Tag Archives: YouTube

Kelvingrove – 2-3 Octave Handbell Music

Larry’s latest 2-3 octave handbell arrangement is the traditional Scottish tune Kelvingrove. This popular traditional melody was first published in The Harp of Kenfrewshire, a collection of songs published in Scotland around 1820. The author’s name is given as John Sim.

“Let us haste to Kelvin Grove, bonnie lassie, O,
Through its mazes let us rove, bonnie lassie, O:
Where the rose in all her pride,
Paints the hollow dingle side,
Where the midnight fairies glide, bonnie lassie, O.”

Kelvingrove as church music

In recent years, the Kelvingrove tune has become popular in churches, with the title Will You Come and Follow Me? (The Summons) and lyrics written in 1987 by John L. Bell and Graham A. Maule. Here’s a video by the Carillon Choir at Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan:

Would you like to play Kelvingrove?

This arrangement of Kelvingrove is for 2-3 octaves of handbells. If you’d like to play it, the sheet music is available to purchase from Choraegus.

If you haven’t purchased music from Choraegus before, we recommend reading our step-by-step guide. We designed this in an attempt to make the purchasing process as stress-free as possible!

Please note that Choraegus handbell music will come to you as a digital download; a PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own sheet music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. The advantage of having downloadable sheet music is not having to wait to receive it. You can make your purchase, print out the music, and be ready to start rehearsing with your handbell choir! For 2-3 octave handbell music, your purchase (pay once only) entitles you to print and maintain up to 15 copies for your group.

Any questions?

Please let us know if you have any questions, and we’ll be happy to help!

2-3 octave handbell music - Kelvingrove

New 8-Bell Music for Advent and Christmas

The summer is ending (at least here in Michigan, anyway) and autumn is in the air. It’s the time of year when we start thinking about Christmas and holiday music – and we’re excited to be able to present some new eight-bell titles for this year!

Creator of the Stars of Night

This Advent hymn made it into our concert repertoire this year. We didn’t want to wait for Advent, so we performed it for the first time at the opening concert for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 spring festival on Mackinac Island. This hymn was originally written somewhere between the 7th and 9th centuries, and it works really well on handbells!

The Friendly Beasts

This melody first appeared in France in the 12th century, and was a very late addition to our Christmas performance repertoire last year; so late that we only had the opportunity to perform it once – at the Kerstmarkt (European-style Christmas market) in Downtown Holland. We’re looking forward to playing it more this holiday season!

The Cherry Tree Carol

If you’re looking for an unusual Christmas carol, this is a good one. It’s from Cornwall, England, from way back in Medieval times. It’s not difficult to play, and could also work well as a quartet piece.

Hoe lei dit Kendeke/Cold is this Little Child

Since we moved to Holland, Michigan, we’ve been having fun finding traditional Dutch melodies that can be played using just eight bells. This is a children’s carol that’s also sung in Belgium. It’s not difficult to play, and would also be particularly suitable for a quartet.

De Zak van Sinterklaas / Santa’s Bag

This is a cheery traditional Dutch Christmas song that’s been sung by many generations of children in The Netherlands. We found it during our search for Dutch music after moving from California to Holland!

Pat-a-Pan

This French carol was first published in 1720. It’s about the birth of Jesus, and the shepherds celebrating by playing flutes and drums. We don’t play either of those instruments, so here’s our handbell version:

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

We published the US version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear a while ago, but this version is the one more often heard/sung in the UK.

How Great Our Joy

This traditional German carol was unknown to us until we heard it for the first time in church last year. Our version for eight handbells is great for practising dynamics!

Go, Tell It on the Mountain

This popular spiritual is fun to play, particularly if you’re a fan of syncopation!

From Starry Skies Descending

This Italian carol, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, is fast becoming one of our favorite carols to play!

This year’s eight-bell Christmas music definitely seems to have quite an international flavour. Remember to check out the other Christmas and holiday titles for eight bells on our music site. There are also some 12-bell Christmas pieces and some new titles for full handbell choir too. We hope you’ll find something you’ll enjoy playing!

8-bell music for Advent and Christmas

New Music for Handbells – I Vow To Thee, My Country

“I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love.
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there’s another country I’ve heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know.
We may not count her armies, we may not see her king,
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering.
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.”

I Vow to Thee, My Country is a much-loved British patriotic hymn. Sir Cecil Spring Rice wrote the lyrics, and Gustav Holst set them to music. The melody is adapted from a section of Jupiter from Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets. Nowadays, you might recognise it as the hymn tune THAXTED.

