Christina Rossetti wrote this poem in 1885. It traditionally has been set to the Irish traditional tune GARTAN. This arrangement for eight handbells and piano expresses her words quietly and peacefully. Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine, Love was born at Christmas, Star and Angels gave the sign. Worship we the …
Tag: Christmas
Christmas is traditionally celebrated on December 25th as the remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2).
Liturgically, Christmas is twelve days in length (hence the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"), ending on Epiphany (also known as Three Kings' Day).
Churches and celebrants who choose to be less precisely liturgical rejoice with Christmas music (and Epiphany music!) all the way through Advent as well. The important thing is to rejoice, of course.
Sep 20
Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen – for eight handbells
The title of this traditional Swiss Christmas carol translates as “Unto us a time has come”. It’s from the canton of Lucerne, and traditionally has been sung by Epiphany singers (groups that wear costumes appropriate to the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem). Our eight-bell arrangement of this carol will share the joy of the …
Sep 14
Jul, Jul Strålande Jul (Christmas, Glorious Christmas) – for eight handbells
The Swedish carol Jul, Jul Strålande Jul draws a picture of Christmas with gentle snowfall outdoors, and happy families indoors. We heard this thoughtful Swedish carol at a local orchestral concert, and thought you’d like to play our arrangement for eight handbells. Jul, jul, strålande jul, glans över vita skogarHimmelens kronor med gnistrande ljusGlimmande bågar …
Sep 03
Away in a Manger (NORMANDY) – accompanied handbell duet
Our handbell duet Away in a Manger is an arrangement of the slightly less familiar NORMANDY tune. It still is lovely and thoughtful… just in a different way. This duet score is relatively easy, but expressive in the spirit of the melody. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus …
Aug 24
Hooray! We have a new video of Sing We Now of Christmas
We have a new clone video of our three-to-five-octave arrangement of Sing We Now of Christmas (aka Now the Green Blade Riseth)! This arrangement was written for the Carillon Choir of the Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan.
Aug 16
Wexford Carol – for sixteen handbells
Wexford Carol is a traditional Irish Christmas song from long ago (historians put its origin in the 15th or 16th century). It’s unusual in that the melody has some wonderful accidentals. This arrangement for sixteen handbells sets the melody line in mysterious, mildly (and pleasantly!) dissonant chords reflective of a lone singer wandering on the …
Mar 08
For the Beauty of the Earth (DIX) (Handbells, 3-5 octaves plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 3-)
When we published our arrangement of For the Beauty of the Earth (hymn tune DIX) a while back, we know it would be fun to play. Now that we’ve figured out how to make “clone” videos of larger-scale pieces, we have a new video to show how it really sounds on handbells! This piece is …
Dec 24
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Choraegus
The snow started falling this morning at our place. Millions of tiny bits of ice surround us, and we’re safe and warm inside. Shoveling awaits… It’s the end of 2020, and as we’ve had a fairly wild December, we’ve decided to take a break from our rather manic two-a-week publication pace and get a little …
Dec 10
Away in a Manger (MURRAY) – Twelve-Handbell Version
We’ve been having fun recording some of our twelve- and sixteen-handbell arrangements so that you can see and hear them with actual bells. Here’s our twelve-bell arrangement of Away in a Manger (the hymn tune most often heard in the USA, by James Murray). Purchasing this 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain …
Dec 07
From a Distant Home – with video now!
We’ve been revisiting some of the twelve- and sixteen-bell scores that we didn’t manage to record earlier. One of them is From a Distant Home for sixteen handbells. We had lots of fun putting the video together! Purchasing this 16-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to eight copies for your handbell …