Jan 10

Mahler Swing (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 5)

I fell in love with Mahler’s symphonies a long time ago. They’re gigantic works which stretch the limits (so far…) of how musical expression can be built. As of the twentieth century, they represent the pinnacle of orchestral composing.

Mahler’s first symphony is about an hour in length (around three times the length of Mozart’s symphonies, and nearly twice as long as Beethoven’s). Arranging the entire work would result in a very, very large score. The use of thematic material, however, allows a bit of “compression”.

Several decades after Mahler’s time came the Swing Era, with luminaries such as Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Count Basie (and by no means is this an exhaustive list!). This was some of the popular music of the 1930s and 1940s, and the hits from that time endure to the present.

So… the thought crossed my mind: What about melding Mahler and the Swing Era for handbells? The result is the Mahler Swing, which takes elements of the first movement of Mahler’s first symphony and makes them swing. The result is a piece that’s a marvelous earworm!

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.

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.

Dec 19

Merry Christmas 2023!

As usual, our December has been our busy performance season. People associate handbells with Christmas, so that’s when they book us. We’ve been at some fun places:

  • Holland Kerstmarkt. Between Thanksgiving and mid-December, we were the ambience for our city’s Dutch Christmas market. It’s an outdoor event, so we pre-chill our bells, bundle up, and look forward to making our local event even more exciting.
  • Otsego Hometown Christmas. Otsego is a town about an hour from home between Holland and Kalamazoo. Like the Kerstmarkt, this was an outdoor event, and we were thankful for the opportunity to gather round one of the firepits after we were done making music.
  • Community organizations. We presented Christmas concerts at retirement communities and a library. These were every-other-year sorts of opportunities, so we enjoyed seeing some friends who we’d visited in the past.
  • Churches. Getting to be part of church services makes Christmastime special for everyone.

We’ve also been sharing our eight-bell music on our Facebook page as well. It’s given us the opportunity to show people from many places what’s possible with just eight handbells.

2024 is just around the corner, and we have much more new music to publish. While that’s all being lined up, we wish you a Merry Christmas, with blessings for the New Year.

Christmas Tree 2023

Nov 27

Ding Dong, Merrily on High – for eight handbells

The sixteenth-century English tune Ding Dong, Merrily on High is quite popular at Christmas. It reflects the joy of the season, and invites us to share in the joy of heaven at the birth of the Son of God. Here’s our eight-bell arrangement – enjoy!

Ding dong merrily on high,
In heav’n the bells are ringing:
Ding dong! verily the sky
Is riv’n with angel singing.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

E’en so here below, below,
Let steeple bells be swungen,
And “Io, io, io!”
By priest and people sungen.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime
Your matin chime, ye ringers;
May you beautifully rime
Your evetime song, ye singers.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four 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.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

Nov 16

Angels We Have Heard on High (GLORIA) (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 2-)

Angels We Have Heard on High is based on the nineteenth-century French song Les Anges dans nos Campagnes and is traditionally sung to the hymn tune GLORIA. The lyric tells us of how the angels came from heaven to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.

Our three-octave handbell arrangement is a very accessible Level 2-.

Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the new-born King.

Les anges dans nos campagnes
ont entonné l’hymne des cieux;
et l’écho de nos montagnes
redit ce chant mélodieux.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Bergers, pour qui cette fête?
Quel est l’objet de tous ces chants?
Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête
mérite ces cris triomphants?

Cherchons tous l’heureux village
que l’a vu naître sous ses toits;
offronslui le tendre hommage
et de nos coeurs et de nos vois!

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.

Nov 13

And now, a second eight-bell version of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”!

We’ve had an eight-bell version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (hymn tune CAROL – the one most frequently heard in the USA) for over ten years. It’s one of my personal favorites; however, it does provide a bit of a challenge to the ringers.

So… we’ve just published a second, somewhat less difficult, “standard” arrangement that you might like to check out. Note: Both versions are on the same Choraegus webpage, so be sure to play both demo videos to determine which score is the one for you!

Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four 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.

Nov 08

O Come, O Come Emmanuel for eight handbells – now in E minor!

Our eight-bell arrangements are generally written for the note ranges G5-G6 and F5-F6 and sold as “Dual-Range” score packages. However, these don’t always work smoothly if you want to sing with them, because the melody notes might fall out of a comfortable congregational range.

This is true of our eight-bell O Come, O Come Emmanuel, because both dual-range scores are a bit high for many singers. Fear no more, however! We’ve just added a third transposition to the score packages for both the “standard” and “Surprisingly Easy”™ versions of this Advent song in D5-D6 – this one is in the traditional hymnal key of E minor. We’ve also added practice MP3s for this range if you have a need for them.

Downloading this free arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain copies for your handbell group, and 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.

Nov 07

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (MENDELSSOHN) (Sixteen Handbells)

Christmas is a time for angels, who received the very special musical assignment of singing about the birth of the Messiah. Our new 16-bell arrangement will add to your celebration!

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise, join the triumph of the skies;
with th’angelic hosts proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King”

Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth.

Purchasing this 16-bell arrangement 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 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.

Nov 01

O Come, All Ye Faithful – eight handbells, and free!

The celebration of Christmas centers on the promise that God is always working toward His ultimate triumph. O Come, All Ye Faithful draws us not just to the manger, but to the everlasting future of Christ’s kingdom.

There are three transpositions included in this free score package: G5-based, F5-based, and a D5-based version that matches the key found in many hymnals.

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him, born the King of angels;

O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning,
Jesus, to thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing:

Downloading this free arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain copies for your handbell group, and 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.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

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 our first eight-bell arrangement of this carol, and recently added another eight-bell version – and today we’re publishing our brand new twelve-bell Good King Wenceslas!

Good King Wenceslas looked out / On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about / Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night / Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight / Gath’ring winter fuel

Hither, page, and stand by me / If thou know’st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he? / Where and what his dwelling?
Sire, he lives a good league hence / Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence / By Saint Agnes’ fountain.

Bring me flesh and bring me wine / Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine / When we bear him thither.
Page and monarch forth they went / Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament / And the bitter weather

Sire, the night is darker now / And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how, / I can go no longer.
Mark my footsteps, my good page / Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage / Freeze thy blood less coldly.

In his master’s steps he trod / Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod / Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure / Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor / Shall yourselves find blessing.

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.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

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 is straightforward, so if you need a piece of music for a service soon, this should fill the bill!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for He is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to His temple draw near,
Join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;
Sheltering you under His wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
Sent by His gracious ordaining?

Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriends you.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again;
Gladly forever adore him.

Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement 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 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.