If you are going to post 24 days of holiday handbell music, you will inevitably get to your least favorite song. I will not apologize for saying this, but “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey is my least favorite holiday song. I probably dislike it so much because you can’t escape it in December. Everywhere you go this song follows you like the ghost of Christmas future, reminding you that you’ll probably hear it again in 5 minutes.
The handbell world was my refuge from this song. Bell rehearsal was the one place I could go and be guaranteed not to hear this song yet again. Then Ron Mallory came around and changed that.
Ron has made a name for himself in the handbell community by creating brilliant arrangements of popular songs, which I will admit is no easy task. I’ll also admit that Ron did a damn good job on this arrangement. By tossing the melody around the table and adding chimes he was able to capture the energy of the piece and hold your attention for a full 4 minutes. The arrangement, however, is only half the battle.
If you really want to play pop songs on handbells, you also have to commit the energy. The melody bells need to channel their inner diva, pushing higher and louder as the piece goes on. The bass bells and percussion need to drive the piece forward, not sound like their just following along. And the rhythm section needs to be precisely together like the perfect group of back-up singers. This is where most groups miss the mark in my opinion.
Now this arrangement is everywhere in the handbell world. I feel like it’s 2014 and everyone is playing “Let It Go” all over again. After listening to a bunch of different groups (there are lots of videos out there of this arrangement), this one by the Grace Handbell Choir I liked the best. The handbell playing is wonderful, precise, and on top of the beat. The melody bells have some swagger in them, not quite diva level, but I’ll give them props for trying. The cajon and sleigh bells add just the right amount of drive to the piece without being distracting. I actually started to enjoy the piece…before I caught myself.
Join us again tomorrow for more Handbell Advent!
Derek: Thanks for featuring this on the blog! I actually wrote the arrangement at the request of my high school students a few years back. The other day in class I was playing them a few of the many, many videos of this arrangement on YouTube and told them they (or, rather, their predecessors in the group) had started a worldwide handbell trend. Ironically, I remember Jeffers was a bit reluctant to publish it since they weren’t sure this song would sell. You just never know…. Anyway, I’m glad the arrangement has been so well received.
Great to see the blog back!