Heavenly harmonies coming to Pablo on Saturday
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Sounds of heaven will fill the college gym Saturday night, and there’s not one harp involved.
For those of you who have had the pleasure of listening to a handbell choir, you know what I mean. Each note is rung from a brass bell in the hand of a skilled musician, from the tiniest 7-ounce bell resounding a high-octave note to the lowest tones that require brute strength to ring an 18-pound behemoth.
The harmonies that chime out pure and golden are the ultimate test of timely cooperation.
After writing a story about the Copeland Memorial Handbell Choir nearly 10 years ago, I was intrigued. I was invited to play as a substitute ringer, and eagerly accepted. After all, I had 12 years of piano lessons and dabbled in clarinet, guitar and violin. I had sung in choirs, taken dance lessons, and can sight-read music.
This will be easy.
(I know, you ringers are chuckling right now.)
So they hand me two bells, one maybe rang a G and the other an F-sharp, I don’t remember. After a little lesson in technique, we began.
I found it was much more difficult to play only your two notes as they float by — or fly by — in a score of music. Oops, missed it there. Uh oh, late. Shoot.
But the kind group put up with me, and even invited me to the annual statewide Big Sky Handbell Festival held in Dillon in spring of 2007. Our ensemble wore matching scarves, the requisite cloth gloves (no fingerprints on the shiny brass) and lined up the octaves of bells with perhaps 40 other tables supporting shimmering beauties awaiting their duty of chiming euphoric harmonies.
The nationally-acclaimed director guided us through new sheet music and at one point, told us to put our music away. We were going to play the piece from memory now.
What? What did he say?
And so it went. I remember haphazardly ringing my two bells willy-nilly, in a panic, as the piece evolved into a melodious canticle only truly talented musicians can conquer blindly.
The 35th annual Big Sky Handbell Festival is coming to Pablo this weekend, and after two days of instruction, 236 ringers from Montana and Idaho will perform a free concert, just for you. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Joe McDonald Fitness Center at Salish Kootenai College.
You won’t want to miss this. It’s heavenly.
