Serpents & Singers

The Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Phil Humphries and Tim Laycock, offer a joyous musical celebration of a Dorset Christmas both past and present

There’s no better way to get into the festive spirit for a Dorset country Christmas than to attend one of the December concerts of the Ridgeway Singers and Band. Led by Phil Humphries and Tim Laycock, the 50-strong ensemble have enlivened the musical life of the county for the last six years with their authentic and exuberant performances of the old local carols – these are often referred to as West Gallery carols.

From the early 1700’s until the mid-19th century, most churches had a west gallery usually at the opposite end to the altar. This was where the choir and instrumentalists would sit to accompany the church services.

Most of the music was written and taught by people with little formal education but they produced great music in two, three and four parts with plenty of vitality, often very rhythmic and full-voiced. Certainly it would have been something that the writer Thomas Hardy and his family would have known.

The choirs had a mix of members: some would have been able to read music and others not, so the instruments (often a mix of what was available in the parish) would be there to help support the singers.

These musicians became a vital part of the village community and, besides their involvement in church music, they could be found singing and playing at dances and other secular social occasions as described so vividly in Thomas Hardy’s 1872 novel Under the Greenwood Tree.

‘Old William Dewey, with the violin cello, played the bass; his grandson Dick the treble violin; and Reuben and Michael Mail the tenor and second violins respectively. The singers consisted of four men and seven boys, upon whom devolved the task of carrying and attending to the lanterns, and holding the books open for the players. Directly music was the theme, Old William ever and instinctively came to the front.