Author's posts
Aug 15
Sixteen Bells and Michigan
We’ve added a new sixteen-handbell score to our catalog, Prelude No. 1 from J.S. Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier”. You can play it as a four-in-hand quartet (as friends from Bells of the Sound demonstrate in their video), or you can gather as many as eight musicians to play it. Take a look! * * * We’re …
Aug 10
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Today, we’re releasing our new eight-handbell arrangement of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. It’s a great piece with which to start the new season, especially if you’d like to give your full-size bell choir a bit of additional time to prepare their first piece for service. Do take a look, and pick up the …
Aug 04
Wrong Foot Forward
We’ve just released our arrangement of “Wrong Foot Forward”, a new generation Irish jig by Brian Finnegan and Sarah Allen of the band Flook. It’s on their album “Haven” – and it’s a lot of fun! You might ask yourself why Brian and Sarah chose this title. Well… there are two kinds of Irish jigs. …
Jul 19
And Here’s Some New Twelve-Bell Music!
We’ve just added seven new twelve-handbell arrangements to our catalog! You can play these as anything between a four-in-hand trio to a sextet of ringers with two bells each. And they’re fun, because they’re a bit challenging (well, okay, some of them are just plain challenging!) – but if you practice, you’ll find they have …
Jul 14
Summer Doldrums?
It’s summer, and most of us are in off-season mode. That, of course, is because we traditionally synchronize our handbell (or choir) year to when folks are in town, so that means mid-August to mid-June. When we think of playing bells during the summer, we call around to see who’s available, and see whether we …
Jun 25
Yay! A new collection!
We’ve been excited that our handbell musician friends have liked our “Surprisingly Easy”™ music, especially the collections. We’ve heard lots of stories of how our arrangements have found a home with duets, trios, and quartets. We’ve also seen some really nice videos too! The news this week is that we’ve added a second “Surprisingly Easy”™ …
Jun 20
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Difficult times provide opportunities for all-too-rare people to show incredible character. I’ve been following the news a bit in the wake of the church shootings in Charleston – a horrific crime and tremendous injustice – and have been amazed at how the folks at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church are willing to offer forgiveness …
Jun 14
New Music – Greensleeves!
Today we’re releasing our eight-bell arrangement of the English tune “Greensleeves” (aka “What Child is This?” for the Christmas-minded)! The video we’ve posted, of course, is a complete play-through of the piece, and has a squirrel as a bonus (just after the one-minute mark, if you’re watching for it). We really think you’ll like this …
Jun 02
Collaboration in King of Prussia…
As part of our concert with Philadelphia Bronze, we took advantage of our opportunity to work with Martha Alford, their director, to write a new piece for flute plus eight handbells. It’s titled Silver and Bronze, and has a playful mood. Take a look – we think you’ll enjoy it!
Jun 02
We Had a Great Time in Philly!
We just returned from a terrific weekend in Philadelphia (“just” meaning: “we-had-weather-based-flight-delays-and-had-to-rush-from-gate-to-gate-for-our-connecting-flight-and-had-a-shuttle-driver-who-was-trying-to-find-his-last-passenger-for-our-ride-home-and-didn’t-get-back-until-2:30-a.m.” … but who’s counting?). Anyway, the concert we shared with Philadelphia Bronze went beautifully, and we had lots of fun making – and making music with – friends who we’ve mostly known only via social media till now. We’re very thankful for their …
