The Mellstock Band perform "Christmas Is Come" at Blandford Saint Mary in Dorset England 1998-12-18 aud master cassettes



Sony mic/Sony Pro Walkman/JVC TD-W718 to adobe audition >Tracks>fades>Flac 6

Checksum files done in Traders Little Helper



THE MELLSTOCK BAND http://www.mellstockband.com take their name from the works of Thomas Hardy, who gave this fictional title to the singers and musicians of the parish of Stinsford, where his father and grandfather were prominent in leading the dancing, carolling, merrymaking and church singing, and where the young Thomas Hardy played his fiddle for weddings and parties.

With their authentic instruments and songs they have performed all over England, and taken their music to Europe, Africa and America. They have also appeared in productions for film, television, radio and theatre, most notably in the BBC’s adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

The fiddle and concertina are both known to have been played by Hardy himself. He often mentions clarinet, flute and oboe, and The Mellstock Band play the versions of these instruments that would have been current in Hardy’s time. The Band also includes the “rich, deep note” of the serpent, a baffling hybrid of brass and woodwind, easily recognised by its snake-like shape. The unique blend of these tones, combined with the forceful singing of the band, creates afresh the vigour, richness and excitement of English village band music.

This was the day of my father's funeral. The previous day we had driven from near Croydon to Cheltenham for the Johnny Coppin Christmas show, then driven back to north London for the funeral the next morning, and returned to the West Country after the wake to this church hall in the middle of nowhere!

They performed with no PA, and we sat in the back row of this chilly church hall. The theme was Christmas, and the show took the form of music mixed with spoken word, which was mainly taken from the books of Thomas Hardy.

I do not have a programme from this performance, so have no idea of what they read/played.


The Mellstock Band

Dave Townsend (Director) - Concertina, Violin, hunstrum, Voice
Tim Hill - Clarinets, Voice
Philip Humphries - Serpent, humstrum Voice
Charles Spicer - Oboes, Voice