"Under the Greenwood Tree, or The Mellstock Quire" by Thomas Hardy

I quoted parts of this in a discussion regarding The Mason's Apron, but I couldn't find it in a forum search. I'm sure it was part of thread creep, so it didn't relate to the thread title.

From the introduction:"The village musicians of the 'Mellstock Quire', whose fortunes are central to the book, are prototypes of the Wessex rustics characterized in the later novels..."