THE SECOND WINTER MEETING. xli. 



" Very many memories have been, revived in my mind by the notice in last 

 week's Dorset County Chronicle of Mr. Galpin's paper on parish choirs and bands. 

 I have before me a book used by the choirs of Came and Radipole. It dates 

 from 1801, and contains a large number of Psalm tunes and anthems in manu- 

 script, and in it the tenor and the alto parts are all written in the treble clef. In 

 fact, neither the tenor nor the alto clefs are used throughout the book. Many of 

 the tunes are very elaborate, and fugal passages abound. It is new to me to learn 

 that there had ever been any objection to the use of the serpent in the Church 

 services. The band of Broadwey Church contained two clarionets, a serpent, and 

 a bass viol, for some time also a key-bugle, and I think serpents were also used in 

 some neighbouring churches. It has been a great pleasure to me in later years 

 to see the serpent used in the orchestra of the London Sacred Harmonic Society, 

 and to fancy that I could distinguish its special tone in the " Messiah " music. 

 What we call the alto part was usually, I think, sung by a male counter- tenor in 

 a falsetto voice, and I well remember hearing a servant-maid say in describing 

 the anthem which had been sung, " Well, I do like to hear Bill Wiuzar when he 

 d' sing 'womanish ' " rather a good way of putting it. Of the Radipole choir 

 my father used to tell an amusing tale. It will be best appreciated by those who 

 have had experience with hounds. The bass viol was played by an old blacksmith 

 named Puckett, who had become almost stone deaf, but by putting his ear close 

 to his instrument he could hear its tones. In an elaborate fugal passage both band 

 and voices got hopelessly adrift and broke down, the bass viol going on alone. 

 Then came a voice heard all over the church saying " Hark to Puckett," and 

 then the choir all came in in full cry. I hope some of your readers may find 

 interest in these memories of sixty to seventy years ago." 



