East Devon's lovers of early music will want to make a diary note of May 14 when some of the country's leading exponents of its special delights will be appearing in Ottery St Mary.

East Devon's lovers of early music will want to make a diary note of May 14 when some of the country's leading exponents of its special delights will be appearing in Ottery St Mary.The acclaimed Rose Consort of Viols, including such well known names in this field as Alison Crum, Ibi Aziz, John Bryan and Roy Marks, will be presenting a programme of Elizabethan dramatic songs interspersed with dances and fantasias under the heading Trickling Tears and Ruthless Rage.Music was an important part of social life in the Elizabethan age and any lady or gentleman of note was expected to be able to perform on the viol, lute, recorder, or the keyboard, or to sing. Mezzo soprano Clare Wilkinson joins the players in consort songs by such composers as Richard Farrant, William Byrd and the great lutenist John Dowland. Other great names from the period include the four Thomases - Morley, Tomkins, Tallis and Weelkes - all of whom were bright lights in the Golden Age of English music. The viol, a forerunner of the violin family, is a bowed instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, which comes in several sizes. It has six strings, frets around the neck and is played in a downwards position. The Rose Consort of Viols takes its name from the family of makers whose work spanned the growth and flowering of the English consort repertoire.The Rose Consort performs extensively throughout Britain and Europe, appears regularly on the BBC and in the major London concert halls.The concert takes place in Ottery St Mary Parish Church, starting at 7.30pm, with proceeds going to the Exeter Leukaemia Fund. Tickets, £10 and £8, are available from the Ottery St Mary TIC, tel: (01404) 813964.