In England, it’s important to have bells at your wedding; if you don’t, many think it’s bad luck. So if you’re fortunate enough to book a church with a functioning bell tower, you can request the services of the local tower ringers to bless your new life. There, however, are ceremonies where there’s no carillon …
Category: International Music
Jan 01
Happy 2022, and Thank You!
Happy New Year! It’s time for celebration and a bit of relaxing and making resolutions… uh, okay. Maybe not all of those. Many of us have had a difficult year, and are hoping the next trip around the sun is more user-friendly than the one that’s just ended. We hope you have some optimism, however …
Dec 01
Happy Birthday to Us!
Thank you to those of you who have purchased and played our music! We’ve enjoyed seeing your videos, and have sometimes even been able to been there to see you from the audience. We appreciate having a part in your performances, and even more, in your ministries. Perhaps it underscores the thought that we’re all …
Skye Boat Song (eight handbells and piano)
The soothing, plaintive Skye Boat Song is about Prince Charles’ escape to the Isle of Skye after his defeat in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Imagine a defeated leader departing the battleground, seeking safety by crossing the water, and hoping to fight another day. In church services, this melody is matched with the hymn …
Oct 11
We have an add-on flute part for Ding Dong, Merrily on High!
Some years ago, Carla and I created an accompanied eight-bell arrangement of Ding Dong, Merrily on High. Well, that was so much fun that when we were preparing to perform a miniconcert with Gary and Martha Matthews, we added a flute part so that Martha, flutist extraordinaire, could be part of the fun – and …
Somebody Loves Me (Handbells, 5-7 octaves, Level 5)
Somebody Loves Me, a joyous song by Buddy DeSylva, Ballard MacDonald, and George Gershwin entered the public domain in 2020. It’s our pleasure to bring our handbell arrangement of it to you! Somebody loves me, I wonder who, I wonder who she can be, Somebody needs me, I wish that I knew Who she can …
Aug 16
Wexford Carol – for sixteen handbells
Wexford Carol is a traditional Irish Christmas song from long ago (historians put its origin in the 15th or 16th century). It’s unusual in that the melody has some wonderful accidentals. This arrangement for sixteen handbells sets the melody line in mysterious, mildly (and pleasantly!) dissonant chords reflective of a lone singer wandering on the …
Rule, Brittania! – Eight handbells
Our eight-bell arrangement of Rule, Brittania! was one of the pieces used by Inspiration International to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 60th Jubilee. Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Standard Version: ”Dual-Range”™ Score Package: $ US G5-based practice track: $ US F5-based practice track: $ US This arrangement is also …
May 13
All Things Bright and Beautiful (ROYAL OAK) – for eight handbells and piano
Our piano-accompanied eight-handbell arrangement of All Things Bright and Beautiful works well with two, three, or four ringers, and will give your accompanist some fun besides! All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. The eight bells in the score are accompanied …
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
The children’s song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star has been around for a long, long time. The tune, “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman”, dates back to seventeenth-century France. You might also know it as “The Alphabet Song”, or “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”; if you took your first music lessons under the Suzuki method, this probably was the …