A much-loved patriotic hymn

I Vow to Thee, My Country has strong associations with Remembrance Sunday. Its patriotic text has ensured that it remains popular today. It was sung at the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965, and at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981. It was also sung at the funeral of the Princess of Wales in 1997, and at the memorial service ten years later. In 1982, Michael Perry wrote an alternative text for the THAXTED melody; O God Beyond All Praising.

We first performed our arrangement of I Vow to Thee, My Country on our last Sunday at Los Altos United Methodist Church, before we moved from California to Michigan. We played it in concert for the first time in Warner Robins, Georgia and again in concert at the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival on Mackinac Island, and at the recent Area 8 Festival in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s not the easiest of our 8-bell arrangements! The middle section took us a while to learn, and still has the ability to surprise us sometimes. Still, it’s been a fun challenge.

Would you like to play this piece?

If you’d like to play I Vow To Thee, My Country, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus. If you haven’t bought music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. Please also note that our music is designed to be downloaded for you to print at home. You won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group; you only need to pay once.

Any questions?

If you have any questions, please check our Frequently-Asked Questions! If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

I Vow to Thee My Country - handbells

Three Original Larry Sue Handbell Compositions at Area 8 BronzeFest

We had lots of fun with the Area 8 BronzeFest choir at the “Bring It! Ring It!” Festival in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the highlights, for us, was having the opportunity to hear three of Larry’s original handbell compositions performed live; two of them for the first time ever!

Our thanks go to the members of the HMA Area 8 BronzeFest Ensemble for all the hard work they put in before the event, so that we could make the most of our limited rehearsal time together. Here are the three original compositions that were performed at the concert:

A Minor Crash

This piece was inspired by a certain sign that we used to drive past when we were living in California, and it’s fun to play! It’s not crazy-difficult either; the rhythms are easy to pick up, and everyone seemed to enjoy it – including the bass ringers! The cajon part was written and performed by Alex Guebert.

Rescue

“Rescue does not occur only through great violence and clamor;
sometimes it is a candle seen from the midst of terrible darkness”.

Larry wrote this piece fairly recently, and dedicated it to Carla. We didn’t manage to get a recording from the BronzeFest concert performance, but this “work in progress” rehearsal video will give you a good idea of how it sounds. This sensitive piece was well received at its first performance, and the sheet music is now available from Choraegus.

The Final Crossing

This piece was written in 2015, for the Siskiyou Summit Handbell Conference in Ashland, Oregon, where it received its first performance. There should have been a recording of that performance, but between us we failed to make it happen. Carla pushed the “on” button on the video recorder five minutes before the performance, to make sure it didn’t get forgotten. A minute before the performance, Larry pushed the “on” button, effectively turning off the camera and making sure that there would be no recording. Booooo.

Anyway, we also failed to get a recording from the Area 8 BronzeFest concert. We did manage to get a video of one of the rehearsals, though. There were a few glitches, but you’ll get the idea. Thanks to Lily Acatina, who stepped in to sight-read the trumpet part on keyboard at this rehearsal.

This piece is also available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Area 8 BronzeFest - Handbell Festival
BronzeFest at the HMA Area 8 Festival in Omaha, Nebraska – June 2018

New Music for Handbells – Botany Bay

Here’s our latest 8-bell piece – Botany Bay!

“Farewell to old England for ever,
Farewell to my rum coes as well,
Farewell to the well-known Old Bailey
Where I used for to cut such a swell.

Botany Bay first became popular in theatre shows of the late 1800s, in London, England and Melbourne, Australia. However, its roots may be from an even earlier time! The song describes the period in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when many British convicts were deported to penal colonies in Australia. We have another 8-bell piece about this period of history – Moreton Bay.

How to get the sheet music for Botany Bay

If you’d like to play our arrangement of Botany Bay, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Please remember that Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded. You’ll be responsible for printing the music at home, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece entitles you to pay once, and print up to 4 copies for your group. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, we have some Frequently-Asked Questions that might help. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us!

Botany Bay Handbells

New Music for Handbells – Morning Song

Our latest 8-bell arrangement is the beautiful hymn tune Morning Song. You might also know it as The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns.

We recently performed this piece for the first time at the opening concert for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Spring Festival on Mackinac Island. We’ll be sharing photos and information about that event soon!

Here’s a video of us, recorded a few months ago, rehearsing this piece for the concert:

We’ve enjoyed working on this piece, and think it’s set to become one of our favorites for playing in church. If you’d like to play Morning Song, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

More information about buying handbell music from Choraegus

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. That means you’ll be responsible for the printing, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased our handbell music before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the process stress-free!

Purchasing this 8-bell piece gives you permission to print up to 4 copies for your group. You only need to pay once, so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! See our licensing agreement for more details.

Any questions?

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

Morning Song - 8-bell handbells
On our way to Grand Hotel for the Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Festival!

New 12-Bell Music – Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose

“Thou hidden source of calm repose,
thou all-sufficient love divine,
my help and refuge from my foes,
secure i am, if thou art mine:
and lo, from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Jesus, in thy name.”

This is an 18th century hymn by Charles Wesley. We hadn’t heard it until very recently! The tune is ST PETERSBURG. If you’re looking for an unusual hymn for your worship service, this could work well. It’s suitable for 3-6 ringers, and it’s available in two bell ranges – either C5-G6 or F5-C7.

Thanks to J.C for joining us for this recording during his recent visit to Michigan!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

Sheet music for this new 12-bell arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. You only need to pay once, and you can print up to 6 copies for your group.

We ask you to read our licensing agreement, and if you’re new to buying our music online, we recommend our step-by-step guide.

Any questions?

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’re looking for, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!



Handbells and Musical Saw – an Interesting Collaboration!

Today we took an exciting look back at one of our adventures from last summer. We had an opportunity to collaborate with internationally acclaimed Natalia Paruz. the Saw Lady! Natalia is New York City musician who specialises in playing the musical saw. She’s well-known for her NY subway performances!

We were all in New York City to participate in a concert given by Campanelli Handbell Ensemble, who were visiting the USA on tour from their home country of Estonia. Natalia was playing her musical saw for the solo part in Susan T. Nelson’s beautiful “Elegy”. We were playing the handbell duet part in a brand new composition “Mu Süda Ärka Üles“. After rehearsing with Campanelli and their director Inna Lai, we still had some time before the concert. We decided to read through our eight-bell arrangement of “Amazing Grace” together. This is the result:

Somewhere in our archives, we have recordings of a couple more pieces we played that afternoon, and we’ll share those soon! We very much enjoyed our musical collaboration with Natalia, and hope that someday we’ll have the opportunity to do it again!

Musical saw and handbells!
With composer Susan T. Nelson and Natalia "Saw Lady" Paruz in NYC – July 2017

New Music for 12 Handbells – How Great Thou Art

Here’s our latest 12-bell piece – an arrangement of the popular hymn How Great Thou Art. Thanks to J.C, who came to visit us for a few days last month and was happy to play through some new stuff with us.

This piece proved to be fun to play, and came together surprisingly quickly. As with all our 12-bell pieces, we’ve made it available in two versions – one for the traditional twelve-bell range C5-G6, and one for F5-C7, so you can pick the one that suits your group.

How to get the sheet music

If you’d like to play How Great Thou Art, it’s available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

When you buy music from Choraegus, you’ll receive instructions to download the file as a PDF. That means you’ll be responsible for printing the music at home, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Please read our licensing agreement for all the details. If you haven’t bought music from us before, you might like to read our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the purchase process stress-free!

Your payment gives you permission to print out up to 6 copies of this arrangement for your group. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying and playing our music, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

How Great Thou Art - 12-bell

Accompanied Christmas Pieces – for 12 Bells and Piano

Here are two newly-available arrangements for 12 bells and piano accompaniment. Larry arranged these pieces for a UK group led by Meg Hostler of Finchampstead Handbell Ringers. Their debut performances were in England on Christmas Eve 2015.

The arrangements are less challenging than our other 12-bell pieces. Larry arranged them to be easy for a small group to learn and perform with minimal rehearsal time!

Both these demo recordings were made during an all-too-brief “Christmas in February” rehearsal session when we got together with Meg for an Inspiration International reunion during our most recent visit to England in February 2016. The first piece is In the Bleak Midwinter:

The second is the Austrian carol Still, Still, Still:

The piano accompaniment score for Still, Still, Still is the same as the accompaniment that goes with the solo version of this carol.

Would you like to play these pieces?

If you’d like to play either (or both!) of these pieces for 12 bells and piano, the sheet music is available for purchase and download from Choraegus.

Choraegus handbell music is designed to be downloaded and printed at home. You’ll be responsible for printing your own scores, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you’re new to buying our music, please look at the step-by-step guide. We designed this to help make the process stress-free!

Please read our licensing agreement before making your purchase, and read our guide to how many copies your purchase allows you to print. Don’t pay for more copies than you need!

Any questions?

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

12 bells and piano - Inspiration Handbells