She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain is an American folk song that, according to Wikipedia, was first presented as we know it today in 1927. The melody is identical to the spiritual “When the Chariot Comes”, so the original spiritual (and possible reference to the Underground Railroad) has been covered by the modern lyrics. As …
Category: Twelve-Bell
May 20
It’s small ensemble time!
Small (handbell) ensembles are much more the order of the day after mid-May, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Pretty much everyone in the United States syncs their calendar to the end of the school year, and so family vacations and summer programs ramp up, resulting in a local population decrease as people get out …
Oct 27
Good King Wenceslas (TEMPEST ADEST FLORIDUM) – Twelve-Handbell Version
The ancient carol Good King Wenceslas is about a king who resolutely sought to make one impoverished subject’s life a bit better on a terribly cold winter night. It’s all about giving in love for others, and while the lyrics don’t directly mention Christmas, its story tells of what Christmas is all about. We created …
Oct 22
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERREN) – Twelve Handbells
The title from Joachim Neander’s German 1680 chorale, reads even more impressively in German: Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” has been a church favorite for many years – after all, our very lives depend on God and His infinite power. Our new arrangement for twelve handbells …
Sep 30
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow – Twelve-Handbell Version
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is an African-American Christmas spiritual. It’s about the message that drew the shepherds (well, at least one shepherd) to follow the Christmas star to find the Christ Child. The spiritual is a “call and response” song – one way it’s been done in many Black churches is to have the …
Sep 11
Four Twelve-Bell Hanukkah Songs!
A friend asked if we could come up with some twelve-bell music for Hanukkah. We’re happy to say that we found four songs that worked nicely! Hanukkah, O Hanukkah – a lively, happy song about the Jewish Festival of Lights, the annual holiday commemorating the miracle of God’s provision and sustenance. The symbol for this …
Feb 17
Barcarolle (for twelve handbells)
Barcarolle is a well-known boating song. To me, it’s reminiscent of a tour of the canals of Venice via gondola. The gondolier propels the boat with a long pole; some of them even sing as you float along. And all the while, the history of the city and its beauty encircles you. Our arrangement for …
Jan 15
How Can I Keep from Singing?
It’s Sunday today, and lots of people are headed to church. We sing a lot at church, whether it’s from the hymnal to words on a projection screen. Some of us know all the lyrics by heart, and that’s a great thing for those days when you need the song but don’t have the hardcopy …
Jan 04
Merry Eleventh Day of Christmas!
We’ve made it through most of the twelve days Christmas, and are approaching Epiphany. As a prelude to that, here’s our twelve-bell arrangement of What Child is This?. Enjoy! Purchasing this 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay …
Dec 28
Merry Fourth Day of Christmas!
We’ve had a wonderful time arranging Christmas carols. That’s not just the ones that we usually sing, but also going on the hunt for ones that are unfamiliar (to us). One day on Facebook, we saw that someone was asking about the Italian carol From Starry Skies Descending, we looked into it, and soon had …