There was no 2010 course because the date has moved to early in the year, to avoid various clashes.

This year's course included music for the church festivals from Ash Wednesday to Trinity Sunday, and the now traditional Halsway Grace, sung before Sunday lunch. In common with many other Benslow choral courses we suffered a shortage of tenor voices this year. This difficulty was overcome by singing music from a new anthology of three-part West Gallery music for Soprano, Alto and Bass voices only.

Last year's successful innovation, a visit to the local Baptist Church to sing its own west gallery, was repeated. Members had a chance to leave the gallery and go downstairs to listen to the authentic sound of a gallery band from the nave of the church.

On Saturday evening our informal ceilidh included West Gallery stories and poems, songs, some Renaissance music involving a treble viol and a crumhorn, and a spectacular demonstration of cats cradles. As always, West Gallery attendees showed a remarkable array of talents.

At the end of the course we shared a brief concert with the Baroque Chamber Music course which took place at the same time. We sang three of our pieces, and they played us a Handel suite.

Click on S to view and hear the music from a Sibelius Scorch file. If you are new to Sibelius Scorch or have any trouble with these files please look at the relevant page of Questions and Answers for more information, including how to make transposed versions for clarinets and other transposing instruments. Click on pdf if you prefer a pdf file. Both Scorch and pdf files may be freely downloaded and printed.