on handbells!
“She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes!”
An interesting difference of opinion
Being a couple who started off in different countries/continents, we sometimes have interesting discussions about song lyrics. This one provoked the question: “What happened to the “aye aye yippee” section”? It turns out that at some point in time, an additional chorus was added, and over in the UK, that’s the version Carla grew up with. For anyone who feels that She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain isn’t complete without the aye aye yippees, here’s an alternative version that we’ll refer to as the UK version:
White horses, and the meeting/greeting
Please note that if you need all the verses, we don’t mind if you repeat some sections of this piece. You’re also welcome to change the rhythms to match the lyrics. Our UK arrangement includes “she’ll be wearing pink pyjamas”, but will need a slight adjustment for white horses and the going out to meet/greet her. You get to decide if you need to make any rhythmic changes, and you’re welcome to ask us if you need help with that!
More information about She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Please take time to choose the version you need (UK or US), and refer the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version.
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as a PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group. We don’t want you to pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music too. If you make a video of your handbell choir playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this 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. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!
A Sparrow on Christmas Morning is a poem that was originally written in Swedish by Finnish writer Zacharias Topelius, in 1859. The poem, Sparven om julmorgonen, was translated to Finnish — Varpunen jouluaamuna — and set to music by Otto Kotilainen. This beautiful Christmas song was first published in 1913. It tells of a girl feeding a sparrow that turns out to be the spirit of her late brother.
“Sleep the flowers of the vale underneath the snow Turned to ice with winter’s grasp, water’s playful flow A sparrow, a tiny one, cold north wants you undone Turned to ice with winter’s grasp, water’s playful flow
At the yard of a poor man’s house, a girl kind and dear: A seed for you my tiny one, a seed for you right here! Oh, you poor homeless thing, Christmas can’t make you sing Seed for you my tiny one, seed for you right here!
Heart and wing afluttering, the girl and the bird Featherlight touch on her palm and a voice she’s heard: Blessings to you, my dear! Your kindness brought me here Featherlight touch on her palm and a voice she’s heard
I have lived your life, oh child, and to you I tell That I am your brother’s ghost, and I knew you well This seed grown by the sun, a kindness to a tiny one Gift for your dead brother’s ghost Still he knows you well
This seed grown by the sun, a kindness to a tiny one Gift for your dead brother’s ghost Still he knows you well“.
The power of social media!
This song came to our attention when one of our friends mentioned it on our Facebook page, and asked if Larry could arrange it for handbells. We’d never heard the song before, but quickly fell in love with the haunting melody.
A beautiful, melancholy song for the winter season
Our arrangement of A Sparrow on Christmas morning is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with 3 octaves of handchimes. If you don’t have handchimes, you can play the piece without them, of course, but the chimes are particularly effective if you do have them! There’s also an opportunity to use “alternate bells” for the introduction. Our video shows Silver Melody Bells, but you could also use Whitechapel or Taylor handbells, Petit and Fritsens, or even handchimes if you chose to. Alternatively, 5-octave choirs can choose to play the introduction an octave higher. The arrangement is Level 3+, and uses suspended malleting, thumb damps, and shakes in the upper treble bells to represent the call of the sparrow as it shivers in the cold, eats the seeds, and sings before falling asleep. Here’s our demonstration video:
More information about A Sparrow on Christmas Morning
A Sparrow on Christmas Morning 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 askthat youcredit 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.
Enjoy the traditional sounds of Christmas handbells at Hudsonville Library! Michigan handbell duo Larry and Carla will be back for the sixth year with a program of handbell duets!
Larry and Carla are West Michigan’s smallest handbell choir. They started playing handbells when Carla lived in England and Larry lived in California. Their shared love of handbells led to a chance meeting online! Larry and Carla spent nearly three years in a long-distance relationship, and eventually they were able to go through the US visa process before getting married in California in 2012. They moved from California to Holland, Michigan in the summer of 2016.
This will be Larry and Carla’s sixth time at this popular Hudsonville Library holiday event. They’ll demonstrate the art of playing handbells using the traditional “4 in hand” technique, where they each hold four bells. Their program will include some well-known carols, as well as some less-familiar holiday tunes from around the world. You’ll also hear music played on a set of of handchimes, and perhaps even have a chance to try playing them! There will be plenty of opportunity to ask all your burning questions about handbells, and coffee and snacks will be provided.
Please join us as we celebrate Christmas in the traditional way with handbells at Hudsonville Library. We look forward to welcoming you to this popular annual event, presented by the Friends of the Gary Byker Memorial Library.
Free to attend; a donation to the Friends of the Library is appreciated
TOP Riverfront Pavilion
218 N Farmer St Otsego,
Michigan
49078United States+ Google Map
Otsego Hometown Christmas in on Saturday, December 2nd. Michigan handbell duo Larry and Carla will be playing festive Christmas carols at this holiday event.
Otsego Hometown Christmas should be fun for all the family! There will be a farmers’ market, a live Nativity, a parade, and an opportunity for children to make Christmas ornaments. You can take a hayride along the riverfront, enjoy hot cocoa and cider, and lots more. Santa will be there too! The evening will feature a tree-lighting, and there will be lots of entertainment throughout the day.
Larry and Carla’s handbell performance is sponsored by Otsego District Library.
Would you like to hire a handbell group for your event?
Larry and Carla are available to play handbell duets for weddings, worship services, concerts, holiday events, and corporate and private events. If you’re looking to hire a handbell choir for your event in Michigan or beyond, please get in touch! A handbell duo takes up less room than a standard handbell choir, making Larry and Carla particularly suitable for smaller venues. Tell us what kind of event you’re planning, and what type of music you’re looking for.
Come and see us at Otsego Hometown Christmas, and listen to the sound of Christmas bells at this special time of year!
Freedom Village will be hosting Michigan handbell duo Larry and Carla on the evening of Thursday, November 30th. Larry and Carla will present a performance of Advent and Christmas handbell duets for the residents of this senior community in downtown Holland.
Their program will include popular Christmas carols, less well-known arrangements from other countries, and Advent hymns. Larry and Carla’s duets use just eight handbells, held in the traditional 4-in-hand style, with two bells in each hand.
This is a private event for Freedom Village residents and guests only.
If you’re looking to book a handbell choir for your event, look no further! Larry and Carla are available to play handbell duets for weddings, concerts, worship services, and holiday events. The sound of handbells is a wonderful additional to an Advent or Christmas event! A handbell duo is particularly suitable for venues where space is limited. Larry and Carla are based in Holland, Michigan, but can travel!
If you’d like to book us to play handbell duets for your holiday event, please contact us to find out more. Let us know the details of your event, and the type of performance you’re looking for. It helps to book early for weddings and holiday events, although we can often consider last-minute bookings too!
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is a popular 19th-century carol. We recently recorded a brand-new 8-bell arrangement, in the beautiful Crouse Memorial Chapel at the Bay View Association in northern Michigan.
More information about this 8-bell arrangement
Sheet music for It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. When you look at the page on the Choraegus website, you’ll see that there are two arrangements of this carol. This one is Version 2. Make sure you add the correct one to your shopping cart! This version is less challenging than our earlier version, and more straightforward for a trio or quartet group to play.
Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group, so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives you permission to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.
Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so 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, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this with pictures, to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a stress-free way.
Looking for more of a challenge?
If you’re looking for a more-challenging version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, try Version 1, available from the same page on the Choraegus website. This version has a lot more running notes, and is fun to play, but definitely takes a bit longer to get the hang of.
Other versions of this carol available from Choraegus
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!
