This Spanish Christmas carol was part of our “A Carol a Day” postings a couple of years ago, but somehow it escaped official publication! It’s a lively song about how the fish in the river – “los peces en el rio” – rejoiced at the birth of Christ. Here’s where you can find our eight-bell arrangement!
Aug 28
New Freebies
We have new free stuff for those of you who’ve been buying our eight-handbell music – binder cover pages! It occurred to us that having all of our scores in “one neat pile” wouldn’t be as good as having a way to divide them into several binders. So if you have binders with front covers into which you can slip a cover page, we have cover pages for you to use!
Here are preview links:
- [sg_popup id=”11271″ event=”click”]”Standard” Eight-Bell Pieces:[/sg_popup]
- [sg_popup id=”11273″ event=”click”]”Standard” Eight-Bell Christmas Pieces:[/sg_popup]
- [sg_popup id=”11275″ event=”click”]”Surprisingly Easy” Eight-Bell Pieces:[/sg_popup]
- [sg_popup id=”11277″ event=”click”]”Surprisingly Easy” Eight-Bell Christmas Pieces:[/sg_popup]
Aug 24
More music will be on the way soon…
The mad pace of composing music from July and early August has vanished for a bit, mostly because we were at the 2018 Bay View Week of Handbells. In case you aren’t familiar with BVWOH, it’s a solid four days of ringing – about 20 or 25 hours of rehearsal – with a concert on the evening of the final day. It’s one of the highlights of our ringing year, and it even includes the opportunity to hunt for some Petoskey stones when we have a bit of free time.
Anyway, composing has resumed, and soon we’re planning to have more new music out for you to check out!
Jul 16
I Vow to Thee (THAXTED) for Eight Handbells
I Vow to Thee, My Country is based on the THAXTED theme from the “Jupiter” movement of Gustav Holst’s suite The Planets. In the United Kingdom, it’s sung to words written by Cecil Spring-Rice about dedication to God and country. In some US hymnals, this melody is matched to O God, Beyond All Praising.
This was the offertory we played on our last Sunday before moving to Michigan, and it continues to be one of our absolute favorites!
Jul 12
All Things Bright and Beautiful
We have a lively new arrangement of this pretty hymn. There are plenty of stopped sounds (mallets, thumb damps, martellati…) to keep your ringers fascinated, and the syncopated melody is delightful. We’re certain your congregation/audience will love this one!
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.
Jul 09
A Minor Crash
No… we didn’t have a site problem. This is about an already-available piece for which we finally got a video. A Minor Crash is an original work for five to eight octaves of handbells (plus three octaves of optional chimes). Larry had the privilege of leading the Area 8 BronzeFest ensemble in its first-ever performance at the end of June!
A Minor Crash is full of rhythms that will keep everyone excited. We also have a percussion part created by Alex Guebert which will give your performance an extra boost!
Jul 05
For the Beauty of the Earth
For the Beauty of the Earth is our newest arrangement for three to five octaves of handbells plus two octaves of (optional) handchimes. Do take a look at 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.
Jun 14
Let All Things Now Living – more accessible, just as much fun…
A few years back, I wrote an arrangement of Let All Things Now Living in the unusual time signature of 11/8. That alone elevated it to an AGEHR Level 5+, but despite that it’s still making the rounds with advanced ringers.
It was time to offer something for those who aspire (but, perhaps, are still on the way) to that skill level. So here’s a new arrangement of Let All Things Now Living that’s a more comfortable Level 3. It’s for three or five octaves of handbells. Enjoy!
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 06
Friskin’ the Whiskers
Jazz great Cab Calloway had an expression “friskin’ the whiskers”. It’s a reference to the idea of “just gettin’ started”, and is draws a picture of a highly-skilled performer who starts on his set by smoothing his mustache. “Okay, now I’m ready to play.”
Friskin’ the Whiskers, a new Level 5 work for five to seven octaves of handbells was commissioned by RiverBells of Sacramento, California with the following requirements:
- Original (that is, not an arrangement).
- Level 3+ or higher.
- Three to fifteen minutes in length (it’s just about exactly 4:00).
- Swing style.
Here’s to hoping that you’ll find this one fun to play!
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 04
New music for handbell choirs!
I’ve embarked on a project to create new music for the more normal handbell choir (don’t worry, I’ll keep writing music for eight and twelve bells!). The big difference is that this new music will be AGEHR Level 2-3+ so that it’s withing the grasp of the vast majority of bell choirs. Most of it, for now, will be church music – notably, hymns – because most ringers get their playing time with churches, and because many community groups also play church music for their audiences.
So, without further ado, the first piece of what I hope will be a very, very large amplification of the existing handbell repertoire is O Worship the King (hymn tune LYONS).
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.
