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 …
Tag: 3-5 octaves
With the passage of time, handbell choirs have grown in size and acquire more and more octaves of bells. Sets of three to five octaves are pretty typical as of the 21st century. Four-octave sets, strangely, are relatively uncommon.
Note that some pieces in the Choraegus catalog are for three or five octaves.
Apr 24
Banana Passacaglia (handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)
One day on Facebook, a post appeared: Replace one word in the title with “banana.” What’s your favorite handbell piece? With one reply being: Banana Passacaglia And then: I would like for Larry Sue to get to work on this immediately. So, to make a not-so-long story short, it took a couple of days to …
Banana Passacaglia (handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)
One day on Facebook, a post appeared: Replace one word in the title with “banana.” What’s your favorite handbell piece? With one reply being: Banana Passacaglia And then: I would like for Larry Sue to get to work on this immediately. So, to make a not-so-long story short, it took a couple of days to …
Mar 27
Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) (Handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 4-)
Lake Tai is a large lake near Shanghai. It’s in a central location, so it has many commercial connections; because it’s quite shallow, it’s a peaceful place to visit. The Chinese folk song Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) draws a picture of a peaceful scene, where a small boat glides across the water. You’ll enjoy …
Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) (Handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 4-)
Lake Tai is a large lake near Shanghai. It’s in a central location, so it has many commercial connections; because it’s quite shallow, it’s a peaceful place to visit. The Chinese folk song Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) draws a picture of a peaceful scene, where a small boat glides across the water. You’ll enjoy …
Mar 19
Happy Birthday!
(Larry here) It’s my birthday today, so we’re putting out a treat for those of you who’ve been wishing to congratulate your ringers, or family, or friends, or anyone else by having your bell choir play in their honor. Our arrangement of Happy Birthday to You is scored for three to seven (!) octaves of …
Happy Birthday (Handbells, 3-7 octaves)
Here’s our arrangement of the universal party favorite, Happy Birthday, for three to seven octaves of handbells (add handchimes if you wish!). After much history and (legal!) discussion between forces outside our control, the courts declared some years ago that Happy Birthday, the famous tune by the Hill sisters, was indeed in the public domain. …
Mar 02
Flower Drum Song (凤阳花鼓) (for handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)
Flower Drum Song Feng Yang Hua Gu (凤阳花鼓) may have been composed as far back as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). It comes from Fengyang County in Anhui Province, and is said to have been sung by people affected by floods in that region as part of asking for donations to recover their living. Here’s …
Flower Drum Song (凤阳花鼓) (handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)
Flower Drum Song Feng Yang Hua Gu (凤阳花鼓) may have been composed as far back as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). It comes from Fengyang County in Anhui Province, and is said to have been sung by people affected by floods in that region as part of asking for donations to recover their living. 左手锣右手鼓手拿着锣鼓 …
Jasmine Flower (茉莉花) (handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 4-)
The Chinese folk song Mo Li Hua (茉莉花) dates back to the 18th century, and is one of the most popular Chinese tunes of all time. The title translates “jasmine flower”. Our arrangement is Level 4-, which means your ensemble will have lots of fun playing it. It’s also a great selection for concert repertoire, …
