Tag Archives: Lent

Psalm 22, for 16 Handbells – New Music from Choraegus

Psalm 22 is a 16-century hymn from the Genevan Psalter. It’s often used with the hymn text When We Are Tempted to Deny Your Son, during Lent.

“When we are tempted to deny Your Son,
Because we fear the anger of the world,
And we are few who bear the insults hurled,
Your will, O God, be done.“

Here’s our arrangement of the Genevan Psalm 22 for 16 handbells:

More information about Psalm 22

This hymn arrangement is available from Choraegus in two handbell ranges – D5 to C7 and  G4-F6. Please check the bells-used charts on the Choraegus page for this piece, and make sure you have all the bells you need. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand piece, but it’s suitable for up to 8 ringers. There are no bell changes, and no techniques that require tables or foam pads.

More about Choraegus handbell music

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!

Psalm 22 When We Are Tempted handbells

Go to Dark Gethsemane – for 6 Handbells and Piano

“Go to dark Gethsemane,
ye that feel the tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see,
watch with Him one bitter hour,
Turn not from His griefs away;
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.”

Go to Dark Gethsemane is a hymn for Lent and Holy Week, telling the story of the events in the Garden of Gethsemane, the days leading up to the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. The text was written by James Montgomery and first published in the 1820 Selection of Psalms and Hymns. The tune is REDHEAD No. 76, by English organist and composer Richard Redhead.

Our arrangement of Go to Dark Gethsemane uses just six handbells, with piano accompaniment. Again, no need to worry about Larry’s arm being in a sling; he just put it on for the video. After he had his shoulder surgery a couple of years ago, we started playing 6-bell music out of necessity, and we divided the bells between us accordingly. Now that Larry’s shoulder is working properly again, we could obviously take three bells each – but have you ever tried taking a bell away from a 4-in-hand treble ringer? Let’s not go there. Here’s our demo video:

This arrangement is suitable for 2-3 ringers. There are no techniques that need tables or foam, and no bell-sharing between ringers – so if you’re still observing social distancing, this piece could work well. Sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. We also have an mp3 piano accompaniment track available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have an accompanist, or for rehearsing at home.

Other accompanied handbell pieces for Holy Week and Easter

We have several other arrangements for small handbell groups and piano accompaniment:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – a 6-bell arrangement of one of the most profound hymns of all time, for Holy Week, and particularly for Good Friday.

Now the Green Blade Riseth – this dual-purpose (Christmas and Easter) arrangement of the NOEL NOUVELET tune is yet more proof that 6-bell music need never be boring. Fans of 7/8 will enjoy this one! For 6 handbells with piano accompaniment.

Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise – a joyous arrangement of the LLANFAIR tune, for 6 handbells and piano accompaniment.

Lift High the Cross – a triumphant hymn of celebration for Easter, for 8 handbells and piano accompaniment.

The Strife is O’er – a 6-bell arrangement of the VICTORY tune. Alleluia!

You’ll find lots more music for Lent, Holy Week and spring on the Choraegus site, so please feel welcome to browse. If you have questions about any of the pieces in particular, please ask us.

More information about our music

Our music scores are 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 the 6-bell arrangement of Go to Dark Gethsemane allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score).

Your purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the arranger of the piece (Larry Sue) and the publisher (Choraegus) on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music!

If you haven’t bought music from our site 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. We also have some free music available for download – so if you want to test the score-downloading process without spending any money, that’s a good place to start.

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!

Go to Dark Gethsemane handbells

Handbell Music for Lent – from Choraegus

We still have snow on the ground here in West Michigan. Even so, we’re already starting to think about handbell music for Lent and Holy Week.

We’ve added quite a few new titles to the Choraegus catalog since the start of the COVID pandemic. We now have a whole new range of pieces for just six bells with piano accompaniment. We’ve continued to arrange 8-bell music, and have also put together some new arrangements for larger handbell ensembles.

