There seems to be no end to the repertoire that can be put into eight handbells. That’s good – we wouldn’t want to run out of possibilities!
This time, we have a classical piece to share. Jean Sibelius wrote his Finlandia as a protest against the Russian Empire that wanted to take over Finland in the very late 19th century. It was considered a patriotic work or a subversive device, depending which side you supported.
Today that conflict is past, and Finlandia is regarded as a great classical work. But that’s not all – the last section of the full work is known as the “Finlandia Hymn”, and it has made its way into many churches with Kathrina von Schlegel’s words, entitled Be Still, My Soul. Whether you want to hear or play it as classical music or a hymn, we think you’ll enjoy our eight-bell arrangement.
