Feb 13

Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose

We all go through difficult, unsettling circumstances from time to time. The hymn Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose is one of those reminders that God is in control, and that He can make sense of life when it seems scrambled.

Here’s our new twelve-bell arrangement of this hymn!

Jan 22

How Great Thou Art – Twelve Handbells

After a great Christmas season (and a very, very busy December), we’re heading into 2018 with lots of music. Today we’re leading off with our new twelve-bell arrangement of How Great Thou Art. We think you’ll enjoy playing it, and that your church families will love hearing it.

It’s available in two versions, one for the traditional twelve-bell range C5-G6, and one based on “normal bell choir assignments” for F5-C7.

Happy ringing!

Jan 01

Happy 2018!

Happy New Year to all of you (or as they say in some places, “all y’all”)!

We’ve had a fun year finding videos and receiving emails about who’s been playing our music. The greatest number of stories are about our eight-handbell repertoire. Most of what we’ve seen is videos of four-in-hand duets or one-bell-in-each-hand quartets playing at their church services. But there are others!

  • In New York, Natalia Paruz and her ringing partner Richard have been taking our music not only to churches, but also to local cemeteries (yes, you read that correctly). If you happen to be in NYC, you also get a chance to see Natalia playing her musical saw – she’s exceptional!
  • Honolulu Bronze performs on Oahu either as a duet or trio. When there are three ringers, one of their members plays four of the bells while the others have two apiece.
  • Robin and Jeffrey in Washington State got out to play at a local mall. They took about two dozen of our pieces so they could play a two-hour stint there, and passers-by loved their music.
  • Melodiem, a young handbell ensemble in Singapore, has been playing lots and lots of music. In their playlist, they include some of our eight-bell music, and did a fantastic presentation of our sixteen-bell Sleeping Beauty Waltz with six ringers.

We’re looking forward to having even more fun in the coming year. If you have a story or video about our music, do share it with us!!

Dec 08

Gift shopping for Christmas (or anytime)!

We’ve just added a new feature to our e-store to make it easy and fun for you to give the gift of our music to your family and friends. Now you can buy gift certificates – all you have to do is purchase, download, print, and give!

They’re available in amounts of $10, $20, $50, and $100.

So now you can get a “flexible-definition present”:

  • Some music for a friend who’d like to play some (more) eight-, twelve-, or sixteen-handbell music,
  • A new score for your handbell director, or
  • Choral music for your choir.

And just in case you have a special bass handbell ringer that you’re shopping for, we suggest that you consider whether she (okay, or he) would like to have a copy of the recently-released second edition of the “Bass Ringer’s Notebook”, the most extensive work on the subject of bucket-slinging.

Do take a look!

Oct 27

Five (5 octaves of handbells)

Our fifth anniversary was approaching, so I wanted to give Carla something special. This original composition was the result, and the handbell choir at our church in Holland, Michigan premiered it as the prelude in the services on our anniversary weekend.

It’s entitled Five, and can be a treasure hunt for you and your ringers as you look for where that number appears in the score. For instance, the two key signatures are B major (five sharps) and Db major (five flats).

It’s AGEHR level 2+. 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.

Oct 23

Accompanied twelve-bell music for Christmas!

We usually play unaccompanied eight-handbell music. Maybe that’s because it’s easier to get together to practice; only two of us have to head to the rehearsal room.

However, we do realize that many of you may have larger groups, or might want to include a pianist. So we have a couple of new Christmas arrangements for twelve bells plus piano. They’ve arrived just in time for you to prepare them for your holiday services!

In the Bleak Midwinter – Purchase it here!

Still, Still, Still – Purchase it here!

Sep 06

Elysium

Elysium was commissioned from our friend Susan Nelson by Laurie and Rusty Sanders. It’s a thoughtful, pensive piece for three to five octaves of handbells plus optional flute descant. After a very brief time on “out of print” status, we’ve brought it back in the Choraegus catalog.

Do check it out!

Jul 24

The Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition

Exciting news! When Above the Line Publishing decided to ride off into the sunset, it took the original Bass Ringer’s Notebook with it. Quite a few bass handbell ringers already had copies, but there were those who still were looking for a copy of their own. The need still existed!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve added the Bass Ringer’s Notebook, Second Edition to our catalog. The material therein has been augmented with more ideas for making your bass ringing technically precise, musically expressive, and physically safe.

There’s a new YouTube playlist of the techniques described. These videos provide a dynamic presentation of the skills every bass ringer should understand. They’re also the basis for the illustrations in the book, because the printed stop-action sequences are frames from those videos.

This book isn’t about a single way to “sling the buckets”. Rather, it provides practical options that give you the choice of how you approach the instrument, and that means you can use the ones that best fit you personally.

It may have taken a few years to get to this new edition, but in the words of Low Ding Zone, the World’s First Bass Handbell Ensemble, it’s been “Worth the Weight”. We anticipate that the second edition of the Bass Ringer’s Notebook will be an important resource in your quest to “Support Low Standards”. 🙂

Bass Ringer's Notebook, Front Cover

May 24

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

We’ve gotten a lot closer to settling into life in Michigan – it’s been part of the adventure that started when we moved from California in 2016. Now everything is pretty much in place in our new home, and the blue spruces in the woods are happily growing new bits as spring rolls into summer.

On a recent weekend trip to Lapeer, Michigan, we played at a friend’s church. It was the fourth Sunday of Easter, aka Good Shepherd Sunday. This gave us a chance to premiere our new eight-bell arrangement of Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

Apr 15

“Tigress Rag” for piano!

Scott Joplin, who is often regarded as the “King of Ragtime Music”, wrote for a variety of instrumental ensembles, but his primary instrument was the piano.

So… the thought finally arose: Choraegus has the Tigress Rag as a piece for five to seven octaves of handbells. It was the second-place finisher in the “All That Jazz” composition contest created by the Bells of the Sound in 2011! However, handbell music typically has more simultaneous notes than a person’s normal complement of fingers, so the handbell score doesn’t work very well for a solo pianist.

So… we now have a solo piano version of the Tigress Rag. Do take a look!