Nov 21

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies (RATISBON) – Eight handbells, “Surprisingly Easy”™ version

Charles Wesley was a prolific eighteenth-century hymnwriter, producing over 6,000 hymns over most of a century. Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies speaks of the brightness and glory in a life with the Savior, and reminds us of the darkness and despair of existence without Him. You’ll enjoy playing our new “Surprisingly Easy”™ eight-bell arrangement of this hymn!Eight handbells

Christ, whose glory fills the skies, Christ, the true and only Light,
Sun of righteousness, arise, triumph o’er the shade of night;
Day-spring from on high, be near; Day-star, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn unaccompanied by Thee;
joyless is the day’s return, till Thy mercy’s beams I see,
till they inward light impart, glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine, pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
fill me, radiancy divine, scatter all my unbelief;
more and more Thyself display, shining to the perfect day.


Nov 08

Ring the Bells – Eight handbells and piano

“Ring the Bells” by Harry Bollback has been a Christmas favorite since 1958. This easy arrangement for eight handbells and piano can be used as an introit, a brief interlude, or to bring your audience a thoughtful moment.

Ring the bells, ring the bells, let the whole world know
Christ was born in Bethlehem many years ago.


Oct 30

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (VENI EMMANUEL) (Handbells, 2-3 octaves, Level 1+)

The Advent song O Come, O Come, Emmanuel comes from a fifteenth-century French melody, but may originate from as far back as possibly the 12th century. It first appeared in English as translated by John M. Neale in 1851. It’s a prayer by those who hoped that the Christ would come to earth and make all things right. Our new Level 1+ arrangement is for 2-3 octaves of handbells.

O come, O come, Emmanuel / And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here / Until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, / Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show, / And teach us in her ways to go.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free / Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save, / And give them victory over the grave.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer / Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, / And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come, / And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high, / And close the path to misery.

O come, O come, great Lord of might, / Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law / In cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree, / An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall; / All peoples on Thy mercy call.

O come, Desire of nations, bind / In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, / And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Church Calendar: Advent, Christmas


Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and 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.

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Oct 12

Now Thank We All Our God (NUN DANKET) – Sixteen handbells and piano

In the U.S., Now Thank We All Our God is one of the hymns that makes an annual appearance in November (because of the national Thanksgiving holiday, of course)… but it really can (should?) be played all year round! You can play our arrangement for sixteen accompanied handbells with four to eight ringers. If you don’t have a pianist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 that you can purchase separately.

“Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

“O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,
To keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills of this world in the next.

“All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven
The one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.”


Purchasing this 16-bell score gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score, if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also grants permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and 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.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

Oct 04

We Gather Together/We Praise Thee, O God Our Redeemer (KREMSER) – Sixteen handbells and piano

The hymn We Praise Thee, O God Our Redeemer, also sung as We Gather Together, was adapted from a sixteenth-century Dutch folk song, and endures in our hymnody as a glorious way for us to turn our hearts to God. Our new arrangement for sixteen accompanied handbells will brighten your Thanksgiving service! sixteen handbells.

We praise you, O God, our Redeemer, Creator;
in grateful devotion our tribute we bring;
we lay it before you; we kneel and adore you;
we bless your holy name: glad praises we sing.

We worship you, God of our fathers and mothers;
through life’s storm and tempest our guide you have been;
when perils o’ertake us, you never forsake us,
and with your help, O Lord, our battles we win.

With voices united our praises we offer,
our songs of thanksgiving to you we now raise;
your strong arm will guide us, our God is beside us,
to you, our great Redeemer, forever be praise!

Church Calendar: World Communion Sunday, Harvest/Thanksgiving


Purchasing this 16-bell score gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score, if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also grants permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and 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.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

Oct 02

Freebies are freer!

We’ve updated our freebie pages a bit. Now you only have to click on the “Download This Freebie” link, and the PDF will appear in a new browser tab. From there, you can print or download it and start playing immediately!

New freebie links!

Sep 12

Here I Am, Lord – Eight handbells

When the prophet Isaiah heard God saying, “Whom shall I send?”, he responded “Here I am, Lord – send me!”. Dan Schutte wrote this popular song about dedication to God in 1981.

I, the Lord of sea and sky / I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin / My hand will save.

Chorus

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

I, who made the stars of night / I will make their darkness bright
Who will bear my light to them? / Whom shall I send?

I, the Lord of snow and rain / I have borne my people’s pain
I have wept for love of them / They turn away.

Church Calendar: Dedication Sunday, Missions


Purchasing this eight-handbell arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell ensemble. Permission for live performance is also included; for permission for broadcast, livestream, and upload/archive to social media or websites, please contact: Oregon Catholic Press, 340 Oswego Pointe Drive, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 https://www.ocp.org USA T: +1-800-LITURGY (548-8749) liturgy@ocp.org

Aug 25

Holy Manna for eight bells – now as a “Surprisingly Easy”™ version!

Our “standard” eight-bell Holy Manna was the very first score we published. Now we have a “Surprisingly Easy”™ version that you can enjoy!

 

Purchasing this 8-bell score gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment/instrumental score(s), if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also grants permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and 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.

Aug 22

Close to You (Handbells, 3 to 7 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 4)

Hal David and Burt Bacharach teamed up to write (They Long to Be) Close to You, a gentle, plaintive song about romances that ended up being daydreams. Although hundreds of artists have recorded this song, most of us remember it as the Carpenters’ big hit of 1970. Our arrangement is scored for three to seven octaves of handbells with three octaves of handchimes. The score also includes an optional ending repeat for those times when you want to inspire some audience participation.

Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

On the day that you were born, the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true,
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue

That is why all the girls in town (girls in town)
Follow you (follow you) all around (all around)
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you.

(They Long to Be) Close to You is available from Sheet Music Plus!

Jul 31

Deck the Halls – Twelve handbells

This boisterous – yes… that seems to be an appropriate choice of words! – arrangement of a 16th century Welsh tune Nos Galan is tremendous fun to play. Fa la la la la la la la!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our gay apparel
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol
Fa la la la la, la la la la

See the blazing Yule before us…
Strike the harp and join the chorus…
Follow me in merry measure…
While I tell of Yule tide treasure…

Fast away the old year passes…
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses…
Sing we joyous, all together…
Heedless of the wind and weather…

 

Purchasing this 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score, if part of the purchase) – 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, and 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.