The Mellstock Band

Mellstock Band Shows - A Brief Guide

 
Celebrating Christmas
Rural Christmas festivities have a strong grip on the imagination. These shows abound with the sounds and images of midnight carollers, mummers, wassailing, dancing and making merry.

Rejoice All Men - Christmas in Thomas Hardy’s Wessex
Christmas Is Come - Village Merrymaking, with Hardy, Dickens, Clare, Barnes & others
The Leaves of Life - Christmas Music in English Tradition, from Carols to Revels & from Alehouse to Church Gallery


Music and Tales of the English Countryside
Thomas Hardy, William Barnes, John Clare and other authors have left vivid depictions of country life and customs. Drawing on these and the music collections of Hardy, Clare and other village musicians, the band weave together songs, dances and stories to create tapestries of life, love and festivity.

Human Shows - Thomas Hardy's Musical Worlds, from Mellstock Church to Casterbridge Barracks, from Mixen Lane to Vauxhall Gardens
The Shepherd’s Calendar - Merrymaking and Courtship through the Country Year
A Midsummer Cushion - Music and Songs of John Clare


Beyond Mellstock
The Band’s eclectic interests in composition, improvistion, research and musical exploration mean that they reach forward as well as back in time to bring performances combining a contemporary edge with a powerful historical sense.

The Village Philharmonic - from the Tinker’s Arms to the Concert Hall & back again, with compositions and arrangements by Bach, Corelli, Grainger, Handel, Haydn, Holst, Mozart & Vaughan Williams
Love & Liquor, Death and Dancing - The Great Things of Life according to Thomas Hardy
Ghosts & Lovers - Shocking Stories, Wicked Songs & Tunes: Tales of Dread and Delight from Hidden Byways of Rural Tradition

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