Ringing in the Holiday Season

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake residents Chris Flinders and Patty Dillree said it has become a tradition to get in the Christmas spirit by pulling chairs in front of the big fireplace at Double Arrow Lodge and listening to the music of the Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells. A packed crowd on Dec. 1 proved they were not the only ones who enjoyed the bell carols.

The Mountain Bells presentation, called Music by the Fire, began with "Joy to the World" and continued with traditional Christmas carols interspersed with a few less familiar tunes. A Mountain Bells quintet played "Angels We Have Heard on High," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "We wish you a Merry Christmas"

When the other four handbell ringers rejoined the quintet, the players all donned Santa hats and invited the audience to sing familiar Christmas carols to accompany the bell choir. A member of the Missoula bell choir JuBELLation Jan Bixler was in the audience and Mountain Bells Director Joann Wallenburn handed her a set of sleigh bells and asked her to ring them during the sing-along portion of the program. The jingling of the instrument enhanced the sound of the carols, especially "Jingle Bells."

The Mountain Bells currently have only nine members and are always seeking more. To arrive at the needed full compliment of 10 bell ringers plus a director, Wallenburn solicited help from Jason Triche of JuBELLation who agreed to perform with the Seeley Lake group.

In order to play sharps, flats and additional musical notes, each bell ringer handles two to five bells, switching back and forth among the instruments on the table in front of him or her. Even more challenging, some bell ringers play two parts, holding two bells in each hand. The final carol played by the Mountain Bells, "O Come, O Come Emanuel," was the most complex of the arrangements played.

Wallenburn explained the various techniques used to play that carol. "We started with the singing bell. You hold the handbell up vertically and run a wooden dowel around the outside and that causes it to sing. Almost like when you take a wet finger around a crystal glass and make it sing. Then we had the chimes, which is a slightly different instrument. I call them bells on training wheels because they're a little easier to play and a lot more forgiving. I love chimes and bells together. And then we had the shake, which is just shaking the bell rapidly back and forth [causing the mallet on the inside to continuously strike the bell]. And at the end we had a vibrato. You move the bell back and forth slowly to get a variance in the tone."

After the program ended, audience member Elaine Gbur said, "They were fantastic. I think they have a better program every year. It's a wonderful way to kick off the Christmas season."