Description

  When the familiar words of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” are sung, the hymn tune, ST. LOUIS, is the one most often heard in the United States. In the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland, one hears these words sung to the FOREST GREEN tune which was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and first published in the 1906 English Hymnal. As a tribute to the international nature of the fellowship of the handbell community, this arrangement uses both of these tunes. To add to the visual aspect of the handbell performance, a new suspended mallet technique is employed at the beginning and the end of the piece.