Review:
“A Manger Lullaby” - a charming and beautifuly crafted medley of cradleside carols with small snippets of Brahm’s Lullaby and Silent Night - features the hymn tunes MUELLER (Away in the Manger), GREENSLEEVES and CRADLE SONG (another tune for Away in a Manger). Each have their own personality and are skillfully woven together with thoughtful transitions in this solid, “upper end of a Level 3” arrangement. High treble ringers enjoy a little extra challenge with 16th notes (by request of the commissioners). Rich chromatic passages will reward your ringers and audience with grace and drama – and a fresh take on these beloved carols. An optional medium-difficult Bell Tree (15/16 or 19 bells (G5)A5-C7 - opt. Db, D, Eb, F7) with 3 key changes or C instrument part (replacing some lines in the main score, marked with brackets) is included. This score was revised in 2025: primarily adding bass chimes to the first section, but also eliminating some redundant accidentals and cleaning up some notation issues. No notes were changed, so the original edition still works fine (you can easily write in the newly added bass chime notes). This fully orchestrated piece by Kathleen Wissinger is perfect for Copper or even Bronze festivals as it covers 3-7 octaves of bells and 3-6 octaves of chimes, skillfully including all ringers in a variety of voicings, melodic leads, chromatic passages and three key changes. Also ideal for worship and Christmas, Advent or Epiphany concerts. Commissioned “To Celebrate the life of Michael David Nelson (1969-1976) and the 40th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church Handbell Choir, Madison, WI.” 4:00 performance time. Keys of F major, E minor, Ab major; 3/4 meter throughout; 111 measures. Catalog # RE8012 (revised 2025).
ringTrue Handbell Music offers many pieces with featured or optional Bell Tree Solos such as Norwegian Fantasy (Grieg) RE8009, Semper Paratus (the piccolo part) RE8003, The Best Gift (full BT Solo with piano) RE560634, A Gentle Presence (full BT solo with L2+ chime ensemble RE5020 and – full BT solo with piano RE5627R ). Part of the “First String” (Bell Tree) series from ringTrue Handbell Music. Look for more specific BellTree scores by entering “RE5,” “RE56” or “RE65” in the Stock # Search box at Handbellworld.com or by clicking on the series at the bottom of the Music Selection Assistant page. For more ideas, contact Kath at Longwalk3@aol.com.
Published by:
ringTrue
Part of the Series:
True Music
(ringTrue)
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Composer:
Various
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Arranger:
Wissinger, Kathleen
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Octaves:
3-7
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Level:
3
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Rating:
Medium
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Copyright:
2017
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Season:
Advent
, Epiphany
, Christmas
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Classification:
Bell Tree
, Church or Concert
, Concert
, Medley
, Instrument Part
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Technique:
LV (Let Vibrate)
, Martellato
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Voicing:
Handbells, No Choral
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Instrument:
Chimes(Choirchimes or Handchimes)
, Bell Tree
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