Jazz great Cab Calloway had an expression “friskin’ the whiskers”. It’s a reference to the idea of “just gettin’ started”, and is draws a picture of a highly-skilled performer who starts on his set by smoothing his mustache. “Okay, now I’m ready to play.” Friskin’ the Whiskers, a new Level 5 work for five to …
Tag: handbells
Handbells were invented in 17-century England as a practice tool for tower bell ringers. They could then rehearse in warmer and cheerier places than belfries - to wit, the local pubs. At some point, someone noticed that it was possible to play tunes (rather than just "changes") on handbells, and so "tune ringing" began. The music available from Choraegus followed the tune ringing tradition as practiced and performed in the modern era,
Jun 01
A Little Bird Sang to Me…
We’re getting more music out so that you can play it. Klein vogelijn is a Dutch song about a little bird singing in a tree, sharing its God-given gift of music with the world around it. We hope you’ll enjoy playing it!
May 09
Botany Bay
Sorry, no… we’re not taking a trip to Australia at the moment (we’d love to, one day). But we do have some music that’s played in Australia. Today’s new release is Botany Bay, a song that refers to the penal colony Down Under by that name (you might also remember something from one of the …
May 02
Morning Song
We had the privilege of playing the opening concert at an event sponsored by Handbell Musicians of America’s Area 5 on Mackinac Island in April 2018. It was an opportunity for us to get to know and to share with our fellow handbell musicians from the northern Midwest Our arrangement of MORNING SONG was one …
Feb 13
Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
We all go through difficult, unsettling circumstances from time to time. The hymn Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose is one of those reminders that God is in control, and that He can make sense of life when it seems scrambled. Here’s our new twelve-bell arrangement of this hymn!
Jan 22
How Great Thou Art – Twelve Handbells
After a great Christmas season (and a very, very busy December), we’re heading into 2018 with lots of music. Today we’re leading off with our new twelve-bell arrangement of How Great Thou Art. We think you’ll enjoy playing it, and that your church families will love hearing it. It’s available in two versions, one for …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …