The sixteenth-century English tune Ding Dong, Merrily on High is quite popular at Christmas. It reflects the joy of the season, and invites us to share in the joy of heaven at the birth of the Son of God. Here’s our eight-bell arrangement – enjoy! Ding dong merrily on high, In heav’n the bells are …
Category: Choraegus
Nov 13
And now, a second eight-bell version of “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”!
We’ve had an eight-bell version of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (hymn tune CAROL – the one most frequently heard in the USA) for over ten years. It’s one of my personal favorites; however, it does provide a bit of a challenge to the ringers. So… we’ve just published a second, somewhat less difficult, …
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERREN) – Twelve handbells
The title from Joachim Neander’s German 1680 chorale, reads even more impressively in German: Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” has been a church favorite for many years – after all, our very lives depend on God and His infinite power. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, …
Sep 30
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow – Twelve-Handbell Version
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is an African-American Christmas spiritual. It’s about the message that drew the shepherds (well, at least one shepherd) to follow the Christmas star to find the Christ Child. The spiritual is a “call and response” song – one way it’s been done in many Black churches is to have the …
Sep 26
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (ES IST EIN ROS’) (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 1)
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming dates back to sixteenth-century Germany. Its lyric combines the image of Jesus Christ as the Rose of Sharon and the Root of Jesse, plus the traditional impression of celebrating Christmas in winter. It was translated to English by Theodore Baker in the nineteenth century. Our arrangement for three octaves …
Sep 22
Smiles (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 5)(Bay View Week of Handbells 2023)
The song Smiles has a long and wonderful history. T. Will Callahan wrote the lyrics in a Bay View cottage near the end of World War I, and it went on to be a tremendous hit, selling about 5,000,000 print copies (before the existence of public radio, or television, or the internet). The connection to …
Sep 11
Four Twelve-Bell Hanukkah Songs!
A friend asked if we could come up with some twelve-bell music for Hanukkah. We’re happy to say that we found four songs that worked nicely! Hanukkah, O Hanukkah – a lively, happy song about the Jewish Festival of Lights, the annual holiday commemorating the miracle of God’s provision and sustenance. The symbol for this …
Aug 14
Escape from No-Note Island, for five to seven octaves of handbells, Level 5
Here’s the story behind this new original handbell composition, Escape from No-Note Island: Handbell compositions are usually written for note ranges that constitute complete octaves of bells. Having this agreed-on convention between manufacturers, composers, publishers, and performers makes it easier to maintain consistency within the ringing art. For instance, “five octaves” refers to the range …
Aug 07
The Twelve Days of Christmas – for handbell trio!
The Twelve Days of Christmas has been a holiday favorite for a long time, so much so that there’s an annual update about the cost of a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens… For the dedicated true love person, it details a serious financial enterprise! Our arrangement for handbell trio, …
Jul 24
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (Handbells, 3 octaves, Level 2)
Every Christmas bring the wonder of the Christ Child in the manger – it’s the mystery of God coming to live among us on earth. Here’s our new arrangement of Infant Holy, Infant Lowly for three octaves of handbells. It also works really well on chimes! Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle …
