Mellstock was the fictional name that the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy gave to his home parish of Stinsford in Dorset, and the Mellstock Band was originally formed to play the music of Thomas Hardy's Wessex using authentic instruments. Their debut album Under the Greenwood Tree (SDL 360), released in 1986, is regarded as a landmark recording. Hardy's vigorous and detailed portrayals of song and dance - as well as music from his family's collection of manuscript books - still provide the chief inspiration for the band. Their repertoire has since expanded, however, to include a variety of west gallery and village band music, the interpretations of which are based on the manuscript books of village musicians and the singing and instrumental traditions of rural England. In live performance, the Mellstock Band illuminate their music with period costume and spoken word. The band won a worldwide audience when they appeared in the celebrated BBC television production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. They have also has performed for other BBC TV and radio programmes, at numerous festivals, for productions at the National Theatre and the Chichester Festival Theatre, and in Europe, Africa and the USA including tours for the British Council. www.mellstockband.com Charles Spicer:oboes, vox humana, flute, voice Tim Hill:early clarinets, flute, voice Philip Humphries:serpent, trombone, voice Dave Townsend (Director):concertina, violin, voice The Dance at the Phoenix Hey for Christmas Songs of Thomas Hardy's Wessex O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing The Leaves of Life Ghosts & Lovers Glad Tidings - A West Gallery Christmas Glad Tidings
