"West Gallery music" or "Gallery music" (or, less commonly, "Georgian psalmody") is music performed by English parish church and chapel bands (singers often with instrumentalists) in the 1700s and early 1800s. As pointed out by Sally Drage, it was sung in both Anglican and non-conformist churches, and was not limited to rural areas or necessarily sung in "galleries". Most but not all of the composers were amateurs. This large and until recently neglected body of music is the antecedent and model for the musical idiom employed by New England tunesmiths of the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Compiler's Note: The West Gallery Music Association (WGMA) Web site has been recently revamped, expanded, and updated by webmaster and musician Tony Singleton. It is now the foremost place to go for information about West Gallery music resources, many of which are described in detail. The compiler of the present chapter, which has been oriented toward musicians in the United States, has decided not to attempt to duplicate or compete with the WGMA guide. However, the present chapter contains some items and details (in some cases probably outdated) not presented in the WGMA guide, and includes for some British books and records information on ordering from the U.S. For this reason, the compiler is retaining this chapter with minor revisions but advises readers to consult the WGMA Web site and assume that the information therein is more up-to-date than that in the present chapter.
Note on international purchases: The easiest way to order something from abroad is to use a major international credit card. If that is not possible, one can purchase an international bank draft or foreign denominated draft in Sterling or other hard currency from a number of firms specializing in currency exchange. The reader is advised to consult telephone yellow pages or search the World Wide Web for a convenient and reasonably priced dealer.
The West Gallery Music Association's Home Page states: "The West Gallery Music Association is an informal group of singers, instrumentalists and scholars. We share an interest in the sacred music, psalmody and hymnody, and the secular music and dance of the men and women who performed from the west galleries of parish churches, in chapels, and around the towns and villages of England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although our interests mainly centre on this period and form of music in the United Kingdom, we are also interested in many aspects of the history and popular culture of the English-speaking world which have influenced or been influenced by our musical and singing traditions. Abroad, we have active members in Australia and the United States. The Association, which was formed in 1990, has staged many highly successful workshop, study and performance events, and members have appeared on national and local television and radio. Many offshoot performing groups have been formed around the country and there are presently over 400 members. The researches of several members of the group are gaining increasing respect in academic circles." The URL of the Association's Web site is http://www.wgma.org.uk/. The Web site contains the following sections:
West Gallery Harmony: Psalms and Hymns, edited by Gordon and Isabella Ashman. ISBN 1-899947-02-7. Published by the West Gallery Music Association; can be obtained by sending a cheque for £10 (plus £1.50 p&p), payable to 'WGMA' to Mike Bailey, 4 Grove Road, Shawford, Winchester, Hants SO21 2DD.
West Gallery Music Vol. 1: General Service Music, edited by Francis Roads. Published in 1999 by Kevin Mayhew Ltd., Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 3DJ. ISBN 1-87003-204-9. Price £8.99.
Praise and Glory, A New Psalter of Metrical Psalms Set to the Music of the West Gallery Period 1700-1840, edited by Rollo G. Woods, with production editing by Edwin Macadam, and Sheila Girling Smith, under the auspices of the West Gallery Music Association. The flyer for this forthcoming tunebook states the following information: "Using his extensive researches into manuscript sources, mainly in the south-west of England, together with the printed Psalm Books most commonly in use at the time, Rollo Woods has compiled a new Psalter which contains one or more tunes for those Psalms appointed to be used at Morning and Evening Service throughout the year. Of the 150 Psalm Tunes, 117 are for the Appointed Psalms. A further 33 are Standard Tunes....Tests are taken from the Old and New Versions of the Psalms, together with the paraphrases of Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, Thomas Merrick, and other lesser known writers. 350 pages approximately, A4 size and hard backed in one or two volumes (this decision to be made at printing stage), the Psalter will be available in the early part of the year 2000. Designed for practical use, the words of one verse are set under the music. There a number of tunes with symphonies and together with copious notes about composers and performance style. The Psalter is fully indexed." Price £28.50 (Sterling only) per single copy, reduced by 50 pence for each additional copy to same address.... Price excludes packing and carriage. Send orders and/or inquiries to Edwin Macadam and Sheila Girling Smith, 30 Eynsham Road, Botley, Oxford, OX2 9BP England (telephone from the U.S.: 011-44-1865-865773). Make cheques payable to West Gallery Music Association.
West Gallery Christmas Music from Northamptonshire compiled by Stephen Weston. This is a 24-page book containing an introduction to West Gallery music and settings of eight Christmas pieces. Published by Camerata Publishing, Kettering. Price £3.00.
A Christmas Celebration: Eleven Carols from Georgian England, edited by Peter Holman and Sally Drage. Choral Programme Series. ISBN 0-571-51792-7. Order from Faber and Faber Music Ltd., 3 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AU (e-mail faber@fabermusic.co.uk), where the price is £3.25 plus £2.50 postage and packing. Credit card orders accepted. The book may still be available through a U.S. distributor, Hal Leonard, P.O. Box 138/9, Milwaukee, WI 52313 (414-774-3259).
Anthymyn as Saumyn (Anthems and Psalms): West Gallery Church Music from Kirk Christ, Rushen, Isle of Man, edited by Francis Roads. This 58-page spiral-bound book, published in 1996, is a performing edition of twenty pieces from the Colby Manuscripts preserved in the Manx National Heritage Library in Douglas, Isle of Man. There are 16 metrical psalm settings, two anthems, and two canticles, all in four parts. All texts are in English. There is a forward by Fennella Bazin, the leading authority on Manx music. The traditional style of performing the music with instrumental accompaniment is described. A separate 28-page Thematic Catalogue of the 110 musical settings that have survived in the Colby manuscripts is also available. ISBN 0-9528319-0-2. The price in the U.K. is £5.00 plus 50 p for postage and packing. The price is US $10.00 per copy of Anthymyn or $5.00 for the Thematic Catalogue, plus postage of $1.00 per order plus an additional $1.00 per book ordered. Send payment from the U.S. in an international bank draft. Order from Roding Music, 61 Malmesbury Road, London E18 2NL, England. Tel/fax +44 181 505 4381. For more information, send e-mail to the editor at Roding@jfroads.demon.co.uk.
Georgian Psalmody 2: Music Anthology, edited by Sally Drage. An anthology of music prepared for the Second International Conference (1997) organised by The Colchester Institute. Items span the period and range of Georgian psalmody, from simple three-part psalm-settings to complex anthems. Hardback A4 format, 42 pages, 19 items of music; ISBN 0-9529336-2-4. Retail price £16.00. Price direct from SG Publishing: £9.50 plus postage and packing: £2.00 to the UK and £5.20 for airmail to the US. Credit cards accepted.
The Singing Seat, A Selection of West Gallery Music from the Choir Books of the Parish Church of St. Laurence, Catsfield, Sussex, England, transcribed and edited by Edwin Macadam and Tony Singleton. It is a 60-page tunebook containing 62 thrtee- and four-part settings of 61 different psalms, hymns for various parts of the Anglican Church year, and anthems, with the parts written out with each on a separate staff, melody mostly in the tenor part. ISBN 0-9526250-0-8. The price is £5 plus 70p p&p from Tony Singleton, 8 Mount Pleasant, Talbot Road, Hawkhurst, Kent, TN18 4ND.
Old Favourites: 18th-Century Vernacular Church Music from the Archives of the West Sussex Record Office, transcribed and edited by Paul Setford. This 106-page anthology contains 31 psalms, 11 hymns, and 5 anthems from a small collection of printed and manuscript music formerly belonging to Michael Turner, bootmaker, fiddler and for 50 years, sexton and parish clerk of Warnham, Sussex. The price is £8.00 including postage to UK addresses or £10.00 including postage to USA addresses. Comb bound. Available from P.Setford, 234 Goring Road, Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, West Sussex, BN12 4PG.
Facsimiles of books from the Gallery Music period published by SG Publishing. Sue Glover has been publishing a growing number of facsimiles, which may be purchased directly from her firm SG Publishing as well as from online booksellers such as Amazon.co.uk. Consult the Web site for a detailed description, ISBN, and retail price of each facsimile. For further information, e-mail Ms. Glover at sue@sgpublishing.co.uk. The available facsimiles include the following:
William East: The Voice of Melody - Selected Psalms, edited by Sue Glover. A selection of 16 fuging and plain psalm tunes published around 1750 by an itinerant singing teacher from Waltham-on-theWolds, Leichestershire. This is a transcription rather than a facsimile. Self-cover A4 booklet, 20 pages. ISBN 0-9529336-5-9. Published by SG Publishing, e-mail sue@sgpublishing.co.uk. Retail price £4.99.
Music for Country Churches: A West-Gallery Anthology, edited by Blaise Compton. This spiral-bound booklet of around 80 pages derives from an international conference on gallery music in August, 1995, in Clacton, England. It contains approximately 28 selections, in sections as follows: music for matins, psalms and hymns, the church year, carols, anthems, and Manx music. Composers include S. Chapman, A. Adams, R. Bremner, J. Smith, J. Key, J. Hill, J. Arnold, J. Crompton, W. Knapp, W. Cole, J. Stephenson, and others. Order from King's Music, c/o C. and E. Barlett, Redcroft, Bank's End, Wyton, Huntingdon, Cambs., PE17 2AA, U.K., tel +44 (0)1480 52076, e-mail cbkings@ibm.net. The price (apparently postpaid) to a U.S. address is US$22 (make check out to C.A.J. Bartlett). The price to a U.K. address is £13.57 (apparently including p and p). Credit card orders accepted.
The Mellstock Carols, 2nd edition, compiled by David Townsend, revised and enlarged. This edition had a projected publication date of Christmas 1997, but it is not listed in Tony Singleton's resource guide. For more information, contact The Serpent Press, 22 Swinbourne Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4PQ, U.K., phone 01865 714778.
The Whole Book of Psalms by John Playford, facsimile of the 18th edition (1729), edited by Gordon Ashman. Playford published in England popular psalters which served as models for early New England psalters. He also published an important music instructional book which employed the four-syllable Lancashire solfa system, the basis of the four-shape note system. This psalter in facsimile edition with plastic-comb binding has over 150 pages. ISBN 1-899947-01-9. The price is UK £15.00 including postage and packing in the U.K. (price for shipping to the U.S. not finalized). Make checks in pounds payable to SG Publishing and send to SG Publishing, 8 Wheatlands Close, Ketton, Stamford, PE9 3RX, England. Send inquiries to Sue Glover at the above address or by e-mail at sue@sg-publishing.demon.co.uk.
A Festival of Village Carols, compiled, transcribed, and arranged by Ian Russell. Check the Web site for availability, pricing, and an order form. Order from Village Carols, P.O. Box 2099, Sheffield S35 0XU. The price is £5 for each book. Add £1 postage and packing for the first item plus 50p for each additional item. Make cheques in pounds Sterling to Village Carols.
Northern Harmony: Plain Tunes, Fuging Tunes, and Anthems from the Early and Contemporary New England Singing School Traditions, Fourth Edition (1999) edited by Larry Gordon, Anthony G. Barrand, and Carole Moody Crompton. This tunebook, described in more detail in the Tunebook chapter of this resource guide, includes several English works from the West Gallery tradition, including three tunes by William Knapp and one by Joseph Stephenson. The price of a single book of the Third Edition is US $20.00 plus $4.00 shipping. Bulk and trade discounts are available. Make checks out to Northern Harmony Publishing Co., 5748 Hollister Hill Rd., Marshfield, VT 05658, phone 802-426-3210. More information can be obtained at the Village Harmony/Northern Harmony Web site or by e-mail at nharmony@pair.com.
An American Christmas Harp, compiled by Karen Willard. This tunebook, described in more detail in the Tunebook chapter of this resource guide, includes approximately six tunes of English origin, including three apparently not published in America previously. The tunebook was reprinted in October, 2000 but went out of print again in 2005. Reprinting is anticipated.
