Handbell players and choirs are a rare find these days, and chances are that you won't experience a specialized performance anytime soon; that is, not without the use of the new Bolder Sounds sample library, Handbells ($69 introductory price).

This 1.2 GB sample library features a three-octave set of handbells recorded in nine different articulations (each with with two round-robins per bell), in 24-bit stereo quality. Let's look at how the bell articulations were created and sampled, in more detail than you would expect to be possible:

• Handbell Clapper: samples were created with the traditional technique of holding the handbell against the shoulder, bell-upward, and swinging the bell through an elliptical shape to cause the clapper to strike the casting of the bell
• Suspended Handbell with a soft rubber mallet: samples were recorded with the bells suspended from the ceiling of the room while being struck with a soft rubber mallet
• Suspended Handbell with a hard rubber mallet: the bells were suspended from the ceiling of the room while being struck with a hard rubber mallet
• Suspended Handbell with a plastic chopstick: while suspended from the ceiling of the room, the bells were struck with a plastic chopstick
• Singing Handbells: this articulation was made by running a wooden dowel along the rim of the handbell
• Plucked Handbells: a thumb and forefinger were used to force the clapper head into the casting while the bell was on the table, for a staccato note
• Malleted Handbells on a padded table: samples were created by striking the bell with a rubber mallet while the bell was resting on the foam of a padded table, producing a bright, percussive tone
• Handbell Shakes: the bell was run quickly back and forth so that the clapper struck both the front and back of the bell casting in rapid succession
• Handbell table hit endings: in this articulation, all you hear is a small portion of the pitch of the bell followed by a percussive hit on a foam table

The Handbells sample library is available for Native Instruments Kontakt 2 or higher, with an EXS24 version coming sometime in the near future.