I arranged “Danny Boy”/”Londonderry Air” for bass handbells over twenty years ago, and after a run at a Silicon Valley retirement facility, finally dared to play in public at the 2004 Area 12 conferences. Unfortunately, technology of the time didn’t give us an easy way to make even a scruffy video of what happened then. …
Tag: popular music
Popular music is loosely defined by the phrase "not classical". It's the (usually non-church) music that's contemporary for a given time period, and often is associated with the best-known performers of the times.
Winter Dance (Handbells, 7 octaves plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 4)
Seiichi Kyoda composed this wonderful piece. His group Uttara-Kuru performed Winter Dance with a synthesis of traditional Japanese instruments (shakuhachi, koto, etc.) and electronica. The picture is of the citizens of a remote village celebrating life with a community dance. Note: This is the score version for Distinctly Bronze West 2024 Handbells (7 octaves) plus …
Jan 15
Mack the Knife (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 5)
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill wrote Mack the Knife in 1928 for the Threepenny Opera. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitgerald, and Bobby Darin performed it, guaranteeing its place in our music social awareness. It’s such a happy, bouncy song that you’d hardly know it was talking about a hit man. But the legend lives on, and …
Mack the Knife (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 5)
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill wrote Mack the Knife in 1928 for the Threepenny Opera. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bobby Darin performed it, guaranteeing its place in our music social awareness. It’s such a happy, bouncy song that you’d hardly know it was talking about a hit man. But the legend lives on, and …
Jan 10
Mahler Swing (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 5)
I fell in love with Mahler’s symphonies a long time ago. They’re gigantic works which stretch the limits (so far…) of how musical expression can be built. As of the twentieth century, they represent the pinnacle of orchestral composing. Mahler’s first symphony is about an hour in length (around three times the length of Mozart’s …
Those Were the Days (Handbells, five to seven octaves, Level 3+)
We’re excited to have permission to arrange the Gene Raskin song Those Were the Days which was recorded by Mary Hopkin in 1968. It’s based on the Russian song “Дорогой длинною” (Dorogoi dlinnoyu, literally “by the long road”). In today’s popular music framework, it’s about youth and celebrating great times. Handbells (five to seven octaves), …
The Entertainer, arr. Paul Kingsbury (Bass Handbells)
Paul Kingsbury, the longtime Pit Captain of the Bay View Week of Handbells bass team, has arranged The Entertainer by Scott Joplin for the bucket brigade! Subtitled “Six Feet Under”, it offers a fun challenge, especially if you have everything down to G1! Ensemble version (up to eight ringers): $ US Single copy version (one …
Tico tico no fubá (Handbells, 5-7 octaves plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 5+)
Tico tico no fubá is a truly exciting Brazilian piece written by Zequinha de Abreu. You’ll dance to this arrangement… but remember that you have bells to play too! 🙂 We also have some terrific percussion parts, created by Alex Guebert, for guiro, maracas, cabasa, tamborim, and claves! Handbells (five, six, or seven octaves) plus …
LDZ Arrangements – Yes, We Have No Bananas
Yes, We Have No Bananas, by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn, was rumored to have been an amalgamation of quotes from other tunes. For instance, the first four notes of the melody match the Hallelujah Chorus, the next bit is “oh, bring back my bonnie to me”, and there apparently is a rather chromatic piece …
LDZ Arrangements – By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon, he classic song by Gus Edwards and Edward Madden from 1909 (yes, that far back!) comes to life in this happy, bouncy eight-bell arrangement. You’ll have loads of fun playing it! Place park, scene dark, silvery moon is shining through the trees; Cast two, me, you, sound of …
