Tag Archives: Palm Sunday

Handbell Music for Palm Sunday

We’re often asked about handbell music for Palm Sunday, and to be honest, we don’t have a lot, so it’s clearly something we need to work on. Here are the Choraegus titles that come to mind, although you’re welcome to look through the website, and you might find something we missed!

All Glory, Laud and Honor (ST. THEODULPH)

We have two arrangements of this popular Palm Sunday hymn: An 8-bell version – for handbells with piano accompaniment:

An unaccompanied 12-bell arrangement:

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (CORONATION)

We have two 8-bell arrangements of the CORONATION hymn tune – a standard version and a “surprisingly easy” version.

Celebration

Setting the mood for a Palm Sunday celebration, this original composition for 3-5 octaves is a Level 1 piece, making it easy to learn, and suitable for beginning or improving handbell choirs. This one is a popular handbell prelude piece!

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed (ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVÖGELEIN)

This is another joyous Palm Sunday hymn, available as an unaccompanied 8-bell arrangement.

Hark, the Glad Sound!

Suitable for Palm Sunday or Advent, this 12-bell hymn arrangement is a joy to play. The hymn tune is CHESTERFIELD.

Hosanna, Loud Hosanna

The ELLACOMBE tune is used for this hymn, also known as I Sing the Mighty Power of God. We have two unaccompanied 8-bell arrangements.

We also have a lively arrangement for 3-5 octaves!

Tell me the Stories of Jesus

This one didn’t come to mind immediately… but sure enough, the Palm Sunday words are in there!

“Into the city I’d follow
The children’s band,
Waving a branch of the palm tree
High in my hand;
One of his heralds,
Yes, I would sing
Loudest hosannas,
“Jesus is King!'”

Our 16-bell arrangement of this hymn is suitable for up to 4-8 ringers to play for a Palm Sunday service.

Any suggestions?

If you have any ideas, requests or suggestions for handbell music for Palm Sunday, please get in touch and share your ideas with us!

Handbell music for Palm Sunday


I Sing the Mighty Power of God – for Handbells, 3-5 Octaves

I Sing the Mighty Power of God is the latest offering from Choraegus. The hymn tune is ELLACOMBE; a very versatile tune throughout the church year. It’s also used as the setting for the Palm Sunday hymn Hosanna, Loud Hosanna, and for The Day of Resurrection, and Come, Sing with Holy Gladness.

We had a lot of fun with this piece, and we think your handbell choir will enjoy it too. There’s an interesting challenge for the treble ringers, with the combination of melody notes and thumb-damps, and plenty to keep the bass ringers occupied too. The tune has become a bit of an ear-worm for us in the last couple of weeks!

More information about I Sing the Mighty Power of God

I Sing the Mighty Power of God is for 3-5 octaves of handbells, Level 3+. 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 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 composer (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. 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 on our Facebook page too!

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.

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.

8-Bell Music for Palm Sunday – All Glory, Laud and Honor

Here’s some new 8-bell music for Palm Sunday! It’s an arrangement of All Glory, Laud and Honor (ST. THEODULPH), for eight handbells with piano accompaniment. We think your small ensemble will enjoy playing this one!

More about All Glory, Laud and Honor

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, this piece is designed to be played by 2-4 ringers. There are no accidentals to pick up mid-piece, no bell-sharing, and no need for tables or foam. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand piece, but there’s no requirement to use that technique, if you have four ringers! The piano accompaniment will give ringers confidence that even if they miss a note (as we all do, from time to time), the music will still go on!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’re interested in 8-bell music for Palm Sunday, and you’d like to play All Glory, Laud and Honor, you’ll find the sheet music available to purchase from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have an available accompanist, or for rehearsing at home.

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 an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four 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 (Larry Sue) on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music, and if you record your group playing any of our music, we’d love to see your videos!

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.

Other arrangements of All Glory, Laud and Honor

If you have more than four people available, you might also enjoy our 12-bell arrangement. Here’s the video for that one! Sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.

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!

All Glory, Laud and Honor – 12-Bell Music from Choraegus

All Glory, Laud and Honor is our newest 12-bell arrangement. It’s a traditional Palm Sunday hymn, so we’re a little late for this year. Looking on the bright side, though, there’s plenty of rehearsal time before Palm Sunday 2022! It can also be a useful hymn for general use, especially when a lively tune is needed.

No need for tables or foam!

As with all Choraegus 12-bell arrangements, this piece has no bell-sharing, and there are no accidentals to pick up mid-piece. As there are no techniques requiring tables or foam, this arrangement can be played from music stands. In recent months, many handbell choirs have been observing social distancing, and 12-bell music can work well for this. It can also be great for handbell choirs during the summer months when the full group isn’t available.

The music is suitable for 3-6 ringers, and two versions are available – either using bells C5-G6 (as in our demo video), or using F5-C7.

Where to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play All Glory, Laud and Honor, the sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, please note that it’s designed to be downloaded as a PDF file. That means 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 six copies for your handbell group – so don’t pay for more copies than you need!

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 title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

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!

New 8-Bell Music – Blessed Assurance – for Handbells and Piano

The hymn Blessed Assurance was written in 1873, with lyrics by Fanny Crosby, set to the tune by Phoebe Knapp. We’re pleased to bring you our new arrangement of this hymn, for 8 handbells with piano accompaniment.

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I, in my Savior, am happy and blessed
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love“

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, there are no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. It can be played from just music stands, so is suitable even for socially-distanced handbell groups.

If you’d like to play Blessed Assurance, 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 don’t have a willing accompanist, or if you want to rehearse at home.

Important information about Choraegus handbell music

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs, so you’ll be responsible for printing your own music. You won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). 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 title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

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 all the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

Blessed Assurance - 8 bells and piano

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!

New Music for Handbells – Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the hymn tune Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. It’s interesting to note that the tune (MARTYRDOM) is an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody, originally used for the ballad “Helen of Kirkconnel”, which is now more commonly sung to a completely different tune.

“Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?”

Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed is particularly suitable for worship services during Lent and Holy Week. This arrangement is straightforward to play, and could also work well as a quartet piece.

Where to find the sheet music

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

When you buy music from Choraegus, it will come to you as a PDF file. This 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!

If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our music, you might find our Frequently-Asked Questions useful. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed - handbells

New Music for Handbells – Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

Here’s our latest 8-bell piece. It’s an arrangement of Hail to the Lord’s Anointed.

The tune is a German folk song: Es flog ein kleins Waldvögelein, sometimes translated as Woodbird. It was first published in the early 17th century. The words of O Day of Rest and Gladness are also sung to this tune.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Hail to the Lord’s Anointed, the music is available from Choraegus.

When you purchase handbell music from Choraegus, the music score will come to you as a digital download (PDF). That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase of this 8-bell hymn arrangement will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Please see our licensing agreement for full details.

If you haven’t bought Choraegus handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to take you through the process in a stress-free way!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions, in case the answers are there! If you don’t find the information you need, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

New Handbell Music – our Third “Surprisingly Easy” 8-Bell Hymn Collection

Following on from our first Surprisingly Easy™ 8-Bell Hymn Collection and our second Surprisingly Easy™ 8-Bell Hymn Collection, here is the third Surprisingly Easy collection!

Once again, it’s all 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 duet, trio or quartet, or your handbell choir is enthusiastic but small in number, these hymns could be what you’re looking for!

What’s included in the third collection?

The hymns included in this third collection are:

  • Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
  • Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
  • All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Coronation)
  • At the Cross
  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
  • Jesus Shall Reign
  • He Keeps Me Singing

How to get the sheet music

If you’d like to purchase and download this hymn collection for your group to play, it’s available from Choraegus. Each of these hymns is also available separately.

When you buy Choraegus handbell music, you’ll receive a link to a digital download (PDF) file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, so you won’t receive anything in the mail. Your purchase of the Third Surprisingly Easy Hymn Collection entitles you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing our handbell music, you might like to look at some Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Third Surprisingly Easy Hymn Collection - 8-bell music

Music for Twelve Bells – a Whole New Adventure!

Over the past couple of years, we’ve had a lot of fun writing and performing our eight-bell music. We’ve recently published some fun and exciting music for twelve bells – a whole new adventure for us!

Getting some help with playing the new music

We wanted to make demonstration videos of the new 12-bell pieces. Of course, the problem with 12-bell music is that we can’t play it by ourselves. So we thought for a while, and decided to ask someone to help us:

“Hi, J.C. Are you free on Saturday? Want to come and help us with some bell stuff?”

“Okay. Uh… what kind of bell stuff?”

“Well, we need to try and record as many of the new twelve-bell pieces as we can manage… in not-very-much time.”

J.C. is more of a bass bell expert, and he doesn’t get a lot of opportunity to do 4-in-hand treble ringing, so we weren’t sure if he’d be too enthusiastic about our suggestion. But he’s a skilled musician, and he was up for the challenge. We met at the rehearsal venue, and the three of us spent an hour or so playing through our new twelve-bell music, to see how it worked “in real life”. We recorded our rehearsal, in the hope that we’d be able to get some demonstration videos for the website.

The videos we made are below. It should be noted that these are all first, second or third takes, so the pieces are not necessarily played 100% accurately. There are occasional wrong notes, and some inaccurate rhythms and occasional slip-ups of a random nature! But for a first read-through, we were quite pleased with how it all went. We felt that we’d only need a few more practice sessions to add a bit more polish to each performance.

Here are the rehearsal videos. Click on the titles if you’d like to buy the music!

All Creatures of Our God and King

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Annie Laurie

Barcarolle

Greensleeves/What Child Is This?

Holy is the Lord

We Gather Together / We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer

Our thanks go to J.C. for helping us with this at short notice. J.C. – you’re a star, and we enjoyed working with you. We hope we can do it again soon!