JUDGING by the number of visitors to the Elgar Museum, and listeners to the music laid on for the weekend, this was an excellently conceived event.

Performing musicians and readers, some amateur and some professional, but all connected locally, encompassed a variety of instruments and styles.

Among Sunday afternoon's contributors were Sidney Pavey (piano), who included an unpublished Elgar Sonatina.

Gill Bradshaw (soprano) and Geoffrey Bradshaw (piano) presented two of Elgar's songs, Like to the Damask Rose and The Shepherd's song, also two of Robert Coningsby Clarke's songs (with words by Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall), composed in 1916 to form a cycle of seven songs entitled Songs of the Malvern Hills.

The choir of St George's RC Church, Worcester, sang two of Elgar's church anthems, Ave Verum and O Salutaris. Elgar himself was organist here, and even now one of his nieces is singing with the choir, so the connection continues.

Other English composers whose music was heard included Benjamin Britten, Andrew Moore and William Byrd.

Among Saturday's performers was Ann Roadknight (piano) who executed music by Arne, Parry and John Ireland, as well as Elgar's In Smyrna and Skizze.

Pianists Michael Campbell, and Alison Uren with flautists Rosie Earl and Felicity Hainge, Cathy Holmes (violin) with Milada Tarka (piano), Alan Tipple (guitar), and Angela Cranmore and Brian Capleton (lyra viols), together with appropriate readings and monologues from Mary Wehner and Margaret Fotheringham, Martin Cookson, Ann Smith and John Gibson, were all contributors to the success of the continuously running programme.

JILL HOPKINS