Jun 21

Kum Ba Yah (Handbells, 2 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

Kum Ba Yah is an African-American spiritual, most likely dating back to the eighteenth or nineteenth century. The first known recording of it dates back to 1926, and was a pretty upbeat version of the song that, since then, has become a more prayerful meditation. The phrase “kum ba yah” is a linguistic variation of “come by here”, a plea for God to be near to provide comfort and hope. Our arrangement for two octaves of handbells is suitable for a quiet moment in your church service.

Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah;
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah;
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah;
O Lord, kum ba yah.

Someone’s singin’, my Lord, kum ba yah…

Someone’s cryin’, my Lord, kum ba yah…

Someone’s prayin’, my Lord, kum by yah…

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Jun 19

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (JESUS, MEINE FREUDE) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

Johann Franck wrote I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say in the 17th century. The music for his hymn is unusual, because it has a minor key verse and major key refrain. The contrast reflects on how the difficulties of life (minor key) are answered by the love of the Savior (major key). Our two-octave arrangement of this hymn is Level 2+.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give
the living water, thirsty one; stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s light.
Look unto me; your morn shall rise and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk till trav’ling days are done.

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Jun 17

How Great Thou Art (O STORE GUD) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

Worshipers love the grandness of the Swedish hymn How Great Thou Art by Carl Gustav Boberg. English-speaking congregants have had the joy of singing it because of Stuart Hine’s translation work. Here’s our two-octave arrangement of this famous hymn.

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

 O store Gud, när jag den verld beskådar
Som du har skapat med ditt allmaktsord,
Hur der din visdom leder lifvets trådar,
Och alla väsen mättas vid ditt bord.

Då brister själen
ut i lofsångsljud:
O store Gud!
O store Gud!”

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

May 30

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (NETTLETON) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

John Wyeth or Asahel Nettleton wrote the hymn tune NETTLETON back in 1813, and the message of the lyrics that are set to it continue to comfort and inspire Christians today. We have a new two-octave arrangement of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing that’s a very accessible Level 2+. We hope you enjoy playing it!

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

May 09

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (LANDÅS) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place elegantly states the key truth of salvation: It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.” No effort on our part will make a difference either way, because all we need to do is put our trust in Him. Our new arrangement for just two octaves of handbells is well-suited to the smaller handbell ensemble, and would also work well for those times when you need a piece that will come together relatively quickly.

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device, nor creed;
I trust the ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Apr 24

Banana Passacaglia (handbells, 3 or 5 octaves, Level 4)

One day on Facebook, a post appeared:
Replace one word in the title with “banana.” What’s your favorite handbell piece?

With one reply being:
Banana Passacaglia

And then:
I would like for Larry Sue to get to work on this immediately.

So, to make a not-so-long story short, it took a couple of days to write this “passacaglia”, and a couple of additional days for us to record it!

The nature of the piece means that there’s a joke coming along at some point. A fun suggestion would be to ask audience members to raise their hands when they get it!

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Apr 19

Now Thank We All Our God (NUN DANKET) (Handbells, two octaves, Level 3-)

In the U.S., Now Thank We All Our God is one of the hymns that makes an annual appearance in November (because of the national Thanksgiving holiday, of course)… but it really can (should?) be played all year round! Today, we have a new arrangement of this hymn for two octaves of handbells!

“Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

“O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,
To keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills of this world in the next.

“All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven
The one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.”

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Apr 12

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (LAUDA ANIMA) (Handbells, two octaves, Level 2+)

The hymn tune LAUDA ANIMA was written by John Goss in 1868, and is married wonderfully with the lyric Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven. Our arrangement of this hymn for two octaves of handbells is from the series of pieces written for the handbell choir of the Third Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan,

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever, slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia! Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us, rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him; you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him, dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace!

Handbells (two octaves)
Level 2+

Preview:

Hymn tune: LAUDA ANIMA
Find metrically-matched hymn texts

Individual copy: $3.00 US
Handbell choir: $15.00 US

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Apr 04

Blessed Assurance (ASSURANCE) (Handbells, 2 octaves, Level 2+)

Blessed Assurance is one of Fanny Crosby’s all-time classic hymns. It speaks of faith, dependence, and triumph through having an absolute reliance on God and His power. Our new arrangement is for two octaves, and will be a welcome addition to your ensemble’s repertoire.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

    This is my story, this is my song,
    Praising my Savior, all the day long;
    This is my story, this is my song,
    Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.

Find Larry and Carla on Facebook!

Mar 27

Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) (Handbells, 3 to 5 octaves, plus handchimes, 2 octaves, Level 4-)

Lake Tai is a large lake near Shanghai. It’s in a central location, so it has many commercial connections; because it’s quite shallow, it’s a peaceful place to visit. The Chinese folk song Boat on Lake Tai (太湖船) draws a picture of a peaceful scene, where a small boat glides across the water. You’ll enjoy that peacefulness when you play our arrangement for three to five octaves of handbells.

山青水明幽静静
湖心飘来风一阵呀
行呀行呀, 进呀进
黄昏时候人行少
半空月影水面摇呀
行呀行呀, 进呀进 		In the tranquility by the green mountains and the clear water,
a breeze wafts over from the center of the lake.
Going, going; moving on.
In the twilight few people are around,
The image of the half-risen moon shimmers on the surface of the water,
Going, going; moving on.

(From Learn Chinese Weekly)

Purchasing the handbell choir version of this arrangement grants permission to print and maintain up to fifteen copies for your handbell ensemble; purchasing the single copy version grants permission to print and maintain one copy. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs.