The hymn tune ENGELBERG has been used with several texts: All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine When in Our Music God is Glorified We Know that Christ is Raised No matter which one you’re singing, it’s an inspiring melody! For 3-5 octaves of handbells and 1 octave of handchimes Level 2+ Preview: …
Category: Handbell Choir
A Celebration of Our Life (Handbells, 5 octaves plus 3 octaves of handchimes, Level 4)
A California couple commissioned A Celebration of Our Life for their 30th wedding anniversary, and had their church’s handbell choir premiere it when they renewed their vows. Fun abounds in this piece, as it describes parts of their story. For instance: The introductory melody is both thirty beats long and thirty notes long (not counting …
Ye Jazzy Gentlemen (Handbells, 5 octaves plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 4-)
The inspiration to do something interesting hits now and then. This a la Brubeck arrangement “Ye Jazzy Gentlemen” came into being one day, and I sent it to the erstwhile Above the Line Publishing. Rima’s response was “I don’t normally publish Christmas music, but this one’s so cool that I CAN’T not.” NOW it’s available …
A Minor Crash (Handbells, 5-8 octaves plus optional handchimes, Level 4)
We’ve seen the big signs above the freeway: “IN A MINOR CRASH?…” One day Carla said, “You should write a piece about that…”, so I did. This original composition is full of interesting (and interacting!) rhythms. Separately, they’re fairly easy to learn; together; combined, they’re an exciting mix. A set of somewhat simplified pages is …
Kelvingrove (Handbells, 2-3 octaves, Level 2)
KELVINGROVE is an old Scottish tune. Where it appears in hymnals, it usually is under the title “The Summons”. Historically, though, it’s a love song sung by a soldier to his love as he strolls with her one last time before he heads to battle. Here are the first and last verses of the folk …
Islamey (Handbells, 5 octaves plus handchimes, 5 octaves, Level 7*)
Mily Balakirev was the senior member of the “Big Five”, a cadre of Russian nationalist composers (in case you’re wondering, the other four were Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Koraskov, Aleksandr Borodin, and Cesar Cui). Balakirev spent some time exploring the Caucasus region in southern Russia, and came across the “islamey”, a cultural dance that featured lots …
Carla Sue
Carla began playing handbells in England in 1987 as a member of the Wokingham All Saints handbell group. She continued to perform with that group for more than twenty years, and also spent a number of years as a member of the South East Region Bell Orchestra, the Rowland Ringers Ensemble and Hurst Handbell Ringers. …
Licensing Agreement – PLEASE READ
Choraegus Handbell Music Licensing Terms General Permissions | 6 bells | 8 bells | 12 bells | 16 bells | bell choir | solo | small ensemble | SATB choir General Permissions with respect to Performances and Recordings Live (including livestreamed) performance is permitted. For our purposes, “live performance” also includes rehearsals. Personal recordings of …
Forever (Handbells, 5-8 octaves, Level 5)
Forever was commissioned in 2012 by Dee Allaway and her family in memory of her father Walter Dennis Oliver. It’s a grand tribute to a man who brought music to his family as well as others around him. At least five octaves of handbells are necessary to play Forever. You’ll find that there are abundant …
The Final Crossing (Handbells, 3-6 octaves plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 3-)
Many believers have thought of the end of this life as the traversal of a river. “Crossing the Jordan”… “Gathering at the river that leads to the throne of God”… “Meeting on the other shore.” Imagine the clarion call for that final crossing, when those who will be blessed to follow its summons into the …
