WEA lecturer Tim Porter was the speaker at the May meeting.

The theme of his talk was on how the local landscapes of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire influenced the music of the local composers, from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.

He likened English music to a tree rooted in the nature of the countryside.

Mr Porter showed a series of superb slides of the countryside accompanied by the music of the relevant composer with an appropriate commentary from himself.

He spoke of the Three Choirs Festival, second only to London and visited by King George III.

Samuel Wesley was the organist at Hereford Cathedral where it all began in 1832, later on moving to Gloucester, where he remained until 1876.

Hubert Parry, of Higham Court, was only 20 when he composed music for the festival.

Ralph Vaughan Williams lived at Down Ampeny and named a very well-known hymn tune, Down Ampeny.

Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham in 1874, going to the Grammar School there.

He loved the Coltswolds and wrote the tune Cranham to the words of In The Bleak Midwinter.

Edward Elgar loved the Malvern Hills, living at Broad Heath near Worcester.

The River Severn had a great influence on his music, writing The Dream of Gerontius at Birchwood, which looked across the Severn Valley.

Percy Grainger, although an Australian, spent much of his time at Stanway and with Cecil Sharp, was responsible for the revival of English Folk songs.

Vaughan Williams, who also wrote The Lark Ascending, set A.E. Houseman's poem Summertime on Bredon to music.

Then there was Herbert Howells, who lived at Lydney near the Forest of Dean and wrote much church music, Ivor Gurney, Boughton (The Immortal Hour), and Gerald Finsey, who wrote a violin concerto at Painswick.