Oct 27

Five (5 octaves of handbells)

Our fifth anniversary was approaching, so I wanted to give Carla something special. This original composition was the result, and the handbell choir at our church in Holland, Michigan premiered it as the prelude in the services on our anniversary weekend.

It’s entitled Five, and can be a treasure hunt for you and your ringers as you look for where that number appears in the score. For instance, the two key signatures are B major (five sharps) and Db major (five flats).

It’s AGEHR level 2+. Enjoy!

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.

Oct 23

Accompanied twelve-bell music for Christmas!

We usually play unaccompanied eight-handbell music. Maybe that’s because it’s easier to get together to practice; only two of us have to head to the rehearsal room.

However, we do realize that many of you may have larger groups, or might want to include a pianist. So we have a couple of new Christmas arrangements for twelve bells plus piano. They’ve arrived just in time for you to prepare them for your holiday services!

In the Bleak Midwinter – Purchase it here!

Still, Still, Still – Purchase it here!

Sep 06

Elysium

Elysium was commissioned from our friend Susan Nelson by Laurie and Rusty Sanders. It’s a thoughtful, pensive piece for three to five octaves of handbells plus optional flute descant. After a very brief time on “out of print” status, we’ve brought it back in the Choraegus catalog.

Do check it out!

Jul 24

The Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition

Exciting news! When Above the Line Publishing decided to ride off into the sunset, it took the original Bass Ringer’s Notebook with it. Quite a few bass handbell ringers already had copies, but there were those who still were looking for a copy of their own. The need still existed!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve added the Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition to our catalog. The material therein has been augmented with more ideas for making your bass ringing technically precise, musically expressive, and physically safe.

There’s a new YouTube playlist of the techniques described. These videos provide a dynamic presentation of the skills every bass ringer should understand. They’re also the basis for the illustrations in the book, because the printed stop-action sequences are frames from those videos.

This book isn’t about a single way to “sling the buckets”. Rather, it provides practical options that give you the choice of how you approach the instrument, and that means you can use the ones that best fit you personally.

It may have taken a few years to get to this new edition, but in the words of Low Ding Zone, the World’s First Bass Handbell Ensemble, it’s been “Worth the Weight”. We anticipate that the second edition of the Bass Ringer’s Notebook will be an important resource in your quest to “Support Low Standards”. 🙂

Bass Ringer's Notebook, Front Cover

May 24

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

We’ve gotten a lot closer to settling into life in Michigan – it’s been part of the adventure that started when we moved from California in 2016. Now everything is pretty much in place in our new home, and the blue spruces in the woods are happily growing new bits as spring rolls into summer.

On a recent weekend trip to Lapeer, Michigan, we played at a friend’s church. It was the fourth Sunday of Easter, aka Good Shepherd Sunday. This gave us a chance to premiere our new eight-bell arrangement of Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

Apr 15

“Tigress Rag” for piano!

Scott Joplin, who is often regarded as the “King of Ragtime Music”, wrote for a variety of instrumental ensembles, but his primary instrument was the piano.

So… the thought finally arose: Choraegus has the Tigress Rag as a piece for five to seven octaves of handbells. It was the second-place finisher in the “All That Jazz” composition contest created by the Bells of the Sound in 2011! However, handbell music typically has more simultaneous notes than a person’s normal complement of fingers, so the handbell score doesn’t work very well for a solo pianist.

So… we now have a solo piano version of the Tigress Rag. Do take a look!

Mar 07

The Boys of Bluehill

Hornpipes and jigs were two of the exciting additions to our repertoire over the past three or four years. In case you haven’t played many of them and were wondering about thematic structure, jigs often (but not always!) have the pattern AA, BB, CC, DD, etc. and can be chained together to add to the time the dancers are dancing. Hornpipes often (but not always!) have an AABABA structure. Both are in compound triple meter (but very occasionally not, such as Wrong Foot Forward), and have a happy lilt.

We’ve added a new hornpipe, The Boys of Bluehill. No one seems to know its exact origin, or which boys or hills it’s about, but we know you’ll enjoy playing it!

Feb 17

Easter is on the way

Yes… it still is two months before Easter, but church musicians usually have to think a bit ahead so that they can get their practice time before playing in church.

So we’re releasing our new eight-bell arrangement of Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. It’s the Ralph Hudson version which sets Isaac Watts’ words to the tune MARTYRDOM, adding the refrain “At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light…”. It’s a hymn that’s been around for over a century of Holy Weeks.

We hope you’ll give it a try, and that you’ll use it to enhance your Easter service as we consider the infinite sacrifice Jesus paid for us on the cross.

Jan 08

Epiphany

And a wonderful Epiphany to you!

We’re starting 2017 by publishing a new eight-bell arrangement of the German Epiphany carol O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright. Philipp Nicaolai composed the tune at the end of the sixteenth century, and about 150 years later J.S. Bach harmonized it.

We wish you a happy 2017, and hope that your musical endeavors will be joyous ones!

Dec 19

A Carol A Day!

We’ve been posting new recordings of some of our eight-bell Christmas music on the Larry and Carla Facebook page. Do take a look – the dates below will take you to the Facebook posts, and the titles will take you to the pages on this site where you can purchase music!

December 26: Angels from the Realms of Glory
December 25: Joy to the World
December 24: Away in a Manger (American version)
December 23: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
December 22: O Holy Night
December 21: Once in Royal David’s City
December 20: O Little Town of Bethlehem
December 19: Sussex Carol
December 18: Of the Father’s Love Begotten
December 17: Good Christian Men, Rejoice
December 16: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
December 15: Still, Still, Still
December 14: The First Nowell
December 13: The Wassail Song
December 12: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
December 11: Los Peces En El Rio
December 10: ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime
December 9: See, Amid the Winter’s Snow
December 8: Angels We Have Heard on High
December 7: The Seven Joys of Mary
December 6: Whence is that Goodly Fragrance Flowing?
December 5: Jingle Bells
December 4: The Snow Lay on the Ground
December 3: People, Look East
December 2: Savior of the Nations, Come
December 1: O Come, O Come Emmanuel