St. Louis Blues

Alan Reese took this popular W.C. Handy piece – which is said to one of the first and most influential blues scores written – and created this amazing arrangement for handbells. It begins true to Handy’s original and then Al gets creative! The various styles switch from swing to straight eighths throughout while revisiting the basic style. A fabulous bass line drives one section with treble clef rhythmic ring/ring touch accompanying it and  handchimes making a brief appearance.  A minor section has a decidedly Spanish flair to it with the bass ringers driving that rhythm.  Handchimes appear in yet another section – adding just the right legato touch to change up the sound. This is an amazing arrangement – and one perfect for the more advanced Level 3 and certainly Level 4 and 5 to include in their concert repertoire.