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Volume II
The second album from the Allegro Handbell Ensemble features a diverse array of concert music including the world premiere of the Symphony for Bells by Donald E. Allured.
| Track | Title | Time | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Fugue in G Major, BMV 577 | 4:09 | Johann Sebastian Bach |
| 2. | Evergreen | 3:29 | Barbra Streisand, arr. B. Boomsma |
| 3. | Textures* | 4:11 | Evrett J. Hilty |
| 4. | Plink, Plank, Plunk | 3:38 | Leroy Anderson, arr. R. Ivey |
| 5. | La Cathedrale englouite | 7:10 | Claude Debussy, arr. D. K. Menard |
| 6. | Symphony for Bells* Composed for the Allegro Handbell Ensemble and dedicated to the loving memory of Barbara Teschner. |
11:38 | Donald E. Allured |
| 7. | Liebeslieder Waltz, Op. 52, #1 | 1:11 | Johannes Brahms, arr. M. L. Thompson |
| 8. | Wedding Day at Trolhaugen | 7:50 | Edvard Grieg arr. B. Brace |
| 9. | Serenade for a Picket Fence Bronze Edition track featuring the 1993 Allegro Handbell Ensemble |
4:30 | Norman Leyen, arr. Mary Kay Parrish |
| 10. | Elegy* (orig. Tombeau) Commissioned in memory of Dwight K. Menard by the 1971-1979 Allegro Handbell Ensembles. |
6:49 | William A. Payn |
* An original work for handbells.
Performers
The 1978 Allegro Handbell Ensemble
Betty Bogg, Gordon Coates, Karen and Laura Geng, Jim and Trey Holt, Ellen King, Roberta Otto, John and Lolly Patterson, Katie Price, Sarah Trainer, Elizabeth Trask, Edith Wood
Dwight K. Menard, conductor
Details
Recorded: Spring 1978
Originally Released: 1978 on 33 RPM Vinyl Record
Bronze Edition Released: 2008 on Compact Disc and MP3
Credits
Photography: Bruce Chlevin
Engineer: Mark Rubenstein
Allegro Bronze Edition Credits
Digital Remastering and Post Production: Gerald G. LeCompte
2008 Instrument Photography and Graphic Design: Daniel M. Reck, forzandoArts
Track 9 Musicians:
Michael Surratt conducting the 1993 Allegro Handbell Ensemble: Michael Becker, Jennifer Bodziak, Katherine Bodziak, Chris Dayton, Amy Dickerson, Steve Dickerson, Matthew Eigel, Johan Ericsson, Jennifer Kyne, Sarah Lambert, Dana Oesterlin, Courtney Schaefer, Karin Scheftner, and Sarah Wentling
Track 10 Musicians:
Michael Surratt conducting the 1990 Allegro Handbell Ensemble: Andrew Berg, Jennifer Bodziak, Marnie Choice, Jason Cooper, Ssanne Day, Chris Dayton, Steve Dickerson, Jill Jung, Sara Linderman, Jennifer Means, Joel Riemer, Courtney Schaefer, Karin Scheftner, Cary Tice, and Michelle Vukas
This recording is copyright 1978, 1990, 1993, and 1998 by the Allegro Handbell Ensemble and the Union Church of Hinsdale, Illinois.
Volume II was the second record produced by the ensemble, and the last to feature Dwight K. Menard as director before he retired from Union Church and left for Pennsylvania. It is a studio recording, and one of the few albums which do not include any holiday music. Volumes I and II are one of two sets of recordings produced and recorded in consecutive years, a feat which was not repeated until Volumes VIII and IX in 1998 and 1999.
Although the jacket does not indicate it, the first band on the flip side of the LP is the world premiere recording of the Symphony for Bells. One of the first original handbell compositions written for a full five octave ensemble, it was commissioned from Donald E. Allured for the Allegro Handbell Choir and is as-yet unpublished because it is generally considered too difficult to be marketable. This 1978 recording of the Symphony for Bells was remastered and released for the first time on compact disc in 2005 on The First 40 Years (Volume XI).
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From the Record Jacket
The Allegro Bell Choir was formed about fourteen years ago and has been a strong part of the music program at Union Church since them. There are currently fourteen members of high school age who have been ringing from two to six years. All of them read music and display strong instrest in music. Their outside interests are as varied as they. In addition to participating in the music program of Union Church, the group has performed for a variety of civic, charitable, educational and professional organizations and in past years toured the Easter and Great Lakes states and the Western states of the United States, and udring the summer of 1978, toured Europe, with concerts at Paris, France; Berne, Switerzland; Esslingen, Germany; Bonn Germany; Noordwijk, Holland; Sutten, Surrey, England; and Coventry, England.
The bell ringers perform with five octaves (61) of precision-tuned Schulmerich bells, made in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
This is the second album which the Allegro Bell Choir has produced. The first featured music for the Christmas season. The music on this second album is representative of that which they perform on a typical program during the year. The group performs as many as fifty or sixty of these concerts.