The New Oxford Book of Carols and The Shorter New Oxford Book of Carols, compiled by Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott. The NOBC (1992) is a landmark compilation of Christmas carols, mainly from the U.K. and America, but also some from the Continent. It contains 744 pages and 201 Christmas carol texts in over 300 musical settings. Carols of West Gallery and American shape-note origin are well represented. The editors favor historically informed performance practices, and as a result shape-note and West Gallery selections are presented with the melody in the tenor part. There are extensive and valuable editorial notes, including an appendix on the English "Gallery" and American "Primitive" traditions. The hardbound scholarly edition has an ISBN of 0-19-353323-5). In 1998 an unabridged paperback edition (ISBN 0-19-353322-7) with updated annotations was published. The SNOBC (1993) is a condensed performance edition of the NOBC. It contains 360 pages and has 122 carols in 173 different settings selected from the NOBC. The historical notes are shortened. This paperback edition has an ISBN of 0-19-353324-3. Both editions are published by the Oxford University Press, which has a U.K. Web site and a U.S. Web site (order department in the U.S. at 919-677-0977). Check the Web sites for current list prices.
Additional sources of traditional English Christmas carols: The liner notes by Ian Russell of the CD "English Village Carols: Traditional Christmas Carolling from the Southern Pennines." has an extensive bibliography listing numerous books of carols and their publishers. This list will not be reiterated here because its scope extends beyond West Gallery music. The recording is described in the Recordings section below.
The Music of the English Parish Church, Vol. 1 and 2, by Nicholas Temperley. Vol. 1: This authoritative monograph by the foremost musicologist in this field, published in hardback in 1979 and now (2006) reissued in paperback after being out of print for several years, describes the history of English parish church music generally thought to be antecedents to New England singing school and shape-note music. Vol. 2 contains musical scores of over 100 examples of English parish church music from the fifteenth century until recent times. ISBN: 0-521-27457-5 for vol. 1, 0-521-02337-8 for vol. 2. The publisher is the Cambridge University Press, phone 800-872-7423 in the U.S.
Good Singing Still: Handbook on West Gallery Music, by Rollo G. Woods. According to quire director Mike Bailey, this handbook published in 1995 by the West Gallery Music Association contains 68 short articles about the history and practice of West Gallery music, written by an acknowledged authority on the subject in the UK. The sewn-paperbound book has 162 pages. Unfortunately it is now out of print.
Georgian Psalmody 1: The Gallery Tradition, edited by Christopher Turner. This book contains the papers delivered at the First International Conference (August 1995) organised by The Colchester Institute. Chapters deal with the history and performance of gallery music and are by such authorities as Nicholas Temperley, Ken Baddeley, Dave Townsend, Sally Drage, Vic Gammon, Christopher Turner, Ian Russell, Mike Bailey, and Gordon Ashman. The book was published by SG Publishing in association with Anglia Polytechnic University. This is the second edition; the first edition was entitled The Gallery Tradition: Aspects of Georgian Psalmody. Hardback A4 format, xi+109 pages, 12 illustrations; ISBN 0-9529336-1-6. Price (direct from SG Publishing): 16.50 GB pounds plus postage and packing: 2.50 pounds (UK); 7.50 pounds (airmail to USA and Canada). Make checks in pounds and send to SG Publishing, Holly House, 12 Mussons Close, Corby Glen, Grantham NG33 4NY, England. Send inquiries to Sue Glover at the above address or send e-mail to sue@sgpublishing.co.uk
Georgian Psalmody 2: The Interaction Between Urban and Rural Practice, edited by Christopher Turner. Papers from the Second International Conference organised by The Colchester Institute. Thirteen articles by leading authorities. Hardback A4 format, about 140 pages, over 20 illustrations, ISBN 0-9529336-3-2. Published by SG Publishing . See also Georgian Psalmody 2: Music Anthology in the music section above.
Face the Music: Church and Chapel Bands in Cornwall by H.G. Woodhouse. This 115-page book published in 1997 deals with Cornish tunes, tunebooks, and instruments. The author is a scholar and West Gallery musician. The book is published in both paper back (ISBN 1900147-07-6) and hardback. Order from Mike Bailey, 4 Grove Road, Shawford, WINCHESTER, Hants SO21 2DD. E-mail him at mike@maddingcrowd.org for ordering details and pricing.
Hymn Tune Index: A Census of English-Language Hymn Tunes in Printed Sources from 1535 to 1820 by Nicholas Temperley, assisted by Charles G. Manns, and Joseph Herl. The publisher's description of this four-volume magnum opus states: "This unique reference is the first systematic guide to the history of the English-language hymn tune, as represented in printed sources from the earliest (Coverdale's Goostly Psalmes) to 1820. Using a simple numerical code to represent the first two lines of each melody, the book allows the reader to look up any of nearly 20,000 British and American hymn tunes without advance knowledge of the composer, name, or text. Each entry provides an array of information on the tune's first printing, composer, the texts to which it was sung, and its later history. The work contains a historical introduction; a theoretical introduction; chronological and geographical lists of sources; indexes of tunes by name, composer, text, and metre; and tables of concordances with early German and French tunes." Published by Oxford University Press/Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-311150-0. Probably out of print, replaced by the online Hymn Tune Index described below.
Web site with search engine for the Hymn Tune Index: A Census of English-Language Hymn Tunes in Printed Sources from 1535 to 1820 . The Web site's main entry URL is http://hymntune.library.uiuc.edu/.
The West Gallery Music Association's Home Page. See the first section of this chapter for a description of this site.
Gallery Music Web Page, edited by Sue A. Glover. This recently updated site contains original scores and transcriptions that can be printed out and sung from, samples of West Gallery music to listen to (MIDI files), articles on gallery music, particularly an outstanding one by David Ward entitled "Bright Believing Bands," information on West Gallery quires and the West Gallery Music Association, biographies of individuals from the gallery music period, resources, etc.
West Gallery Churches Web site, compiled by Edwin and Sheila Macadam. One finds here an very extensive site in progress describing in detail Independent chapels which were spared the zeal of Victorian reformers and which maintain the pre-nineteenth appearance and architectureg associated with West Gallery music. The site has (or will have) information and photos documenting architecture, galleries, quires, barrel organs, instruments, music. There are an extensive bibliography, links, and a search engine. The churches are organized according to original counties of the UK.
The Hymn Tune Index Web Site. Described at the end of the section immediately above.
English West Gallery Music workshops in the Boston (Massachusetts, US) area. Sacred Harp and Gallery music singer and composer Bruce Randall holds monthly workshops on English parish church music. The Web page has some MIDI sound files and a blog by Laura Conrad.
"Praise Ye the Lord" performed by the London Gallery Quire.
"Hark, Shepherds, Hark" performed by The Madding Crowd. This CD contains 22 carols and anthems, including several unique gallery carols not found elsewhere. For ordering information, consult the Madding Crowd Web site.
"Round the Year with the Village Quire" and "Christmas in Purbeck" performed by the Purbeck Village Quire.
"West Gallery Favorites." Twenty-three selections. Consult the Web page for more information.
"The Promised Land: West Gallery Music from the Isle of Man," performed by Caarjyn Cooidjagh with musicians and readers. Manx Heritage Foundation MHF-CD3. The playlist is on the Web site. Tony Singleton's resource guide states: "The CD can be obtained (cheque to Manx Heritage Foundation) for £12.99 + £1 postage and packing [to UK addresses] from Charles Guard, The Manx Heritage Foundation, 15 Highfield Crescent, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM3 3BL. You can also purchase a book of the music at £14.95 from The Centre for Manx Studies, 6, Kingswood Grove, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 3LX. The CD and book together costs £28.00 from the former address."
Recordings by The Gladly Solemn Sound directed by Paul Guppy.
"William Knapp: West Gallery Anthems and Psalms," sung by the Christminster Singers directed by Dave Townsend. William Knapp (1698-1768) was one of the most popular composers of music for country church choirs in England in the second half of the 18th century. He was a seminal force in the development of the West Gallery and New England shape-note traditions. This 1996 CD (XMS 001) contains 18 of his tunes and anthems sung by one of the foremost West-Gallery choirs, based in Oxford, England. The price is UK £12.00 plus £1.00 for shipping to the U.S. Order from The Serpent Press, 22 Swinbourne Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4PQ, U.K., phone 01865 714778, (e-mail mellstock@aol.com). The address of The Christminster Singers is 34 Oxford Rd., Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4PE, UK.
Recordings by Vital Spark. Vital Spark is a West Gallery quire with singers and instrumentalists based in Malvern, Worcestershire, England and directed by John Williams. It was formed in 1992 by friends who share interests in folk music and country dance tunes. In addition to Gallery music, they sing pieces from the American Sacred Harp and related shape note singing traditions. They currently have two CD recordings. Ordering information is found on their Web site. The price for UK orders is £10.00 plus £1.00 for postage and packing, per CD. Send orders to Vital Spark, c/o Julia Davies, 6 Eston Avenue, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 2SR, UK.
"Carols and Festive Songs from Ordsall Hall Museum," performed by the Larks of Dean Quire of Lancashire, England. This 50-minute cassette tape is a recording of the Quire's performance at the Museum, Salford in December 1995. Sixteen songs are presented, with a concentration on Christmas music. For orders to the United Kingdom the price is £3.00 postpaid; for orders to the U. S. the price is £4.00 sterling postpaid by international money order. Make out cheques and send orders to Larks of Dean Quire, 12 Quakersfield, Tottington, Bury, Lancashire BL8 4AZ. The Quire's Web site is at http://welcome.to/larks-of-dean/.
"Tenants of the Earth," performed by the Mellstock Band and Choir. Singers and instrumentalists (playing the fiddle, concertina, oboe, clarinet, and serpent) perform dances, marches, carols, and traditional songs. Available in CD and cassette formats. Wildgoose Studios WGS281-CD. Order from Serpent Press, 22 Swinbourne Rd. Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4PQ, England, phone 01865-714778. (E-mail mellstsock@aol.com). The price of the CD or cassette is UK £12.00 or £8.00, respectively, plus around £1.00 additional for shipping to U.S. addresses.
"Under the Greenwood Tree: The Carols and Dances of Hardy's Wessex," played by the Mellstock Band and Choir. This originally British recording (Saydisc SDL 360) presents rural English church and town music from the time of Thomas Hardy, considered to be antecedents to music of the New England late 18th-century tunesmiths. Stylistic similarities between the two musical traditions, in England and later in New England, clearly indicate the influence of the former on the latter. This recording includes pieces for choir alone, band alone, and both together. The singing sounds as unpolished as that at Sacred Harp singings. It may still be available in cassette format only (MHC 312044Y) for $12 postpaid from the Musical Heritage Society, 1710 Highway 35, Oakhurst, NJ, 07755, phone 908-531-7003. The record may still be still available in CD on the original Saydisc label (CD360).
"Brighton Festival" sung by Sussex Harmony. According to Berkley Moore, it is a cassette containing twenty selections and having one side given over to ten West Gallery selections and the other to ten selections from U.S. shape-note tunebooks and a new Bruce Randall composition, with appropriate national flags illustrated on each side of the cassette. Order from Sussex Harmony, c/o Edwin Macadam, 30, Eynsham Road, Botley, Oxford, OX2 9BP England (telephone from the U.S.: 011-44-1865-865773). The price is £5.00 plus £2.00 postage and packing to the U.S. Payment must be made in sterling.
"Let the Echo Fly" The Story of West Gallery Music sung by the Christminster Singers. The CD contains 20 tracks, including two songs from the American shape-note singing traditions. The CD can be obtained by sending a cheque for £12,00, made out to 'The Christminster Singers' to Dave Townsend, 22 Swinbourne Road, Littlemore, Oxford, OX4 4PQ.
