August 15, 2021

Wexford Carol – New Handbell Music for Christmas

The Wexford Carol is a traditional Christmas carol from County Wexford in Ireland. It’s also known as The Enniscorthy Carol, as William Grattan Flood first heard the tune there in the early 20th century, and transcribed the carol for publication in The Oxford Book of Carols. The lyrics are believed to date back as far as the 12th century, but the tune seems to have been written later; perhaps in the 15th or 16th century. In any case, this is an unusual and interesting carol!

“Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending His beloved Son
With Mary holy we should pray,
To God with love this Christmas Day
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
There was a blessed Messiah born.”

Our 16-bell arrangement of Wexford Carol is perfect for anyone who’s a fan of unusual Christmas carols. The piece contains full-sounding chords, and some really interesting dissonance, which makes for a mysterious and slightly spooky sound. This was one of the first 16-bell arrangements we recorded with just the two of us – at the end of 2020 – with our skinny Christmas tree in the background!

Note: If a Christmas tree salesman ever tells you, “The tree only looks skinny because it’s cold. It’ll get bigger when it warms up”, you can let them know that it doesn’t work like that for trees.

More information about this 16-bell arrangement

Wexford Carol is suitable for 4-8 ringers. The arrangement contains no bell changes, and needs no bell-sharing, so you can play it without needing tables or foam. There are no special techniques, and there’s no requirement to play 4-in-hand. This arrangement is available in two ranges – either from G4 to Eb6 (2 octaves), or from D5 to Bb6 (3 octaves).

In recent weeks, there have been increasing concerns about COVID-19 cases. This arrangement might be useful if you need to play something for your ensemble to play for Christmas while observing social distancing.

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

More about Choraegus handbell music

Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group. 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 title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

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. Just about every question anyone has ever ask us is there, along with answers! However, if you don’t find the answer you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

July 22, 2020

New 8-Bell Music – King of the Fairies

King of the Fairies is a traditional Irish hornpipe that’s one of the arrangements we enjoy playing during street performances. It’s one of those pieces that can be played with the repeated sections or without, depending on how long you want to play for! It’s another one of our pieces that could also work well for a socially-distanced handbell quartet, with no bell-sharing, and no need for tables.

In the last few weeks, we’ve been thinking a lot about street performances – normally a regular part of our summer. With Larry having shoulder surgery a couple of months ago, and the global pandemic, we haven’t yet done any street performances this year. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get out into the streets with our bells at some point before the cold weather arrives!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is now available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also allows you to perform the piece, broadcast and/or live-stream it, and share a performance video on social media etc.

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. 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.

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!

March 6, 2017

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!

January 17, 2017

New Music for Handbells – The Kesh – for 8 Bells

The Kesh is a popular traditional Irish jig. It’s usually a fiddle tune, but it turns out to be a fun tune to play on handbells. That’s a good thing, since we have no idea how to play the fiddle!

We recently found this recording in a batch of long-forgotten rehearsal videos from before we moved from California to Michigan:

This arrangement is suitable for 2-4 ringers, and could be useful for St Patrick’s Day!

Information about the sheet music

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

When you buy handbell music from Choraegus, it comes 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. Your purchase will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for full details.

If this is your first time buying music from Choraegus, you might find our step-by-step guide helpful. We designed it with pictures, to take you through the process in a stress-free way.

Any questions for us?

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

August 9, 2016

New Music for Handbells – Barney Brannigan

“Twas on a windy night, at two o’clock in the morning,
An Irish Lad set out, all wind and weather scorning;
Twas on a windy night, at two o’clock in the morning,
An Irish Lad set out, all wind and weather scorning;
At Judy Callaghan’s door, sitting upon the railing,
His love tale he did pour, and this was part of his wailing;
Only say, you’ll have Barney Brannigan,
Dont say nay, Charming Judy Callaghan.
Only say, you’ll have Barney Brannigan,
Dont say nay, charming Judy Callaghan.”

Here’s our latest eight-bell piece – it’s a traditional Irish slip jig called Barney Brannigan – also known by several other titles, including Barney Brallaghan, Blewitt’s Jig and Twas on a Windy Night.

This piece is a nice challenge for four-in-hand duet. It is actually fun to play – not that you can tell from our faces in the video!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Barney Brannigan, the music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you purchase music from Choraegus, please note the music 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. Purchase of this 8-bell arrangement entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you’re unfamiliar with buying music from Choraegus, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide!