Called to Serve for 4-7 octaves handbells (C2 to C8) arranged by Daniel Lee Gibby.
This arrangement is an exciting rhythmic take on the beloved classic anthem. Table mallets are required for various percussive techniques.
Arrangement background
I love Called to Serve, in any language that it is in. I learned it in Portuguese in Brazil while serving as a missionary there. I learned it in Spanish as a teen singing with a group. And of course, singing it in its original English is a staple in my life. (Don’t forget you are “bringing praises”, but it’s a “triump song we sing”… a lot of people sing “praises unto Thee we sing.”) 🙂
When I first learned to play Called to Serve on the piano as a teenager, I was playing for priesthood meeting. The extra notes played between verse 1 and 2 bring a lot of energy into the second verse. I wanted that same energy at the end, so I came up with a new chord progression which instead of hitting the tonic first goes down a major third, then walks up to the tonic. I played it in my ward in Layton, UT and everyone seemed to like it, so it stuck. I almost always want to play it that way now, and so the ending of this arrangement also has that same progression. There are some other places where I put in some different chords to give it the excitement of missionary work.