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 …
Tag: original work
Most of the music scores at Choraegus were written by Larry Sue, who started Choraegus as a means of getting them before the public and making them available to musicians worldwide. Most are arrangements of existing source material (such as hymns and classical music), but there are a number which are completely original works.
Jan 16
Squirrels
Now and then I’m hit with a flight of whimsy, and often that manifests itself on music paper (or my screen). We have lots of wildlife in our neighborhood, and squirrels are one of the liveliest. They’re completely carefree as well as being random. So I wrote a piece, Squirrels, for three or five octaves …
Apr 25
Squirrels (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)
Our garden has lots of large trees. With those trees come many lively, carefree squirrels. They’re a bit like the sparrows Jesus talked about – they don’t worry about things, because God provides for them. I think the Father above knows when even the smallest, cutest squirrel drops to the ground, too. This original piece …
Apr 18
Home at Last (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, Level 4+)
I wrote several dozen choral pieces for Living Water, my choir at Valley Church of Cupertino. It occurred to me that some of those songs might be reworked into handbell pieces. Home at Last is the first one to be arranged. Today we have a new video of the handbell arrangement to share with you! …
Apr 11
Forever (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, Level 5) – new video!
Forever was commissioned in 2012 by Dee Allaway and her family in memory of her father Walter Dennis Oliver. It’s a grand tribute to a man who brought music to his family as well as others around him. At least five octaves of handbells are necessary to play Forever. You’ll find that there are abundant …
Apr 04
New video for A Celebration of Our Life – for Handbells, 5 octaves, and handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 4
A California couple commissioned A Celebration of Our Life for their 30th wedding anniversary, and had their church’s handbell choir premiere it when they renewed their vows. We’re pleased to share our new video of this piece, and hope that you’ll have something to celebrate when you play it! Purchasing the handbell choir version of …
Mar 07
Snow (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 1+)
I love living in Michigan. The rotation of the seasons give me something to love every month, and something fresh to do every three months. Okay… mowing in the spring and summer, raking in the autumn, and shoveling in the winter. But it’s exercise, and I’m in better shape for it! In the handbell world, …
Feb 21
We have a new video for Rescue (for handbell choir, 3 to 7 octaves)!
We published Rescue, an original handbell piece for three to seven octaves, some time ago. Now we’ve made a new video! Rescue draws a picture of a bit of the composer’s own life story… but while the details aren’t shared here, perhaps you can think of a time when your own path was dark and …
Feb 14
Five (handbells, 3-5 octaves, Level 2+)
We’ve produced a new five-octave video of Five, our (Larry and Carla’s) fifth-anniversary handbell piece. It’s Level 2+, and you’ll have fun looking for all the “fives” written into the score! Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the …
Feb 03
Newness (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 1)
The Bible tells us to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). It’s all about the beauty and joy of a redeemed soul experiencing God’s love and guidance from day to day and minute to minute. This original piece depicts how that newness feels. We’ve had this original handbell work in Level 2/3 form for …