G.F. Handel spent some years in England, and at one point wrote music for King George I that was to be played not just at, but on (a barge on) the River Thames. He create three such suites of music, and many of the pieces therefrom are played today frequently. Standard Version: ”Dual-Range”™ Score Package: …
Tag: classical
Classical pieces are the source material for many incredible handbell pieces. They come with technical and expressive challenges which are augmented by the need to negotiate playing the handbell techniques written to go with content from the original work.
Handel – Bourée from Water Music Suite in D Major (HWV 349) – Eight handbells
G.F. Handel spent some years in England, and at one point wrote music for King George I that was to be played not just at, but on (a barge on) the River Thames. He create three such suites of music, and many of the pieces therefrom are played today frequently. Standard Version: ”Dual-Range”™ Score Package: …
Apr 26
Finlandia
There seems to be no end to the repertoire that can be put into eight handbells. That’s good – we wouldn’t want to run out of possibilities! This time, we have a classical piece to share. Jean Sibelius wrote his Finlandia as a protest against the Russian Empire that wanted to take over Finland in …
Sibelius – Finlandia – Eight handbells
Sibelius composed Finlandia as a musical protest against the Russian Empire. The entire work is a majestic presentation that tells the story of the Finnish struggle against tyranny. It’s full of musical pictures of what that part of history was like. Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning, the threat of night has now been …
Mar 29
The “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” for Sixteen Handbells
In February, we made a trip to England to see friends and family. Alan and Gay Cooper were a couple of those friends; in fact, the four of us together comprise the Pizzazz Handbell Quartet. We spent an evening together, and managed to make a rehearsal video of our new sixteen-handbell arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping …
Sleeping Beauty Waltz – Sixteen handbells
Tchaikovsky wrote several ballets. They’ve had a long and wonderful life; in fact, his “Sleeping Beauty” was made into the famous Disney film. One of the well-known pieces from this work is the Sleeping Beauty Waltz. Sixteen Handbells, C5-G6 Score Package: $ US Practice track:: $ US Sixteen Handbells, F5-C7 Score Package: $ US Practice …
Masques – Handbell sextet
Claude Debussy’s Masques is an impressionistic piece about a dancer performing onstage with the “happy” and “sad” Venetian masks. She switches from a joyous, excited dance to a more solemn one, then back, switching faces to signal the mood. It was one of my favorites while I was taking piano lessons as a teenager. This …
Holy is the Lord – Twelve handbells
Franz Schubert wrote lots of music in his short lifespan of just thirty-one years. Holy is the Lord actually is liturgical in nature, but fits well in the classical category with so many of Schubert’s other works. Holy, holy, holy, Holy is the Lord. Holy, holy, holy, Holy is the Lord. Holy is the Father, …
Farandole – Twelve handbells
Georges Bizet wrote the music for Alphonse Daudet’s L’Arlesienne in 1872. Farandole is probably the best-known piece from the suite, and has appeared many, many times since it was written (a friend once commented that she wouldn’t have known about classical music if not for cartoons…). Twelve Handbells, C5-G6 C5-G6 Score Package: $ US C5-G6 …
Barcarolle – Twelve handbells
A barcarolle is a song reminiscent of the Venetian gondoliers. Written in 6/8, the rhythm, depending on your preferred interpretation, is like the rocking of the boat, or of the water around it. This famous barcarolle is the one written by Jacques Offenbach with the title Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour (“beautiful night, night of …
