Ringing In the Holidays! Madison Area Concert Handbells is delighted to invite you to our holiday performances this year! Start the season with a flourish! Hear us at the Madison Civic Center in concert with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. This "Heartwarming Holiday Spectacular" will take place Saturday, Dec. 2, at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 3, at 2:30 p.m. For ticket information call (608) 266-9055 or visit the MSO website at http://www.madisonsymphony.org/heart.html. Madison Area Concert Handbells will perform The Bells of Christmas concert on two dates:
Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children. Tickets are available at Borders Bookstore or at the door. The concert will feature familiar Christmas carols and themes, from shepherds to snow to presents under the tree, along with music from Prokofiev and Bizet. In addition to the wonderfully broad range of the sounds of Wisconsin's only six-octave set of handbells, the performances will feature chimes, violin, harp, organ, percussion, and vocalists. Be sure to listen for the following highlights:
What a Site to See! Have you visited MACH on the Internet? Since 1997 we've been a presence in the virtual community. Last year we moved our site to the easy-to-remember www.madisonhandbells.org. This fall, the site had a facelift to live up to its classy new name. MACH online still has all the information it used to have - from concerts to auditions to fundraising. The new site also adds:
Surf on over, and let us know what you think! Spring Performances Mark your calendars for our Spring 2001 concerts planned for Saturday, May 5, at 7:30 pm, at Asbury United Methodist Church, and Sunday, May 6, at 3:00 pm, at First United Methodist Church in downtown Madison. Auditions Madison Area Concert Handbells is an auditioned community music group.
If you are interested in becoming a member, auditions will be held on
Monday, December 11, in the evening. Contact our Music Director (see below)
to set an appointment or to arrange another date.
New Handbells for Christmas ! Madison Area Concert Handbells is proud to premiere our brand new five octaves of bells at our concert The Bells of Christmas. The bells complete our set, making Madison Area Concert Handbells the only full six-octave choir in Wisconsin! Many thanks go to many people for their generosity with their time and money in order to make this dream become a reality. We appreciate all who support us in many ways. But... our work isn't done! Our next project is to raise money to buy our own set of choir chimes. MACH is still keeping busy with several fundraising efforts. Your tax-deductible donations are welcome any time. FAQ (Frequently Asked Question): What Are Chimes? Since our next project is to acquire a set of chimes, an appropriate question for this newsletter is "What are chimes?" Chimes (also known as hand chimes or Choir Chimes(TM)) were developed in the 1980s as an alternative to handbells. Chimes require less maintenance and are more durable than handbells and consequently are very popular in the classroom and for music therapy. They come in several varieties, including square, rounded, and even triangular shapes. The technique for ringing chimes is virtually identical to that of ringing handbells (except they must be damped on their sides). You will notice, however, that there is a marked difference in the sound of chimes and handbells. While handbells produce a complex sound with many harmonics, chimes give a strong fundamental, which has been called the "purest tone of any known instrument." Performance CDs Available Would you like to be able to hear Madison Area Concert Handbell performances year-round, or in your car, or … ? Good News! Performances available on CD include the following:
CDs may be purchased at any of our concerts or by sending a check including $2.00 per CD for mailing costs to the address on the front page. Print an order form from elsewhere on our site! What is MACH? You've received this newsletter, so you probably already know something about us. Perhaps you don't know that Madison Area Concert Handbells was organized in the spring of 1997 to promote the art of handbell ringing. Our upcoming holiday concert is the fourth annual "Bells of Christmas" presentation. The themes of our annual spring concerts were "Music of the Spheres" (1998), "Spring Rhapsody" (1999), and "A Handbell Odyssey" (2000). Stay tuned to find out what spring 2001 will bring. Madison Area Concert Handbells and various MACH ensembles have provided music for business association lunches, weddings, holiday parties, civic celebrations, and fund-raisers. Madison Area Concert Handbells has performed in a number of different retirement homes and churches in central Wisconsin, in Madison's Civic Center, on Capitol Square, at Olbrich Gardens, at Monona Terrace, and on public radio (live!). About 4000 people heard us ring during our 1999-2000 season (plus WHA radio audiences). The ringers of Madison Area Concert Handbells, ranging in age from under 20 to over 60, have a total of more than 200 years ringing experience.
