Handbell choirs ring at cathedral

Handbells began as a way to lessen the pain for 17th-century villagers, whose ears were hurt as players practiced songs on huge church bells. Now they’ve become a way to increase pleasure for modern-day music fans.

On Sunday, the stately stone walls, towering ceilings, and sunlit stained glass windows of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist offered the perfect venue for Ringspiration 2005, a handbell concert.

More than 100 handbell ringers from St. John’s Chancel Bells, Millwood Presbyterian Church’s Tintinnabula, Spokane Valley United Methodist Church Handbells, and Spokane Valley Adventist School Handbell Choir joined, Upper Columbia Academy’s instrumentalists to perform several solo numbers as well as group performances. About 250 people filled the cathedral for the annual concert.

The bells create a wide variety of music. Some songs sound as soft and sweet as chimes in a child’s music box. In songs like the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the combined choirs rang their handbells with the gusto and jubilation of a full orchestra.

Diane Williams, director of the Tintinnabula group, organized the event, now in its 20th year. “If you read music it’s not difficult to learn to play the bells, but there is a technique involved. You have to learn to ring the bell to make it sound when you want it to sound,” said Williams.

Handbell choirs are made up of people of all ages. Theresa Meckel, 23, and her brother Michael Cheney, 20, are in the Spokane Valley United Methodist Church choir with their mom, Georgiann Cheney. They all have musical backgrounds. Meckel and her brother grew up playing the piano, and were in West Valley High School’s marching band.

The three of them sat quietly waiting for their group to perform. They said they weren’t nervous. “Sometimes you make mistakes. But usually no one in the audience notices. The trick is not to give yourself away,” said Meckel.

Marilyn Gillman is a bell ringer in Williams’ choir. She started about 12 years ago after hearing a handbell choir. “I said, ‘someday I’m going to try that.’ ” She plays the F and G notes. Most ringers have two bells. One octave has eight bells and four ringers. You read through the music and when your notes appear, you ring.

Gillman said her group practices once a week and sometimes she practices at home when learning a new piece. She practices with pencils. Few ringers have their own bells, which cost about $4,000 to $5,000 for a set.

Ringers wear gloves to prevent hands from smudging the brass on the bell. Oils from hands can corrode the brass and damage the bell. They also don’t have to polish the bells as often.

Handbells came to the United States in the 1840s. Today there are more than 10,000 bell choirs in North America, with most handbells rung in churches.