That Easter Day with Joy was Bright is sung to the 15th century hymn tune PUER NOBIS. It’s traditionally sung for Easter, but can be played for Advent asOn Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry. Our …
Come, Thou Almighty King is a grand hymn about our need for the Lord to have our loyalty. The tune ITALIAN HYMN was written in 1769 by Felice de Giardini, who had a thoroughgoing musical …
According to Wikipedia, Richard Bernhard Smith wrote the lyrics for “Winter Wonderland” while recovering from tuberculosis in 1934. That same year, Felix Bernard added the tune that has now been covered over 200 times! This …
I suppose that, given there are a finite number of hymn tunes in existence, that at some point there will arise the opportunity to make a second (or third, or…) arrangement of a melody that’s …
It’s our pleasure to publish Barbara Butcher’s original song Love is Patient, Love is Kind. This accompanied vocal solo based on I Corinthians 13 works perfectly with weddings, and has a very, very simple (and …
In 1933, John Jacob Niles heard a bit of music from Annie Morgan, a Appalachian girl, and used it as the basis of his song “I Wonder as I Wander”. It brings out the mystery …
The French carol He is Born celebrates the birth of the Christ Child calmly and innocently. However, matters change when this pretty melody crosses over the Channel to be expressed as a lively jig! Our …
Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine is sung to the ancient hymn tune RESONET IN LAUDIBUS from the 15th century. It tells the wonder of the first Christmas from Joseph and Mary’s perspective. Our eight-bell arrangement brings …
Here’s a dual-purpose arrangement that you can play as Sing We Now of Christmas for Christmas, or as Now the Green Blade Riseth for Easter! Sing we now of Christmas, Noel, sing we here! Hear …
Living in this world means getting to rub shoulders with people from many different cultures. We’ve learned that there’s a rich heritage that our Hispanic friends have to share with us. Here’s a carol from …
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
to God the Creator triumphantly raise,
who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
who guides us and leads to the end of our days.
God’s banners fly o’er us; God’s light goes before us,
a pillar of fire shining forth in the night,
till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished,
as forward we travel from light into light.
Historical note: This arrangement came into being because Steve in Maryland bought some music in early July 2020, and mentioned that he was hoping to find an arrangement of Be Thou My Vision for eight accompanied handbells. This score came together a couple of days later, and gave Steve and his ringers a bit over a month to prepare it for their service on August 9, 2020.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun
Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
The eight bells in the score are accompanied by piano; if you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
Trusting in Christ is life… not just avoiding death, or being alive forever, but life that transcends anything that it would be without Him, and a blessed eternity in His glorious presence. Here’s our eight-bell arrangement of this hymn about trusting God.
Christ, the life of all the living, / Christ, the death of death, our foe;
who Thyself for me once giving / to the darkest depths of woe,
patiently didst yield Thy breath / but to save my soul from death;
praise and glory ever be, / blessed Jesus, unto Thee.
This venerable English tune, placed into the modern hymnody by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1906, takes on a new introspective feel in our eight-bell arrangement. It also is known as Star of the County Down.
The six bells in the score are accompanied by piano; if you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
The six bells in the score are accompanied by piano; if you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
Franz Gruber’s lovely carol has enchanted people for two centuries. In case you happen to visit Oberdorf von Salzburg, Austria, you can see the original Silent Night Chapel there. Or… if you’re in the Great Lakes region, you can see the Silent Night Chapel modeled after it in Frankenmuth, Michigan!
Silent night! Holy night! / All is calm, all is bright
’round yon virgin mother and child! / Holy infant, so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace, / sleep in heavenly peace.
Our piano-accompanied six-handbell arrangement of Silent Night provides an opportunity to play as a two-bells-each trio. Another possibility is to play as a duet where one ringer plays four bells and the other (perhaps a younger/newer player!) plays two bells.
The six bells in the score are accompanied by piano; an additional special feature of this piano part is that it can be played left-handed. If you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
Clearly, there’s a tiny bit of (ancient) gender bias when you announce “all who want to be privateers, must be bearded men”. But eating rancid bread doesn’t sound like much fun. Perhaps it’s a somewhat silly song in today’s world, but our eight-handbell arrangement is fun to play!
Al die willen te kaap’ren varen
Moeten mannen met baarden zijn
Jan, Pier, Tjores en Corneel
Die hebben baarden, die hebben baarden
Jan, Pier, Tjores en Corneel
Die hebben baarden, zij varen mee
All those wanting to sail
Must be men with beards
Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel
They have beards that have beards
Jan, Pier, Tjores and Corneel
They have beards, they sail with them
Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people’s everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
And hear Thy servants when they call.
The six bells in the score are accompanied by piano; if you don’t happen to have an accompanist available, we also have an accompaniment MP3 available for purchase.
We can imagine a line of Irish dancers showing off their skills to the music from a brilliant steam-driven calliope with this tune! Our thanks go to David Richardson and Gilderoy House for granting permission to create this eight-handbell arrangement of Calliope House.
Bells used: G5, A5, B5, C6, D6, E6, F6, G6
Key: C major
We’ve recorded our practice tracks as an MP3 of the score with an overlaid click track. If you need to vary tempo for your rehearsal, you can make this adjustment via apps such as AudiPo or ASD (Amazing Slow Downer).
