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, harmonies.

Most early West Gallery groups sang unaccompanied, but later they were augmented by instruments such as the viol, violin, cello, serpent and flute. Each instrument tended to lead a group of singers who gathered around it.

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.