Greetings Handbell Musicians.

     Anyone who knows me or sees me on a regular basis can tell you that I am not a fan of Christmas music.  Like many of you, I have been looking at Christmas music since July or August, and rehearsing Christmas music with my choirs since September.  By the time we get to December, I'm not terribly interested in listening to the Christmas "Muzak" blasting the speakers at the local grocery store, or worse, listening to those irritating advertising jingles where they take well-known Christmas tunes, and have the audacity to alter the words to promote a product.  Then, let's not forget tunes like "Let it Snow" or "White Christmas" which promote snowfall, failing to consider all the headaches it causes (at least for those of us in Western Washington who do not deal with icy road conditions well).

     Now that the "Grinch" in me has spoken, I wanted to share with you a few of my personal favorite handbell Christmas arrangements I've either played or listened to over the years.  These are all pieces I consider every year when planning Christmas repertoire for my choirs.

• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (arr. Arnold Sherman) - I still remember the day I first heard this setting on the demo CD.  I had just arrived home after a long and stressful day of work and was listening to the CD in the background while checking personal email on the computer.  When this piece started, it immediately caught my attention.  I had to stop what I was doing, just to listen and relax.  I really like the opening which is a bit of a hemiola between the high bells and the melody on the chimes, and love the ending with the tower swings (striking twelve midnight) accompanying a strain of "Angels We Have Heard on High".
• Ukranian Bell Carol (arr. Hart Morris) - Searching "Carol of the Bells" on a couple handbell vendors' web sites turned up more than 20 different arrangements of this well-known bell novelty, and this is not including medleys incorporating this tune or even the setting I'm calling out here, which is likely out of print.  Of all the "Carol of the Bells" settings, this one is still my favorite.  I still remember the first time I performed this piece years ago in Bells of the Sound, when we opened the Seattle Men's Chorus concert series on a lift raising us out of the orchestra pit.
• Still, Still, Still (arr. Cathy Moklebust - the 5-7 octave setting) - This is one of my favorite Christmas tunes, and I really like what Cathy did in this setting, basing much of it on a whole tone scale.  Moklebust has written a number of great arrangements over the years, but I think this one is my favorite.  Although this isn't necessarily a reason this makes this list, I do believe this is the only piece of published handbell music that calls for playing a C9 by itself (not doubled or on top of a chord).
• Away in a Manger (arr. Betty Garee) - I believe that most, and perhaps all of Betty Garee's music was written before I ever played my first handbell, but I have been blessed to have taken over a handbell program which has a music library containing many handbell "classics" written in the 1970s and 1980s.  Garee often wrote in an impressionistic style which I don't believe has been successfully duplicated by any other handbell composer to this day, some 20-30 years later.  Like Moklebust, I had a hard time choosing just one Garee piece to include on this list.
• The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (arr. Joel Raney) - This is the newest arrangement to make my list, and may be the only one that is currently in print.  I first heard this piece at Distinctly Bronze last February, where many referred to it as the "Harry Potter" piece.  Unlike many handbell composers, Joel Raney was a professional musician and published composer for years before first being introduced to handbells, and all of his music brings a fresh contemporary style to our art.  This particular arrangement was selected for one of the Coppers ringing divisions at our upcoming Area 10 Conference in Yakima.

     As many of you and your handbell groups head into a busy season of concert performances or worship schedules, I hope that you have been able to include your favorites, new and old, into this year's repertoire.  Even though I'm generally not a fan of Christmas music, it is nice to have the opportunity to share a well written arrangement with a congregation or concert audience.

     Merry Christmas.

Brian Tervo

Sunday, December 8 - Come one! Come all... to the annual concert, "Bells 'n Brass" at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, 4040 Sunset Drive, Lake Oswego. Two performances, 1:00 and 4:00 pm. The concert features the Covenant Bell Choir and brass players from the Oregon Symphony and includes bells, brass, and organ Christmas carols, as well as handbell favorites and "jazzy" brass arrangements. For directions call (503) 636-5656.

Sunday, December 8 - 3:00 pm. The Bells of Sunriver invite you to Carol with the Bells on Sunday, at Holy Trinity Church, Cottonwood Road in Sunriver.  This free event features solos, duets, sextets, full choir pieces and caroling by the audience. For additional information: 541-593-1635.

Bells of the Cascades presents 3 performances of Jingle All The Way!

Sunday, December 15 - 3:00 pm, Rose City Park Methodist Church, 5830 NE Alameda St., Portland, free-will offering.

Sunday, December 15 - 7:30 pm, First Christian Church, 1314 SW Park Ave., Portland. Suggestion Donation: $10 students; $20 adults.

Tuesday, December 17 - 7:00 pm, Tigard Library, 13500 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, free to the public as part of the Library's community outreach.

February 27 - March 2, 2014 Distinctly Bronze West at the Doubletree Hotel, Portland. Jason Wells, Conductor.