Jul 14

Summer Doldrums?

It’s summer, and most of us are in off-season mode. That, of course, is because we traditionally synchronize our handbell (or choir) year to when folks are in town, so that means mid-August to mid-June. When we think of playing bells during the summer, we call around to see who’s available, and see whether we can find music that works.

Good news! If you have only two or three (or four, five, or six) friends who can get together to play in church or for a picnic, we have plenty of music for you to try. Our videos of our eight-bell music are presented as four-in-hand duets, but our friends have played them as trios and quartets as well. We’d like to mention “Ring 4 Glory” of Pacific Grove, California, who have played some of our eight-bell scores.

Our more recently-released twelve-bell scores are loads of fun, too. Who would have thought that Georges Bizet’s famous Farandole could be condensed into just a dozen notes? And we’re planning to add some more to what we have, so drop by now and then to check!

Have a wonderful summer!

Jun 25

Yay! A new collection!

We’ve been excited that our handbell musician friends have liked our “Surprisingly Easy”™ music, especially the collections. We’ve heard lots of stories of how our arrangements have found a home with duets, trios, and quartets. We’ve also seen some really nice videos too!

The news this week is that we’ve added a second “Surprisingly Easy”™ eight-bell hymn collection. Most of them are “golden oldies” because they’ve been in our hymnals for centuries (literally!). But… they’re still great hymns with great lyrics, and we still worship with them today – that’s a testament to how great they are!

  • Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
  • Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
  • All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (CORONATION)
  • At the Cross
  • Great is Thy Faithfulness
  • Jesus Shall Reign
  • He Keeps Me Singing

Do take a look – we think you’ll love playing these new arrangements!

Jun 20

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Difficult times provide opportunities for all-too-rare people to show incredible character. I’ve been following the news a bit in the wake of the church shootings in Charleston – a horrific crime and tremendous injustice – and have been amazed at how the folks at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church are willing to offer forgiveness to the killer despite the loss of their friends and relatives.

Martin Luther, I think, would have commended them for the staunchness of their faith. It’s one thing to acknowledge what the Bible tells you to do, but still another to act on it. Perhaps that’s what the brave monk who, in 1517, posted his 95 Theses at the church at the Wittenberg Castle Church, was thinking about when he wrote the words:

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

A greater hope than that which this life offers awaits us, and it’s founded on the God who made it possible for all men (and women, and children) to be saved from their sin.

Here’s our new eight-bell arrangement of Martin Luther’s famous hymn, by the way.

Jun 14

New Music – Greensleeves!

Today we’re releasing our eight-bell arrangement of the English tune “Greensleeves” (aka “What Child is This?” for the Christmas-minded)! The video we’ve posted, of course, is a complete play-through of the piece, and has a squirrel as a bonus (just after the one-minute mark, if you’re watching for it).

We really think you’ll like this one because it has a mysterious feel. Do try it out!

Sorry, squirrel not included… 🙂

Jun 02

Collaboration in King of Prussia…

As part of our concert with Philadelphia Bronze, we took advantage of our opportunity to work with Martha Alford, their director, to write a new piece for flute plus eight handbells. It’s titled Silver and Bronze, and has a playful mood. Take a look – we think you’ll enjoy it!

Jun 02

We Had a Great Time in Philly!

We just returned from a terrific weekend in Philadelphia (“just” meaning: “we-had-weather-based-flight-delays-and-had-to-rush-from-gate-to-gate-for-our-connecting-flight-and-had-a-shuttle-driver-who-was-trying-to-find-his-last-passenger-for-our-ride-home-and-didn’t-get-back-until-2:30-a.m.” … but who’s counting?).

Anyway, the concert we shared with Philadelphia Bronze went beautifully, and we had lots of fun making – and making music with – friends who we’ve mostly known only via social media till now. We’re very thankful for their idea to create such a program, and to make it so much fun!

Here’s a video of our opening number: “Allegro” from Vivaldi’s Concerto in A Minor (RV 522)!

May 29

Philly… Cheesesteak Time!

We’re in Philadelphia for the weekend. The reason is wonderful: Philadelphia Bronze has invited us to share a concert with them, so we’re getting share our eight-bell duets with friends who have been online, but who now will be “in real life” friends too!

Today (Friday) is a sightseeing day. We’re going to make the pilgrimage to the Malmark factory, where we’re planning to take a tour to see how they make the bells we play (yes… we know that Schulmerich and Whitechapel also make fine musical instruments!), and will try to spend a bit of time playing some of our music there, perhaps in the parking lot because the factory building makes a great video backdrop? 🙂

We’ve been told more than a few times that we simply *must* have a Philly cheesesteak for lunch. Tim, our rowmate on the plane, said that they’re just not made the right way anywhere else (we’ve heard this nearer home concerning San Francisco sourdough bread…). So we know what’s for lunch!

There’ll be more news to come – if you want to get the first-run news, check at the Larry and Carla site!

May 17

Concerts with No Audience

What if you put on a handbell concert, and no one came to see it? We’ve played in some programs of this sort that had small audiences. It can be bit discouraging, because most of us would prefer to be performing to a full house at Carnegie Hall (and earning 50% of the gate receipts, of course). Unfortunately, we as a musical community seem not to have built up the public image of handbells to the point where “build it and they will come” is the norm – yet!.

So… we have a fix for that! It’s our new “Concerts with No Audience”™ approach to life. We’d rather play than not, and on sunny days it’s at least as much fun to practice outside as in, or just to go somewhere else rather than stay in the same old rehearsal space at home. And the best thing is that we get to keep 100% – ALL – of what people pay for the tickets! 😀

We’ve sponsored a couple of these “Concerts with No Audience”™, and they’ve been a roaring success (especially when Harleys and well-loaded semihaulers pass by). There have been occasional cheers (from the kids playing ball in the street – when they score, of course). And we get the usual looks of puzzlement – What are they doing? How do they do that? – from people who see us. But the scenery is wonderful, because we get to choose where we go, and with eight-bell music, we can pop into practically any place and perform for people who aren’t there.

By the way, if you’d like to book us for a concert with audience, you can contact us at larryandcarla.com!

Concert with No Audience™ in Oakhurst, California

Concert with No Audience™ in Walnut Grove, California

Apr 19

Tico Tico!

We were privileged to have our arrangement of Zequinha Abreu’s Tico Tico no fubá selected for Distinctly Bronze West 2015, where nearly 120 ringers participated in its world premiere performance under the baton of Dr William Payn. Because DB is a high-level event, our friend Alex Guebert created some wonderful percussion parts for the occasion, and now they also are available for purchase!

Here’s a rehearsal video!

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.

Mar 17

Hooray! New twelve-bell music!

We have eight new titles that we’ve added today, and they’re all for twelve bells (C5,D5,E5,F5,G5,A5,B5,C6,D6,E6,F6,G6)! They’ve been arranged in the spirit of our eight-bell music: A fresh look at the genre with some fun twists for ringers to enjoy. Do take a look at them!