G.F. Handel spent some years in England, and at one point wrote music for King George I that was to be played not just at, but on (a barge on) the River Thames. He create three such suites of music, and many of the pieces therefrom are played today frequently. Standard Version: ”Dual-Range”™ Score Package: …
Category: Handbells
Crown Him with Many Crowns (DIADEMATA) – Eight handbells
Jesus Christ is so incredibly far above everything else in this universe that He deserves all of our love and worship. The hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns gives a small idea of what this means, but His greatness still exceeds any description we can muster. It’s fitting that it’s set to the hymn tune …
May 15
Take the Name of Jesus with You – the Standard Eight-Bell Version!
Sometimes we release the “Surprisingly Easy”™ version of an eight-bell score really quickly, and then it takes a bit longer to arrange or learn the “standard” (whatever that actually means) arrangement. Sometimes it happens in the other order, too – it often just depends on which one came together properly first. Take the Name of …
Apr 26
Finlandia
There seems to be no end to the repertoire that can be put into eight handbells. That’s good – we wouldn’t want to run out of possibilities! This time, we have a classical piece to share. Jean Sibelius wrote his Finlandia as a protest against the Russian Empire that wanted to take over Finland in …
Sibelius – Finlandia – Eight handbells
Sibelius composed Finlandia as a musical protest against the Russian Empire. The entire work is a majestic presentation that tells the story of the Finnish struggle against tyranny. It’s full of musical pictures of what that part of history was like. Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning, the threat of night has now been …
Apr 08
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
Larry and Carla are part of Inspiration International, a UK handbell ensemble whose purpose is to take handbell music into the lives of people who sometimes feel forgotten by society. Since two of the members are in the USA, it’s a challenge for the three to get together to play. So when Larry and Carla …
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton – Twelve handbells
There’s written poetry, and there’s musical poetry. In Flow Gently, Sweet Afton, verse by Robert Burns weds a tune by Jonathan Spilman to become this arrangement, played by Inspiration International. It also is known as the hymn As Rain from the Clouds. Flow gently, sweet Afton! amang thy green braes, Flow gently, I’ll sing thee …
As With Gladness Men of Old (DIX) – Eight handbells
As you many know, this Christmas carol is sung to the hymn tune DIX (named for its composer, William Chatterton Dix), which also is used for our eight-handbell arrangement of the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth. Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your …
Apr 03
Two Titles for One Score!
As you know, many (hymn) tunes are used for more than one set of lyrics. HYFRYDOL, for instance, shows up many times, and often several times in the same hymnal! We have a new eight-handbell score based on the hymn tune DIX, which doubles as the music for For the Beauty of the Earth and …
Mar 29
The “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” for Sixteen Handbells
In February, we made a trip to England to see friends and family. Alan and Gay Cooper were a couple of those friends; in fact, the four of us together comprise the Pizzazz Handbell Quartet. We spent an evening together, and managed to make a rehearsal video of our new sixteen-handbell arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping …
