TRADITIONAL music which tells fascinating stories can be heard at two Dorset concerts this winter.

West Gallery Carols for Winter will be at St James Church in Kingston on November 29 and St Mary's Church in Cerne Abbas on December 6.

The Ridgeway Singers and Band return this winter with a seasonal programme of carols, folksongs, dance tunes and stories collected from South Dorset and beyond.

Led by folksinger and actor Tim Laycock and Mellstock Band serpent player Phil Humphries, The Ridgeway Singers & Band formed three years ago as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project led by Artsreach, exploring the musical heritage of the South Dorset Ridgeway area and surrounding communities, and with a particular focus on West Gallery music.

Sung by village choirs in English country churches from the 18th century onwards, West Gallery music’s demise was brought about by the innovations of the organ and harmonium, and the accompanying musicians who played the fiddle, the cello and the serpent might have been no more than a footnote in history, if it hadn’t been for this style of popular music being recorded by writers such as Thomas Hardy, the traditional music he knew as a boy, and the wonderful stories and poems in which he evoked the singers and musicians who performed it.

In the repertoire of The Ridgeway Singers, Hardy's manuscript carols such as Behold the Morning Star Arise and Rejoice, Ye Tenants of the Earth rub shoulders with Hardy's favourite fiddle tune Enrico and music from Benjamin Rose’s country dance manuscript.

Expect an afternoon of absorbing and joyful music in a true celebration of the Christmas spirit!

For tickets for the St James' Church concert in Kingston on November 29 at 4pm, call 07720 784269.

For tickets for the St Mary's Church concert in Cerne Abbas, call 01300 341332.

See artsreach.co.uk for more information.

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