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!
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