Tag Archives: Larry Sue

New Handbell Music – Those Were the Days

Those Were the Days is a song made popular by Mary Hopkin in 1968. It reached No. 1 in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart, and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And think of all the great things we would do

Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose, we’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.“

Interestingly, the song dates back much further than 1968. Boris Fomin composed the original melody in the 1920s, with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. The title was Dorogoi Dlinnoyu (Дорогой длинною) – which translates as By the Long Road. In 1968, Gene Raskin wrote new lyrics to the traditional melody, adapting the music slightly to match the words. The number one hit song was born!

Those Were the Days is now available for handbell choir. This lively Level 3+ arrangement is guaranteed to have your audiences singing and dancing in the aisles! It’s for 5-7 octaves of handbells, with optional mandolin, tambourine, flute, wood block and… yes, kazoo. What’s not to love?

Here’s an excerpt from the handbell music, showing evidence of kazoo involvement:

(TRO-© Copyright 1962 (Renewed) 1968 (Renewed) Essex Music, Inc., New York, NY. Used by permission)

Okay, maybe you’ve never particularly yearned to add kazoo to your handbell pieces. Still, if you’d like to play this arrangement, either with or without the optional instruments, the sheet music is available from Choraegus.

More information about buying Choraegus handbell music

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. As with our other full-choir handbell arrangements, the sheet music is available to purchase as an individual copy or as a full-choir version. Purchasing the full-choir version allows you to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell group.

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 for us?

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!

Those Were the Days - arranged for handbells by Larry Sue

Handbell Music for Just 6 Bells – a Whole New Adventure!

Larry’s recent shoulder surgery means that his right arm is going to be in a sling for a while. How can we continue playing handbell duets? The solution is obvious: with handbell music for just 6 bells!

Our first 6-bell arrangement is the traditional Scottish Gaelic tune BUNESSAN, first published in 1888 as the setting for Mary Macdonald’s Christmas carol Child in the Manger. It’s most often sung as Eleanor Farjeon’s popular hymn Morning Has Broken, and in recent years, the tune has also been used for Baptized in Water with lyrics by Michael Saward.

Of course, there’s no need to have one arm in a sling to be able to play this piece. The music could be played by three people with two bells each, by a duo with three bells each, or by one 4-in-hand ringer with a less-experienced duet partner. Maybe even by an intrepid 6-in-hand ringer? The arrangement has a flowing piano accompaniment, and sheet music for this is included with the handbell score.

Would you like to play this piece?

If you’d like to play this arrangement, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately.

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. Purchasing this arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

handbell music for just 6 bells
Morning has broken – at Bay View, Michigan

New Handbell Music – You’re a Grand Old Flag – for 8 Bells

“You’re a grand old flag
You’re a high-flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You’re the emblem of
The land I love
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev’ry heart beats true
Under red, white and blue
Where there’s never a boast or brag,
But should old acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the grand old flag!”

Thank you to everyone who’s been playing our music in this time of lockdowns and social distancing! Our latest eight-bell arrangement is You’re a Grand Old Flag – a patriotic song written by George M Cohan in 1906. If you’re planning a socially-distant Flag Day or Fourth of July celebration, this arrangement would fun to play! The beginning and end sections are straightforward, with a more-challenging middle section to keep you on your toes.

Download the sheet music from Choraegus!

Sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. 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. Purchasing this arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

You're a Grand Old Flag - patriotic music for handbells

Introducing our 5th Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Collection

Some of our most popular 8-bell titles are the Surprisingly-Easy hymn arrangements. We’re pleased to announce the arrival of our 5th Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Collection!

Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Hymn Arrangements from Choraegus

We refer to our Surprisingly-Easy arrangements as “All of the music, but without the twiddly bits” If you’re looking for some new handbell pieces to enhance your worship service, but you don’t want them to take too long to learn, this collection could be the answer. If you’re part of a duo, trio or quartet, or your handbell choir is unable to play together because of social distancing, these hymns could be what you’re looking for.

The hymns included in this fifth collection are:

  • Beach Spring
  • Children of the Heavenly Father
  • Faith of Our Fathers
  • I Vow to Thee, My Country
  • Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
  • Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
  • Sweet Hour of Prayer

If you’d like to play any of these arrangements, sheet music for the collection and each individual title is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.

More information about buying music online from Choraegus

As always, we strongly recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also 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. Purchasing an eight-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group. For more information, we have a step-by-step guide to purchasing music from Choraegus. This music also comes with permission to broadcast and/or livestream and share online as part of a worship service.

There are more Surprisingly-Easy 8-Bell Collections available from Choraegus, as well as our standard eight-bell arrangements – some more challenging than others.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions first. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help.

5th Surprisingly Easy 8-Bell Hymn Collection
Also available from Choraegus – binder covers for our eight-bell music!

New Handbell Music – How Firm a Foundation

Our continued thanks to everyone who’s been playing our music. We appreciate you all so much! Our latest eight-bell arrangement is the hymn How Firm a Foundation. This hymn was published in 1787 and has remained popular through the centuries. The words remind us that no matter what we’re going through, God is with us, and we can rely on the solid foundation of His strength and support.

