Pentecost: The bells, the bells

I am not sure what stirred the idea, but I wanted Pentecost to be characterized musically this year by bells. I used most of the bells sounds I could think of and which were available to me to create an aural metaphor for the presence of the Holy Spirit. We used the Taize "Veni sancte spiritus" as the first song in worship at both services. To begin I employed a mark tree; after several seconds I added several unpitched bells (from India). Kids and choir singers handled those elements. Next came upper handbells, suspended and rung with a mallet; then we added the lower bells in a random ring; these were all rung by our adult handbell ringers. Slowly the bells settled into the rhythm and notes of the Taize piece. Finally, the choir and song leaders joined the refrain, inviting the congregation to do the same. Superimposed over that were the verses, sung by a soloist. All the while, the bells kept up their various patterns. I think it was fairly effective. For the organ prelude, I did several of the variations on "Veni Creator Spiritus" by Joseph Ahrens. For the last variation, you guessed it, I turned on the zimbelstern on the organ. The bell sonority was complete!

New Music

I (Mike Barker) do a bit of composing on the side. Nothing comes easy, and it's a long time between projects. But every now and then the effort pays off. I am having a set of Christmas carol arrangements for flute and organ published by MorningStar Music. I had the proofs in January, and just got my complimentary copies last week. The book is available now, and will be promoted heavily late this summer for the 2007 Advent-Christmas season. I wrote these three pieces to be part of a concert at Crestwood Church a few years ago. After the season, I did some serious editing and sent them off. I didn't hear anything for a long time. Then I had a letter last fall asking if they were still available, i.e. not yet published by another firm. I hope there are plenty of church musicians who will find these useful. I had fun writing them, and our performance (my wife, Libby, did the flute for the premier) was well received. Visiting the link you can see images of several pages from the score, and hear clips from two of the three arrangements. Tell your friends!

Handbell Festival

The adult ringers recently participated in the Blue Ridge Area Handbell Festival. The event was held at First UMC in Hendersonville, and the clinician was Hart Morris from Asbury UMC in Tulsa, OK. The ringers had a blast, and did a nice job at the event. We had already rung two of the pieces for worship at home, so we felt really good about our grasp of the music. Hart Morris was his usual ebullient self, and worked effectively with the ringers. Here is a clip of the rehearsal of one of the pieces. In the photos you can see Lucy D. and Charlotte S. putting up our banner. On the bottom is a group shot. I tried to catch Lucy and her cushy slippers; this shot of her and Sylvia B. is the closest I could get! Here is a small gallery of photos from the event. Also present for the event and in the group photo were Carla S., Mary V. A., Anita B. and Charles M. Missing the fun were Angie U., Margaret N., and our regular-sub Danny S.