We premiered our arrangement of Smiles by Lee S. Roberts and J. Will Callahan at the 2023 Bay View Week of Handbells. Smiles came into being in 1917 or 1918 at Mr. Callahan’s Bay View cottage; the bit of Michigan woodland next to the cottage that Callahan formerly owned commemorates the occasion with a sign. …
Category: Handbell Ensemble
Jun 24
A Sparrow on Christmas Morning (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 3+)
Otto Kotilainen’s Finnish carol A Sparrow on Christmas Morning tells the story of a sparrow that has exhausted his summer food supply. In danger of starving in the winter cold, he visits a young girl who offers him a seed to eat. The sparrow gratefully accepts the offer, and then reveals that he, her deceased …
A Sparrow on Christmas Morning (Handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 3 octaves, Level 3+)
Otto Kotilainen’s Finnish carol A Sparrow on Christmas Morning tells the story of a sparrow that has exhausted his summer food supply. In danger of starving in the winter cold, he visits a young girl who offers him a seed to eat. The sparrow gratefully accepts the offer, and then reveals that he, her deceased …
Jun 15
Oh, How I Love Jesus – for eight handbells
The tune OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS is a simple one; its composer is unknown. It’s been sung for quite a long time as a gentle expression of faith in Christ for young children and mature adults. We hope you’ll enjoy playing our arrangement for eight handbells! There is a name I love to hear, …
Home on the Range (Eight handbells)
Home on the Range is an American cowboy song romanticizing life in the old West. You know… riding horses, herding cattle, sleeping under the stars, and sitting by the campfire at night. There are some of us who think about how much easier that would be than working in the big city with its manic …
Jun 12
Home on the (Free) Range!
Home on the Range is an American cowboy song romanticizing life in the old West. You know… riding horses, herding cattle, sleeping under the stars, and sitting by the campfire at night. There are some of us who think about how much easier that would be than working in the big city with its manic …
Jun 11
Why do each of us hold our bells differently?
If you’ve watched our eight-bell videos, you may have noticed that Carla and I hold our handbells in different ways. The handbell terminology is that she’s using “British four-in-hand”, while I’m using “American four-in-hand”, which is also known as “ring and knock”. The difference will always be there, because we each are sticking with what …
Jun 06
New 3-octave Christmas music!
Handbell folks find it’s never too early to start thinking about what we’re going to play for the Christmas (technically, Advent + Christmas + Epiphany) season. The world around us associated handbells with Christmas, so we have to be ready to play in church, at Christmas parties, and even outdoor events such as parades. Today …
Jun 04
Our first US duet performance
Many of you know that Carla and I (Larry) were in a long-distance relationship between California and England for several years. After getting engaged in 2011, we worked on getting her a fiancée visa; it was approved in time for August 2012 to be the Month of One-Way Plane Tickets. I flew from California to …
Sleigh Ride (Mozart, Drei Deutsche Tänze, No. 3) – Sixteen handbells
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the exceptional musical geniuses of all time, started composing music when he was just four years old, and has had a lasting influence ever since then. He composed Drei Deutsche Tänze (“Three German Dances”) in 1791; the third dance in this suite bears the nickname “Sleigh Ride” (not to be …
