This traditional English Christmas Sussex Carol is also known as “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”. The arrangement we see in our hymnals is almost certainly the one written by Ralph Vaughan Williams… but the unharmonized tune is far older than that. On Christmas night all Christians sing To hear what news those angels bring; …
Tag: handbells
Handbells were invented in 17-century England as a practice tool for tower bell ringers. They could then rehearse in warmer and cheerier places than belfries - to wit, the local pubs. At some point, someone noticed that it was possible to play tunes (rather than just "changes") on handbells, and so "tune ringing" began. The music available from Choraegus followed the tune ringing tradition as practiced and performed in the modern era,
Once in Royal David’s City (IRBY) – Eight handbells
There are a number of hymns where the lyrics preceded the music by being written as a poem. Once in David’s Royal City was written by Cecil Frances Alexander, and a year after its publication Henry John Gauntlett composed the melody IRBY that we know and love. Historical footnote: Mrs. Alexander wasn’t a one-hit wonder… …
Nov 05
Christmas Roses
We’re heading into Christmas season (well, after “Thanksgiving season” if you live in the USA), and so we’re continuing to refresh and expand our holiday repertoire. Our ringing friend Maria suggested that we might create an eight-bell arrangement of the lovely carol “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”, and we’ve taken some time to put …
The Kesh – Eight handbells
This Irish jig will have you dancing in no time! Alternate titles: The Castle Kerrigan’s The Kincora The Mountaineers’ March Standard Version: ”Dual-Range”™ Score Package: $ US G5-based practice track: $ US F5-based practice track: $ US Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell …
My Jesus, I Love Thee (GORDON) – Eight handbells
My Jesus, I Love Thee presents the truth of salvation simply: Christ’s giving Himself on the cross for our sins offers us everlasting life, but also demands our complete devotion when we accept that marvelous gift. The hymn also state that truth elegantly; the easy-to-understand words allow the deep truth of God’s love to come …
Take My Life and Let It Be (MESSIAH) – Eight handbells
Hymnody, the body of hymns that we have and sing, often combines the same words with several different tunes. Sometimes we also match the same melody with different words – it can enrich our Christian musical experience. In this case, Louis Hérold wrote the hymn tune MESSIAH, which also works with the same words as …
The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (GABRIEL’S MESSAGE) – Eight handbells
Our Christmas carols come from many places and times. This one originated in the Basque country between Spain and France, and has a lovely, mysterious feel. The Angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame; ‘All hail,’ said he, ‘thou lowly maiden Mary, most highly favoured lady.’ Gloria! “For …
Oct 29
It’s time for another “Surprisingly Easy” collection!
We’ve been getting some hopeful messages asking about when we’ll be creating another one of our “Surprisingly Easy” collections. One friend even said that she’s found them to be very useful for teaching her ringers “four in hand” ringing, while others have said they’re having fun. So… we’ve just released our third (!) “Surprisingly Easy” …
Larry and Carla’s Third “Surprisingly Easy”™ Christmas Collection
Welcome to our third “surprisingly easy” Christmas eight-bell collection! We’ve been having such a wonderful time with our Christmas (and other) music that we thought you should have another set of pieces to play for the holidays! You can play this music with two four-in-hand ringers… or you could have four ringers with two bells …
Oct 18
The Most-Requested Handbell Piece of All?
We’ve finally created an arrangement of Mykola Leontovych’s “Ukrainian Bell Carol”, probably better-known as “Carol of the Bells”. We speculate that it’s the most-requested handbell piece of all time, if only because of the title (and Christmas advertisements!). So if you’re a four-in-hand duet, you can have this in your repertoire and not disappoint those …
