Making a familiar ring

Want to go?

What: Regional handbell concert

When: 7 p.m. June 7

Where: Notre Dame Regional High School.

Cost: Free.

Area church choirs showcase their sounds in upcoming concert

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

Whether it's with the tinkling sounds of a high note or the low boom of the bass, music performed by handbells can add a new dimension to worship services.

"People know about how an orchestra or piano sounds, but this is just different," said Ray Haring, who directs the handbell choirs at Grace United Methodist Church. The sounds of bell choirs is catching on, he said.

Dozens of area churches showcase the sounds of their handbells with special music selections heard in Sunday morning worship. Some play only at Christmas or Easter. while others practice throughout the year.

"It's a different way to beautify the Lord," said Lois Fehrmann, who directs the Joyful Sound Ringers of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson. "It's something different to praise the Lord."

The choir of 11 women rings bells in three octaves and usually plays on the last Sunday of the month.

The choir will perform with several others from the region in a community handbell concert at Notre Dame Regional High School. The biennial Cape Area Handbell Concert June 7 will include performances by eight church choirs from Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. More than 130 people will be ringing in the 7 p.m. performance.

Start the ringing

Haring helped organize the first handbell event, and his idea for a one-time handbell concert turned into an annual festival that has included as many as 10 different church choirs in the performances.

A bell ringer himself, Haring knew that other churches around Cape Girardeau had handbell choirs. He invited those few churches together and then the event just snowballed, he said.

Suddenly, there were choirs from Illinois and Kentucky who wanted to come and play. This year, the festival includes choirs from Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau; New McKendree United Methodist, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and St. Paul Lutheran Church, all in Jackson; Cairo Baptist Church in Cairo, Ill.; Poplar Bluff United Methodist Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo.; Murfreesboro United Methodist in Murfreesboro, Ky.; and Mayfield United Methodist Church in Mayfield, Ky.

Though many people associate handbells with performances during the Christmas holidays when bells are routinely heard, the Grace Notes and the Bells of Grace perform regularly at the church.

Most of the music for handbells is religious, but there are more and more secular songs being arranged. "You can hear everything from religious songs to the 'Flight of the Bumblebee,'" Haring said.

The Grace choir typically plays religious songs but will play an arrangement of "In the Mood," a song made popular by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, during the upcoming concert. It's a piece that's only been performed one other time on handbells.

"'In the Mood' is a song that you'd never expect to be heard on bells," Haring said.

He heard the selection at a handbells seminar last year and tracked down the arranger. Since the music has yet to be published, the choir has been rehearsing since Christmas from a manuscript copy.

Simple songs

But most of the songs that area handbell choirs perform aren't as difficult as the "In the Mood" arrangement, Haring said. Usually, music is graded from one to six based on playing level, with six being the most difficult. The majority of songs fall in the two to three level for intermediate players.

The songs played by ringers in the Joyful Sound is usually at the moderate level, Fehrmann said. All the members can read music, which helps when it comes time to practice new selections.

"We try to use a variety" of music, she said. "We emphasize the melody so that the song can be recognized."

Sometimes the choir adds an accompaniment like an organ or flute with their songs. An organ accompaniment has been played most recently with the song "Thanks Be to Thee."

The choirs performing at the concert will each play the same five songs in a mass choral production and then also perform individual selections. The choirs have been practicing for this performance since February.

Having the music ahead of time helps the choirs feel comfortable with playing it in a larger group, Fehrmann said.

Playing handbells takes more than just musical ability though. Each choir requires commitment from members because missing a practice or performance also means missing notes.

When a vocal choir is missing one soprano, the other members of that section can cover. But when a handbell choir is missing a member, several notes in an octave might not get played, Haring said.

Each choir has a varying number of octaves among its handbells. The St. Paul ringers have three octaves; the Grace choirs have five.

An added feature of this year's concert is performances by two children's handbell choirs. The junior ringers at Grace, who play their notes based on a color-coded system, will play "The Star Spangled Banner." The younger ringers of St. Paul will play "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126