This lovely hymn tune was written by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Here’s our handbell arrangement for three or five octaves of handbells plus three octaves of handchimes. 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 …
Tag: handbell choir
A handbell choir is an ensemble of handbell musicians, each of whom usually has a specific subset of the entire set of bells assigned to them. The group members play the entire score by their combined efforts via a unique type of teamwork where expression and musicality are dependent on the ensemble members fusing their efforts to form a greater whole.
The sets of handbells played by handbell choirs vary in size, usually stated as an integral number of octaves. For instance, a three-octave bell choir uses notes from C4 to C7, while a seven-octave choir plays C2-C9.
Handbell choirs also use additional instruments, the most notable being handchimes. Handchimes bring a different sound to the mix, and are used for effect and contrast. Other ancillary instruments include, flute, trumpet, clarinet, and percussion; of the percussion family, the cajón is perhaps one of the more popular recent additions.
Jan 10
Gaudete! (Handbells, 3-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 3-4 octaves, Level 4+)
Here’s our new arrangement of this sixteenth-century Christmas song! It’s scored for three to eight octaves of handbells plus three or four octaves of handchimes – and if you have a percussionist, there also is a cajón part! Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen …
Oct 14
Gesu Bambino (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves with piano, Level 3)
Gesu Bambino (“the Christ Child”) is a Nativity song from 1917. It’s a lullaby for the Child, but also a call to worship for all others as He awaits them at the Bethlehem manger. Pietro A. Yon, the composer, created the melody so that it would mesh perfectly with VENITE ADOREMUS (“O come, let us …
Oct 07
Jesus, Good Above All Other (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 2+)
Jesus is good, and wonderful, and holy, and well… He’s God. What else could He ever be? This is a relatively simple arrangement of the gentle hymn Jesus, Good Above All Other. Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing …
Sep 30
Praise the Lord, Sing Hallelujah (PRAISE JEHOVAH) (Handbells, 3-5 octaves, Level 2+)
God is in charge of everything. He created the universe, and it’s only because of His power that it all holds together. Yet He’s interested in each of our lives, and even about the smallest things we do. He knows how many hairs we have on our heads, and accounts for each sparrow and tree. …
Aug 30
Somebody Loves Me (Handbells, 5-7 octaves, Level 5)
This joyous song by Buddy DeSylva, Ballard MacDonald, and George Gershwin entered the public domain in 2020. It’s our pleasure to bring our handbell arrangement of it to you! Somebody loves me, I wonder who, I wonder who she can be, Somebody needs me, I wish that I knew Who she can be worries me. …
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 12
The Lord is My Shepherd (POLAND) for handbell choir
Caroline Harnly, a longtime friend and director of the San Francisco State University Handbell Choir, commissioned this arrangement of the POLAND hymn tune in honor of her mother. It’s for four to five octaves of handbells plus two octaves of handchimes, and is Level 3. Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission …
Aug 05
A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth (AN WASSERFLÜSSEN BABYLON) (Handbells, 3-5 octaves plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 3-)
The hymn tune AN WASSERFLÜSSEN BABYLON dates from the sixteenth century. It’s from the Strassburger Kirchenant of 1525. We’ve found it to be a bit of an earworm, probably because of its harmonies. We hope you enjoy playing our Level 3- arrangement for three to five octaves of handbells. A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, The …
Jul 12
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (BEECHER) (Handbells, 3-5 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 3+)
God is so great and so incredible that His love is overwhelming. His care for us is beyond anything we could expect or hope for, and His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is beyond comprehensibility. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our arrangement for handbell choir! Love Divine, all loves excelling / Joy of heaven …