Jul 20

The God of Abraham Praise (LEONI) – Eight handbells, Standard version

The God of Abraham Praise is a Hebrew hymn from before the 18th century. The lyrics offer a glorious picture of what it’s like to worship God where He is, and draw us to bow before Him in humility. Our “standard” arrangement for eight handbells will be welcome addition to your repertoire!

The God of Abraham praise, / Who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days / And God of love.
Jehovah, great I Am! / By earth and heaven confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name / Forever blest.

He by himself has sworn; / I on his oath depend.
I shall, on eagle wings up borne, / To heaven ascend.
I shall behold his face; / I shall his power adore
And sing the wonders of his grace / Forever more.

The goodly land I see, / With peace and plenty blest;
A land of sacred liberty / And endless rest.
There mild and honey flow, / And oil and wine abound,
And trees of life forever grow / With mercy crowned.

There dwells the Lord our king, / The Lord our righteousness,
Triumphant over the world and sin, / The Prince of Peace.
On Zion’s sacred height / His kingdom he maintains
And glorious with his saints in light / Forever reigns.

The whole triumphant host / Give thanks to God on high.
“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” / They ever cry.
Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! / I join the heavenly lays:
All might and majesty are thine / And endless praise!


Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment/instrumental score(s), if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

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Jul 20

I Love to Tell the Story (HANKEY) – Eight handbells, “Surprisingly Easy”™ version

Telling others of God’s gift of His Son is part of the Christian life. Kate Hankey wrote the lyrics and G.F Fischer composed the music to form the beautifully-written hymn I Love to Tell the Story. Our “Surprisingly Easy”™ arrangement for eight handbells brings that story in music!

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat
what seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
the message of salvation from God’s own Holy Word.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting to hear it, like the rest.
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
’twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.


Jul 08

Forever Autumn (Handbells, 5 octaves, plus handchimes 3 octaves, Level 4+)

Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass wrote Forever Autumn about the loneliness that follows lost love. Its lyrics compare the departure of a beloved one to the falling leaves and chill of autumn. The permanence of that loss inspires the title. Our arrangement for five octaves of handbells (plus optional D8) and three octaves of handchimes is Level 4+. Your ensemble will have a wonderful time playing it!


Jun 21

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (BLAENWERN) (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

God is so great and so incredible that His love is overwhelming. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling reminds us that His care for us is beyond anything we could expect or hope for, and His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is beyond comprehensibility. This new arrangement will inspire your handbell choir!

Love Divine, all loves excelling / Joy of heaven to earth come down
Fix in us thy humble dwelling / All thy faithful mercies crown
Jesus, thou art all compassion / Pure unbounded love thou art
Visit us with thy salvation / Enter every trembling heart.

Come, Almighty to deliver, / Let us all thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never, / Never more thy temples leave.
>Thee we would be always blessing, / Serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray and praise thee without ceasing, / Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, thy new creation; / Pure and spotless let us be.
>Let us see thy great salvation / Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory, / Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee, / Lost in wonder, love, and praise.


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 to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

May 28

Cantai

The folks at the Turing Opera Workshop are developing a new plugin that generates audio from a vocal line in a score. By this, I mean it actually creates a track that sounds like people are singing what’s written!

Sometimes, it does take a bit of work to get Cantai to say what you want it to say. That’s because it’s a work in progress, and singing in English is an especially quirky experience, because something like 20% of the words are irregular. For example, imagine the challenge of programming software that can handle correctly all the words ending in “ough”. You know: rough, cough, through, though, bough, etc.

If you’re interested, we have a list of the Choraegus songs that have been rendered via Cantai.

May 21

Two accompanied duets!

Thanks to the EKCO Ringers, we now have video of two of our duets, Danse Macabre and Eagle Wings!

Danse Macabre, by Camille St. Säens, depicts a spooky, nightmarish scene. It’s a Halloween favorite. Eagle Wings is an arrangement of an original song based on Isaiah 40:31.

May 12

Jesus Loves the Little Children – Eight handbells

Many of you remember singing Jesus Loves the Little Children from a while back. Maybe that was in Sunday School, or children’s church, or even a baptismal service.

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world,
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

And in case you want somewhat more inclusive lyrics, there are alternatives that others have created:

Every color, every race, all are covered by His grace.

or

Stranger, friend, and neighbour too, He loves them as He loves you.

(But it sounds the same in handbells, no matter which version you prefer!)


May 07

LAND OF REST – Eight handbells

The American folk tune LAND OF REST is paired with a number of hymn texts; this lyric matches the tune name particularly well.

Jerusalem, my happy home,
when shall I come to thee?
When will my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys, when shall I see?

O happy harbor of the saints,
O sweet and pleasant soil!
In thee no sorrow may be found,
no grief, no care, no toil.

Thy saints are crowned with glory great;
they see God face to face;
they triumph still, they still rejoice;
most happy is their case.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
God grant that I may see
thine endless joy, and of the same
partaker ever be!

Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment/instrumental score(s), if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

Apr 15

White Christmas (Handbells, 5-7 octaves, and handchimes, 2 octaves, plus optional flute, Level 4-)

This new handbell arrangement of Irving Berlin’s holiday classic White Christmas will add a special touch to your Christmas program. It’s scored for five to seven octaves with optional flute, and will have your audience singing along!

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow…

White Christmas is available from Sheet Music Plus!

Mar 13

Simple Gifts – Eight handbells, Standard version 2!

Shaker songs are fantastically good as eight-bell music! “‘Tis a gift to be simple”, yes… but our eight-bell arrangements Simple Gifts are a lot of fun to play. Today we’re publishing our second “standard” eight-bell version of this hymn!

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.


Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment/instrumental score(s), if part of the purchase) – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.