News

Saturday 9th December

Well, what an 'interesting' evening! Our annual concert in Alton Village Hall was all ready, the bells were out, the Cheadle U3A Ukulele group was ready, the audience was gathering and we were told the power was about to go off. Sure enough, just as we were about to start we were plunged into darkness. Fortunately we have lights on our music stands, we had some lights on the tables and the emergency exit lights gave enough light so we were able to carry on and played a selection of non-Christmas pieces.

Thankfully the lights came on for a while in the middle of the evening so we were able to hear about the work of Dougie Mac Hospice, draw the raffle and have the results of the quiz.

The power went off again in the second half and we played a selection of Christmas pieces, including Carol of the Bells which suited being played in semi-darkness. When one of the light batteries went flat it led to an interesting variation to We Wish You A Merry Christmas but the team managed the circumstances very well. The evening ended with a sing-along to Christmas songs lead by the Ukulele group and we are very grateful to them for joining us.

Saturday 2nd December.

We received a warm welcome at All Saints Church, Denstone for their Christmas Fair, our first ringing of the Christmas season. We rang a selection of carols and other Christmas music, including our recent addition of 'Carol of the Bells'. 

14th November 2023

Our last event before focusing on Christmas was a full team performance for Woodcroft WI in St Luke's church, Leek. We played nine pieces on 3 octaves including some original compositions for handbells as well as arrangements of well known tunes. When we played Shepherd's Hey, with the bells all malleted, there were a couple of Morris Dancers in the audience who were tempted to join in. Perhaps the church aisle was a bit small for dancing.

We also played three pieces on 12 bells from our 'Last Night of the Proms' section to show the range of music available to handbell ringers.

They were a very enthusiastic and welcoming audience and we enjoyed a cup of tea and biscuits afterwards when there were quite a few questions about handbells and handbell ringing. 

10^th & 11^th November 2023

We were very pleased to be asked to take part in a performance of Noye’s Fludde, by Benjamin Britten, in Lichfield Cathedral. It is a one act opera intended primarily for amateur performers and involves adult and child soloists, choir, crowds of children representing the animals and a musical score which includes orchestra, piano, a recorder group, tuned mugs and handbells. 

The performance in Lichfield was arranged to celebrate 20 years of MusicShare which is a school singing programme that works with primary, secondary and special schools around Lichfield and across the West Midlands. The production involved 16 singers in the main cast, a young ballet dancer, a 30 strong ladies choir, 50 players in the orchestra and about 200 youngsters across the two nights, plus a lot of technical lighting, sound and video. The groups involved were listed on the back of the event T-shirt where we came first alphabetically. It was quite an undertaking, masterminded by Cathy Lamb, who is Director of MusicShare and who also conducted the performance with great enthusiasm.

The handbell part, in itself, is not particularly difficult although the rhythms are quite tricky. The challenge is in fitting in with the rest of the orchestra, singers and the voice of God. We were able to practise our part independently a few times and then went to the cathedral for a full rehearsal; fortunately we had a good position just behind the violins with a good view of the conductor. After a couple of runs through we had a good idea of what else was going on and how the conductor would bring us in so, with another run through ourselves, we were ready for the performances. In the end we were pleased with our playing, particularly the second performance. It was lovely to hear our bells sounding out across the whole cathedral and we gather from friends in the audience that it sounded good, which was a great relief.

It was a wonderful experience, a bit daunting but a great privilege, to be a part of such a production with so many enthusiastic young people involved and with the audience filling the nave of the cathedral on both nights. 

Alan Walters

Saturday 14th October 2023

Cheadle Arts Festival

Alton Handbell Ringers were invited to ring at Cheadle Arts Festival at their Afternoon Tea event in the Guild Hall from 2pm.

We were only able to provide enough members to ring 12 bell pieces. However, what we lacked in numbers we made up with enthusiasm.

Cheadle U3A Ukulele Band played 3 sets with a very varied and lively programme. There were sea shanties, 1920s songs and a Cliff Richard medley to name but a few.

Cheadle Community Choir also performed 2 sets of beautiful singing. It was lovely to see a very wide age range amongst their members, all performing really well. They sang a wide range of songs with some amazing harmonies.

Alton Handbell Ringers’ pieces were enthusiastically received. We rang a mix of tunes from Shepherds Hey to Pomp and Circumstance, finishing with Rule Britannia.

There were delicious cakes and plenty of tea available to keep everyone going whilst listening to the other performers.