“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

If you’d like to play How Firm a Foundation, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site.

Information about Choraegus handbell music

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. 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, and to use this piece in online and live-streamed worship services.

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.

Questions about our music?

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!

How Firm a Foundation - 8-bell arrangement

New 8-Bell Music – Zeg Kwezelken, Wilde Gij Dansen

Here in Holland, Michigan, our city’s 91st annual Tulip Time Festival has been cancelled because of coronavirus. But that doesn’t stop us from playing Dutch music on handbells! Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the traditional song Zeg Kwezelken, Wilde Gij Dansen; a melody written in 1848.

Would you like to play this 8-bell piece?

If you’d like to play Zeg Kwezelken, 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, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. 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. Purchase also gives you permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan

New Handbell Music – Het Roosje – for 8 Bells

It’s the time of year when the residents of Holland, Michigan traditionally look forward to the start of the city’s annual Tulip Time Festival. The town displays over 5 million tulips. The city celebrates its Dutch heritage – with parades, music performances and Dutch dancing demonstration.

This year’s 91st Tulip Time Festival has been cancelled because of health concerns for the city’s residents and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who usually flock to the festival. Of course, no one told the tulips, so they will still bloom. Carla took the photo below during the 2019 festival, at Windmill Island Gardens.

tulips, windmill

Since moving to Holland in the summer of 2016, we’ve enjoyed finding traditional Dutch music that can be played using just 8 handbells. Our latest arrangement is the song Het Roosje, which translates as The Rose.

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

More information about our downloadable handbell music

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. 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. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. Please mention the title and arranger of the piece in video descriptions and on printed materials.

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. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

New Handbell Music – I Stand Amazed – for 8 Bells

“I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
and my song shall ever be;
How marvelous! How wonderful!
is my Savior’s love to me!”

Thank you to everyone who’s been playing our 8-bell music during this time of social distancing. We’ve enjoyed seeing some of your videos! Here’s our most recent 8-bell arrangement – the hymn I Stand Amazed. This one was a fun and not-too-difficult sight-read; you could slow it down a little if you chose to, and it would still work.

Would you like to play I Stand Amazed?

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, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. Please also 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. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at 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.

Ask us questions if you need to!

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!

FREE Handbell Music – Alouette – for 8 Bells

While we’ve been under Michigan’s “stay home” order, we’ve enjoyed working on lots of new music to be published on Choraegus. We’ve been disappointed not to be able to give any performances this spring, but thankful that we have bells at home and plenty of music to play! Our most recent piece is a fun little arrangement of the traditional French tune Alouette – for 8 bells.

You can get the sheet music completely free!

We’re pleased to offer Alouette – for 8 bells – for free, as a thank-you to everyone who’s been playing our music during this time of social distancing. You can find it in the Freebies section of our music site, where there’s also free music for Happy Birthday, Auld Lang Syne and Dona Nobis Pacem. If you need them, there are also printable covers for anyone 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’d rather just grab the free music and go, we don’t mind at all. It’s a good way to try our 8-bell music without having to spend any money! Alouette could be a good piece for practising 4-in-hand as a duet, but could also be played by a (socially-distant?) quartet group.

How to get the music

To get your free sheet music, add it to your cart on the Choraegus site. Next, click on the yellow “Check out with PayPal” button (don’t worry; PayPal won’t ask you to make any payment). 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. If anything goes wrong, please let us know, and we’ll find another way to get your music to you.

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 be happy to help!

Alouette for 8 bells

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – for 8 Bells

Continued thanks to everyone who’s been playing our music in these recent weeks of social distancing. We’ve enjoyed seeing some of your videos!

These are challenging times for church musicians!

This Holy Week and Easter are challenging in many ways for church musicians. Handbell choirs can’t get together to practise or play the pieces they prepared. Churches are closing their buildings, and holding virtual services. Yet people gather faithfully online, in the knowledge that the church is not the building but the believers. Handbell musicians are still finding ways to participate in services, albeit in smaller groups than before. We’ve loved attending “Zoom Church” here in Holland in the last few weeks! Larry has also been a “socially-distant cantor”, recording hymns for each of the services, and we’ve even managed to sneak bells into a couple of the recorded hymns for Easter Sunday

Last night, someone asked us if we had an arrangement of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross?” The answer was, “Hmm. I don’t think so”. A couple of hours later a new arrangement had appeared, and we were (while still at least partially awake) making a demo recording to share. This is obviously more of a sight-read than a polished performance, but you’ll get the idea.

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

Buying downloadable handbell music from Choraegus

As always, we recommend that you read the licensing agreement before buying music from us, especially if this is your first time downloading music from Choraegus. 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. Purchase also gives permission for you to perform and broadcast this piece as part of your worship service.

If you’re interested in other 8-bell music suitable for Lent, Easter and Holy Week, we have a list of other hymn suggestions, and most 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!

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - handbells