West gallery music
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West Gallery Music is a term which refers to music conventionally sung and played in the West Gallery of a Church of England church. Its heyday was the 18th century, from around 1700 to 1850. In the late 1980s, West Gallery music experienced a revival and is now sung by several West Gallery "quires" (choirs).
The instruments and singing style are more reminiscent of folk music than organ music or contemporary hymns. They are characterised by a strong melody backed by complex, often improvised[citation needed], harmonies.
Most early West Gallery groups sang unaccompanied, but later they were augmented by instruments such as the viol[citation needed], violin, cello, serpent and flute. Each instrument tended to lead a group of singers who gathered around it.
The West Gallery tradition was exported to America around the mid 18th century, where it inspired the creation of many new compositions by members of the "First New England School".[1]
Use of West Gallery music in the Church dwindled when the organ became popular, since it was cheaper to keep up one instrument than a West Gallery group. Furthermore, the old church bands were often difficult for a vicar to control, while influence over an organist was a much easier task. Another factor was that the music was disapproved of because it was considered not solemn enough for worship by members of the Oxford movement.
[edit] Notes
- ^ For discussion, see Temperley (1983), who refutes the earlier view that the American tradition was of largely indigenous origin.
[edit] See also
- Fuguing tune
- Anglican church music
- Metrical psalter
- Larks of Dean, chapel musicians in 18th century Lancashire
[edit] West Gallery composers
[edit]
- Robert Bremner, who was influential in mid-18th century Scottish psalmody
[edit] References
- Temperley, Nicholas (1983) The Music of the English Parish Church. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274579. A massive study of both the West Gallery tradition and its antecedents, starting from the time of the Reformation.
[edit] External links
- West Gallery Music Association -- the official website of the WGMA, an organisation closely associated with the revival of West Gallery music
- Gallery Music -- articles, music scores, MIDI and mp3 files relating to West Gallery music
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