Mar 07

The Boys of Bluehill

Hornpipes and jigs were two of the exciting additions to our repertoire over the past three or four years. In case you haven’t played many of them and were wondering about thematic structure, jigs often (but not always!) have the pattern AA, BB, CC, DD, etc. and can be chained together to add to the time the dancers are dancing. Hornpipes often (but not always!) have an AABABA structure. Both are in compound triple meter (but very occasionally not, such as Wrong Foot Forward), and have a happy lilt.

We’ve added a new hornpipe, The Boys of Bluehill. No one seems to know its exact origin, or which boys or hills it’s about, but we know you’ll enjoy playing it!

Feb 17

Easter is on the way

Yes… it still is two months before Easter, but church musicians usually have to think a bit ahead so that they can get their practice time before playing in church.

So we’re releasing our new eight-bell arrangement of Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. It’s the Ralph Hudson version which sets Isaac Watts’ words to the tune MARTYRDOM, adding the refrain “At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light…”. It’s a hymn that’s been around for over a century of Holy Weeks.

We hope you’ll give it a try, and that you’ll use it to enhance your Easter service as we consider the infinite sacrifice Jesus paid for us on the cross.

Jan 15

Faster service!

Good news! We’ve done some work on our e-store, and have upgraded it so that when you pay for music, the web page indicating the purchase is complete also has your download links. This means you won’t have to wait for an email with those links before you can get your music (note: our site will still attempt to send the email…).

We hope you like the change – have a great 2017!

Jan 08

Epiphany

And a wonderful Epiphany to you!

We’re starting 2017 by publishing a new eight-bell arrangement of the German Epiphany carol O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright. Philipp Nicaolai composed the tune at the end of the sixteenth century, and about 150 years later J.S. Bach harmonized it.

We wish you a happy 2017, and hope that your musical endeavors will be joyous ones!

Dec 19

A Carol A Day!

We’ve been posting new recordings of some of our eight-bell Christmas music on the Larry and Carla Facebook page. Do take a look – the dates below will take you to the Facebook posts, and the titles will take you to the pages on this site where you can purchase music!

December 26: Angels from the Realms of Glory
December 25: Joy to the World
December 24: Away in a Manger (American version)
December 23: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
December 22: O Holy Night
December 21: Once in Royal David’s City
December 20: O Little Town of Bethlehem
December 19: Sussex Carol
December 18: Of the Father’s Love Begotten
December 17: Good Christian Men, Rejoice
December 16: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
December 15: Still, Still, Still
December 14: The First Nowell
December 13: The Wassail Song
December 12: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
December 11: Los Peces En El Rio
December 10: ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime
December 9: See, Amid the Winter’s Snow
December 8: Angels We Have Heard on High
December 7: The Seven Joys of Mary
December 6: Whence is that Goodly Fragrance Flowing?
December 5: Jingle Bells
December 4: The Snow Lay on the Ground
December 3: People, Look East
December 2: Savior of the Nations, Come
December 1: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Nov 24

Ding Dong, Merrily on High

It’s not too late to add one more piece to your eight-bell Christmas repertoire! This time we have something different: A handbells-and-keyboard collaboration on Ding Dong, Merrily on High. There are both piano and organ accompaniments available, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy them!

Oct 11

AOL Issues?

Dear Friends,

We’ve noticed that some of our customers with email addresses at aol.com haven’t been getting their download links after making purchases. So far, we’ve established that the problem appears to be due to AOL’s thinking that those emails are something they should block. We’ve asked our Internet Service Provider to look into this (they actually “own” the IP address our site uses, and so must be the ones to make the request), but apparently they haven’t been able to make progress yet. They’ve told us that AOL thinks of Choraegus as a “neutral” (i.e. non-spam) site, so we think things should work properly.

If you’re having any trouble, please help us by telling AOL that you’re trying to buy music from us, and make a request on our behalf for them to whitelist choraegus.com, and if you still have difficulties, send us an email and we’ll figure out how to deliver your music. Thanks for your patience!

Oct 03

More Music!

If you haven’t heard, Above the Line Publishing has decided to call it quits. However, their catalog of music isn’t going away! I’ve moved quite a few titles to Choraegus. Most of them are for a full-sized handbell choir; there are a few ensemble pieces and solos as well – do take a look!

Sep 21

Friends

I’ve come to think of my handbell compositions/arrangements as friends after a fashion. We’ve spent a lot of time together, and we know each other quite well. (Well… at least I know them quite well!). Sometimes it’s a bit of a wrench to let them live somewhere else, as in another publisher. But at least they can get out to be seen by people!

Good news, though! Some fair amount of music I’ve written has returned to me due to another publisher’s decision to stop operations, and so I’m starting to re-release those pieces here. In addition, I’m *finally* getting around to adding some other works to the Choraegus catalog, so you might find those interesting, fun, and something you’d like to play. Take a look!

  • A Minor Crash – You probably have seen the LED signs on the highway: “IN A MINOR CRASH?” After receiving due encouragement, here’s a piece about that (not with an actual crash, though, since those aren’t too healthy for handbells).
  • Rondo – Stephanie Rhoades commissioned this one for her Concert Bells of Fort Worth after submitting the winning bid in the 2013 Distinctly Bronze West silent auction. It’s a rondo in Classical style.
  • Ye Jazzy Gentlemen – There’s a reminiscence of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” in this jazz arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. It’s fun to play, and fun to hear!

More fun will be on the way!

Aug 27

Wedding Music!

Bells are for weddings!

We’ve just released three classical pieces which are wonderful wedding ceremony repertoire:

Of course, they also are well-suited to a church service or concert – regardless of where you perform, we hope you’ll enjoy playing them!