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, …
Tag: 16-bell
Compositions for sixteen handbells are typically played by ensembles that have between eight ringers with two bells apiece, or by four four-in-hand ringers. It's possible to play with other numbers of ringers by creating a suitable division of the sixteen bells.
For Choraegus, sixteen-bell pieces followed naturally after twelve-bell repertoire, because they require the addition of another four-in-hand ringer.
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. This 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 …
What if you have nine (or ten, or eleven…) ringers?
Are you considering our eight-, twelve-, or sixteen-bell music, but appear to have more ringers than are needed to play? That’s a good problem to have, because it means you’re on the way to enjoying even more music! But if you have, say, nine ringers, that would appear to be too many for sixteen bells, …
Jan 12
Sleeping Beauty Waltz
We’ve arranged a number of classical works for handbells. Some are relatively straightforward, while others present a fun challenge. One of the latter is our arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz for sixteen handbells. Your four-in-hand quartet will have a great time with this nineteenth-century piece… but if you might also give it a go …
Dec 31
Merry Seventh Day of Christmas!
We’ve had a great time writing music for small handbell ensembles, and were so very pleased to note that a number of ringers were using our six-, eight-, and twelve-bell scores and sharing their videos with us (well, and the world!). We’ve been writing music for sixteen handbells as well; these arrangements are perfect for …
Dec 29
Merry Fifth Day of Christmas!
When we figured out how to make demo videos of pieces using more than eight bells, it made sense to create sixteen-bell arrangements. That way, four-in-hand quartets were available; they also were a nice bridge between twelve-bell and two-octave handbell music. On the fifth day of Christmas, here’s our sixteen-bell arrangement of Wexford Carol. Good …
Gaudete – for sixteen handbells
Gaudete! is a Christmas song dating back to at least the sixteenth century. You’ll find this sixteen-bell arrangement exciting and fun to play! Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete! Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina lætitiæ Devote reddamus. Deus homo factus est Natura mirante, Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante. Ezechielis …
Oct 17
Gaudete – for sixteen handbells
Gaudete! is a Christmas song dating back to at least the sixteenth century. You’ll find this sixteen-bell arrangement exciting and fun to play! Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete! Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina lætitiæ Devote reddamus. Deus homo factus est Natura mirante, Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante. Ezechielis …
Oct 07
PSALM 22 – for sixteen handbells
PSALM 22 is a sixteenth-century hymn from the Genevan Psalter. The referenced psalm starts with “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”, declaring King David’s remorse after sin. The text was spoken centuries later when Jesus died on the cross, accepting the punishment for our failure to live up to God’s perfect standard. …
Psalm 22
PSALM 22 is a sixteenth-century hymn from the Genevan Psalter. The referenced psalm starts with “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”, declaring King David’s remorse after sin. The text was spoken centuries later when Jesus died on the cross, accepting the punishment for our failure to live up to God’s perfect standard. …
