No… not the purple dinosaur! It’s been more than a month since the last post, so bringing out a new piece of music is way-y-y overdue. The new eight-bell piece is the Irish jig Barney Brannigan. It’s a lively, bouncy slip jig that’ll have you dancing even as you’re ringing it!
Tag: Larry Sue
Larry Sue is the owner, composer/arranger, and publisher at Choraegus. He and his wife Carla are West Michigan's Smallest Handbell Ensemble.
Jul 03
Children of the Heavenly Father
We have a new eight-bell arrangement, Children of the Heavenly Father. As far as our eight-handbell pieces go, this one is on the easier side – but it’s still fun to play and hear. We hope you’ll give it a try!
Beethoven – Ode to Joy – Eight handbells
Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. He was an amazing composer, creating wonderful music during his later years even though he had gone deaf. One of his best known symphonic melodies in the choral world is the “Ode to Joy” from his final symphony, the tune for the hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. Joyful, joyful, we …
Handel – Air from Water Music Suite in F Major (HWV 348) – 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: …
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: …
Crown Him with Many Crowns (DIADEMATA) – Eight handbells
Jesus Christ is so incredibly far above everything else in this universe that He deserves all of our love and worship. The hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns gives a small idea of what this means, but His greatness still exceeds any description we can muster. It’s fitting that it’s set to the hymn tune …
May 15
Take the Name of Jesus with You – the Standard Eight-Bell Version!
Sometimes we release the “Surprisingly Easy”™ version of an eight-bell score really quickly, and then it takes a bit longer to arrange or learn the “standard” (whatever that actually means) arrangement. Sometimes it happens in the other order, too – it often just depends on which one came together properly first. Take the Name of …
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 …
Apr 08
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
Larry and Carla are part of Inspiration International, a UK handbell ensemble whose purpose is to take handbell music into the lives of people who sometimes feel forgotten by society. Since two of the members are in the USA, it’s a challenge for the three to get together to play. So when Larry and Carla …