Recordings by Psalmody and the Parley of Instruments, directed by Peter Holman. This professional British group consists of choir, soloists, and diverse original instruments. The Hyperion Web site contains details about the recordings and the performers Psalmody and Parley of Instruments. The Hyperion label is sold in classical record stores in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
"Early American Choral Music, Vol. 2" performed by His Majestie's Clerkes conducted by Paul Hillier. This is a reissue of a recording originally entitled "Goostly Psalmes: Anglo-American Psalmody 1550-1800," This beautiful 1996 CD recording (61 minutes), traces the development of harmonized hymn- and psalm-singing from British sources (Tans'ur, Farmer, Parsons, Dowland, Knapp) and follows its development in the American colonies (Massachusetts Bay Psalm Book, Billings, Morgan, Wood, Swan, Read, etc.). (The word "Goostly" (pronounced by Hillier as "ghostly") means "spiritual" and came from the title of a 1535 London psalm book.) The 23 selections are sung with great beauty, discipline, and perfection, and in some cases (particularly the American songs and fuging tunes), spirit. Accompanying the original "Goostly" CD (which probably can still be found in record stores) is 70-page booklet with an informative essay and song texts in English, French, and German. The reissued CD is budget-priced (around $7.00) and may not have the booklet. Harmonia Mundi HCX 3957128.
Village Carols: Christmas Carols Book/Cassette Sets as Sung in the Pubs of England. Ian Russell has recorded traditional carol singing by British villagers at Christmastime in at least nine pubs and taverns in Derbyshire and Yorkshire. While this is not West Gallery music, perhaps over half of the selections were originally from the West Gallery tradition, and the forthright (and sober) four-part harmony frequently resembles West Gallery singing. According to Berkley Moore, about one-third of the selections on each record are fuging tunes. Each is accompanied by a 40-60 page book of music. The sets include the following, although only the more recent ones may still be available:
Each sale generates income for a local charity in the featured village. For availability, prices, and an order form, check the web site. Order from Village Carols, P.O. Box 2099, Sheffield S35 0XU. The prices are £8.00 for each cassette/book set and £11.00 for each CD/book set. Add £1.00 postage and packing for the first item plus 50p for each additional item. Make cheques in pounds sterling to Village Carols. Currently there is no U.S. distributor.
"A Festival of Village Carols." This 74-minute CD/cassette (Village Carol Foundation VCF101) presents 18 carols sung at the Village Carol Festival of December 1994. Eight selections are sung a cappella by four different village carol groups and the remaining ten selections are sung by the combined groups accompanied by a full band provided by the West Gallery Association. Order from Village Carols (address, etc. listed in the item above), where the prices are as stated in the item above.
"English Village Carols: Traditional Christmas Carolling from the Southern Pennines." This 71-minute CD contains 16 carols "recorded live in pubs [around Sheffield], filled with spontaneous joys of singers, the clinking of glasses, and murmur of the other patrons." The 28-page booklet has an outstanding detailed essay by the foremost Village Carol authority Ian Russell, with photos, a map, and an extensive bibliography. This album would be an appropriate introduction to the Village Carol genre. Smithsonian Folkways Recording SF 40476. Order from Smithsonian Folkways Mail Order, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7300, MRC 953, Washington, D.C. 20560, phone 800-410-9815. The price listed on the Web page is $15.00, but a price of $9.95 was quoted over the phone, plus shipping handling of $5.50 for one item.
"Fire and Sleet and Candlelight," Regional and Historical Carols and Songs from Midwinter Traditions performed by Coope Boyes & Simpson with others. This recording issued in 2003 on the NoMasters label (NMCD21) by a trio of English gentlemen with guest singers contains quite a few carols from the West Gallery and Village Carol traditions, according to Berkley Moore. An earlier album by the same artists, "A Garland of Carols" (NMCD13) has fewer West Gallery carols. Order from record stores.
"Nowell Sing We Clear: A Pageant of Midwinter Carols" performed by John Roberts, Tony Barrand, and Friends. British folk singers John Roberts and Tony Barrand (the latter an editor of the "Northern Harmony" tunebook and currently living in Vermont), along with Fred Breunig, Steven Woodruff, and (in the most recent recording) Andy Davis, have produced since 1977 several Christmas albums containing traditional Anglo-American midwinter carols from both sides of the Atlantic. Every album includes some carols from the British gallery music and village carols traditions and the American shape-note tradition. Some are sung a cappella and some are accompanied by fiddle, accordion, concertinas, etc. These records are available from Golden Hind Music, P.O. Box 1792, Schenectady, NY 12301, phone 518-370-4166, where the prices are $15.00 per CD, $10.00 per cassette, and $2.00 postage for the first item and $1.00 for each additional item. The available titles include the following: