[Tomorrow Shall Be] My Dancing Day tells the story of salvation from Christ’s point of view. This makes the lyrics a bit mystical, because it draws in quite a lot of soteriological (soteriology = “doctrine of salvation”) in the form of Biblical references. However, it presents these references charmingly, because they’re all focused on the …
Category: Church Music
Oct 20
In the Bleak Midwinter (CRANHAM) (Handbells, 2 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 2)
The poem often comes first… Christina Rosetti wrote the words for Scribner’s Monthly in 1872, and then a few years later (1906, to be precise), Gustav Holst set her verse to music. The result: In the Bleak Midwinter, one of the most reflective and well-loved of all Christmas songs. We have a new Level 2 …
O Little Town of Bethlehem (FOREST GREEN) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)
The Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem reflects the quiet joy of the Savior’s birth. This arrangement is of the hymn tune FOREST GREEN, the melody more often used for Phillip Brooks’ lyric. O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go …
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (OLD CORNISH CAROL) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 3-)
[Tomorrow Shall Be] My Dancing Day tells the story of salvation from Christ’s point of view. This makes the lyrics a bit mystical, because it draws in quite a lot of soteriological (soteriology = “doctrine of salvation”) in the form of Biblical references. However, it presents these references charmingly, because they’re all focused on the …
Sep 30
Sussex Carol (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 3)
This traditional English Christmas Sussex Carol is also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”. The arrangement we see in our hymnals is almost certainly the one written by Ralph Vaughan Williams… but the unharmonized tune is far older than that. We know you’ll enjoy playing our arrangement for two octaves of handbells! On …
Sussex Carol (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 3)
This traditional English Christmas Sussex Carol is also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”. The arrangement we see in our hymnals is almost certainly the one written by Ralph Vaughan Williams… but the unharmonized tune is far older than that. On Christmas night all Christians sing To hear what news those angels bring; …
Sep 26
Lo, How a Rose – “Surprisingly Easy”™ version for eight handbells
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 “standard” eight-bell arrangement of …
Sep 23
Still, Still, Still (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2)
The Christmas lullaby Still, Still, Still reminds us that the Christ Child sleeps, and that He sleeps under the watchful eyes of the angels of heaven. Our Level 2 arrangement for two octaves fits a smaller group if you find yourself short on Christmas Eve ringers, and can be prepared relatively quickly. Still, still, still, …
Sep 11
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow (Handbells, 3/5 octaves, Level 3)
We have a new arrangement of the spiritual Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow for three or five octaves of handbells today! Your handbell choir will have a blast playing it; you can enhance the fun by adding a cajón to the mix! CALL RESPONSE Oh, there’s a star in the East on Christmas morn It …
Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow (Handbells, 3/5 octaves, Level 3)
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 …