Full Choir Handbell Music for Lent

Here’s our most recent full-choir arrangement for Lent – it’s the beautiful hymn A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth. It’s for either 3 or 5 octaves, and we demonstrate the 5-octave arrangement here:

Full choir pieces are available from Choraegus as either individual copies (suitable for previewing), or full-choir licences. Purchase of the full-choir license entitles you to make up to 15 copies of the music for your choir. We also grant permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing for non-commercial purposes.

Music for smaller handbell ensembles

Looking at music for smaller ensembles, we now have two versions of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross! One is for 6 bells and piano, and the other is an entirely different 8-bell version. Here’s the 6-bell arrangement:

And here’s the 8-bell When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

Other 8-bell arrangements suitable for Lent and Holy Week include a challenging arrangement of Ah, Holy Jesus (HERZLIEBSTER JESU). It’s not the Fred Gramann version, but it’s still interesting to play! We also have arrangements of O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, and Go to Dark Gethsemane. You’ll find these and more listed in the Eight-Bell Hymns section of the Choraegus site.

If you have a 2-octave set, you might find 12- or 16-bell music useful. We have several 12-bell hymn arrangements that are ideal for Lent. Our recent 16-bell arrangement of the LEONI hymn tune could also be suitable for a worship service during that time.

We hope you’ll find something useful on our music site. If you have a request for music that’s not in our catalog, you’re always welcome to suggest it to us. If you have questions, please check our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch with us. We’ll be happy to help!

Handbell Music for Lent
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A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth – Handbells, 3 or 5 Octaves

“A lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
‘Tis laden with the sin of earth,
None else the burden sharing;
It goes its way, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
Its spotless life to offer;
Bears shame, and stripes, and wounds, and death,
Anguish and mockery, and saith,
“Willing all this I suffer.”

Lord, all my life to you I’ll cling,
This love forever holding.
You ever, as you ever me, 
With loving arms enfolding.
Lord, you will be my beacon-light,
Guiding me safe through death’s dark night,
Cheering my heart in sorrow.
Therefore my self, and all that’s mine, 
To you, my Savior, I consign,
From whom all things I borrow.”

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth was written by Paul Gerhardt, a German Lutheran pastor, in 1647, with music by Wolfgang Dachstein. It’s a beautiful and meaningful hymn for Lent, Holy Week and Good Friday. Here’s our handbell arrangement:

More information about A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth

This arrangement is for 3 or 5 octaves of handbells, with 2 octaves of (optional) handchimes. It’s a Level 3- arrangement. If you’d like to play this piece, the sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

Buying Choraegus handbell music

When you purchase handbell music 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 (for the full-choir copy) entitles you to print up to 15 copies for your group. 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 worship services, 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.

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth handbells

New 6-Bell Music – When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Here’s some new 6-bell music to start the new year!

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross is a setting of the HAMBURG hymn tune, for six handbells with piano accompaniment. The arrangement is suitable to be played as a duet, or by a trio of ringers playing two bells each. It does seem early to be thinking about music for Lent, Holy Week and Easter, but we know how quickly the weeks and months go by!

“When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.”

As with all our 6-bell arrangements, this piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. Perfect for social distancing!

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. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you want to rehearse at home without a pianist, or if you don’t have an accompanist available for your worship service.

More information (the small print)

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 a 6-bell 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 on video-sharing sites and social media. 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, and in any 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.

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 do what we can to help!

6-bell music - When I Survey the Wondrous for handbells

New Music for Handbells – Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley – 8 Bells

Here’s our latest eight-bell piece – the folk hymn Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley. This sensitive and easy-to-learn arrangement is particularly suitable for Lent and Holy Week, but could be used throughout the year. Playable as a duet, trio or quartet, we hope you’ll add it to your repertoire!

Where to get the music, and more information about Choraegus

The sheet music for Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

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 permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember 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 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 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. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

Jesus Walked this Lonesome Valley - handbells