Drop, Drop, Slow Tears - Handbells

Sam Batt Owens conveys the languid feeling of this Lenten text with a descending melodic bell and vocal line, as tears would fall to the ground. This descending motif is developed and repeated throughout at varying tempos and dynamic levels. He creates a sense of suffering, particularly in the "crying for vengeance", where the bells rise and fall with the urgency of the text, and are left undamped. This two-part anthem is accessible not only to adult choirs, but to youth choirs as well.