MACH to Host Area VII MidWinter Workshop Madison Area Concert Handbells and Asbury United Methodist Church are hosting the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers' (AGEHR) Area VII MidWinter Workshop and Reading Session on February 2-3, 2001. Lee Afdahl, talented composer and conductor, will be our clinician 6:00-9:00 pm on Friday (2/2/01, cost $13) and 9:00am-4:00pm on Saturday (2/3/01, cost $20). This is an event that area choirs will not want to miss! If you are a member of AGEHR, you will receive details in the next issue of the Area VII newsletter "Clapper Chatter."
The Origins of Handbells The earliest handbells, used thousands of years B.C., were probably made of beaten copper and attached to a handle or stem to facilitate ringing. In China, the oldest recorded history of bells goes back to about 4000 BC. In ancient Greece, bells signaled the opening of the fish market and in Rome, the opening of the public baths. Bells were used to call people to prayer, heal the sick, for protection from demons, for various liturgical functions and even by peasants as fertility charms. In medieval times early Christians built bell towers for the large cast bronze bells that summoned people to worship. At first these bells were rung in a haphazard manner because there was little control over them. Later, when a method was found to control the bell and clapper movement, ringers were able to ring these bells one after another in various mathematical sequences or permutations. This was called "change ringing" because the sequences were effected by the changing of the ringing position of each of the bells in the tone row. For instance, a pattern using four bells 1234 would change to 2143, 2413 etc. until the whole sequence was completed. Sets of diatonically-tuned handbells first appeared in England (hence the term "English handbells") in the 17th century for the purpose of practicing the art of change ringing. By the 18th century, enterprising ringers were branching out and playing melodies, and the diatonic scale had been expanded to chromatic octaves. P.T. Barnum, of circus fame, was the first to introduce handbells to the United States after he saw and was impressed by a group of English ringers. In the early 1900s, the tower bells of Boston's Old North Church needed repair and a church member, Margaret Shurcliff went to England to see how to do this and came back with a set of handbells. She soon formed the first American handbell choir, and the rest is "history." Meet Another Area Choir As often as we are able, we will provide information about the other handbell choirs in the area. (If you want us to feature your choir, contact us.) In this issue, the Bethel Ringers: The Bethel Ringers are a group of dedicated adult handbell ringers who play for worship services at Bethel Lutheran Church several times throughout the church year. The group is directed by Gary Lewis. They keep a list of substitute ringers for those willing to come during absences of regular ringers. The Bethel Ringers have played for weddings and other church functions. Two of their ringers, Jane Sulzer and Melodie Stranberg, are also members of Madison Area Concert Handbells, and Melodie serves as Bethel's assistant conductor. Bethel has five and one-half octaves of Malmark Bells, five octaves of Malmark Handchimes, and a second five-octave set of Schulmerich Bells. Campanile in Wisconsin Campanile, the jazz(?) / rock(?) - nobody knows quite how to classify them - handbell group, was in West Bend, WI, on August 11. Five MACH members attended the all day workshop, along with approximately 50 other ringers from as far away as Illinois. The members of Campanile shared their philosophies of music, performance, and group dynamics, along with bell assignment and ringing techniques. Their performance that evening was impressive and enjoyable. Campanile is, in some ways, very different from most other handbell groups. Like string quartets, brass quintets, and similar groups, they have no director. An important part of their show is dancelike movement; they all take dance lessons. Because they are ringing a lot of bells (5 octaves of bells; 6 ringers), they all do weight training to increase or maintain their strength. They are neither a volunteer group nor a non-profit organization. On the other hand, handbells are handbells, and Campanile's handbells work the same way all of ours do. Their ringing techniques can be used by any ringer. The things they have learned about flexible bell assignment can open up many possibilities for other groups. The ripple effect of the workshop throughout the state will be felt for some time to come, as we use and share the things we learned.
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