It is hard to imagine a time at Ascension when we didn’t have handbells. We are about to celebrate the 20th anniversary (or actually 20+1 years thanks to the COVID shutdown last year.) We wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about the humble beginnings of the handbell choir.
Flashback to a time prior to the millennium when it was a dream of long-time member Heidi Bischmann to start a handbell choir. Playing handbells was a passion of hers and an activity she enjoyed with her mother Nanci Scharzenbacher. Thanks to the donation of a 3-octave set of chimes made to the church by the Harper family in the late 1990’s, the dream began to take shape.
Originally, the handbell choir practiced and performed with the chimes. Knowing of Heidi’s dream, her husband Dave searched the nation in search of a set of used handbells. Finally, Dave located a 3-octave Mallmark handbell set at a church in Henderson, Nevada. The bells had been silent for over 10 years. Dave purchased the set on E-Bay and in a surprise presentation to Heidi and the choir, they became a memorial to the church in remembrance of Heidi’s mother.
Over the years through bake sales, fundraisers and generous donations by Ascension members, the handbell set has grown to an impressive 5 octaves of handbells and 7 octaves of chimes.
A common misconception is that handbells are made of brass. In actuality, handbells are crafted from bronze, which is a composition of 80% copper and 20% tin that results in instruments of beauty and unmatched tone.
The handbells are often accompanied by the chimes. A chime is crafted as a square aluminum tube with rounded exterior corners. The specialized shape is necessary to create the purest tone and avoid extraneous “buzzing” vibrations. The marriage of the handbells and chimes creates a layered effect to add punctuation and interest to musical pieces. You may have taken note of the lower 6th and 7th octaves of chimes that have been added to the ensemble in recent years. Those chimes are up to 6 feet long and add dramatic bass notes, like the pedals on the organ.
Handbells are not only an auditory experience, but also a visual experience. You have undoubtedly observed some of the many techniques that are incorporated into the performance such as plucks, malleting, shakes, martellatos, and singing bells, just to name a few. The techniques are performed using the table, mallets, singing sticks and even the ringer’s bodies. Ringers are often required to do a “dance” in order to create the musical experience, which is not only a delight to hear, but fun to watch!
The handbells have really made their way beyond the walls of Ascension over the years. Despite not being overly portable, they have been transported to a variety of venues around the state where the choir has performed in concerts, workshops and at other churches. An ensemble of ringers even performed one Christmas at the entrance to Waukesha State Bank…outside…in the snow!
February 13th has been set aside as a Sunday that we will celebrate the bells. At the 8:30 service, a variety of musical pieces will be offered in worship showcasing the talents and techniques of Ascension’s ringers. We hope you will make a point to attend this very special service of musical celebration.
Steve Spieker, Worship Wing Leader
