BRITAIN'S foremost celebration of early music, York Early Music Festival, is celebrating 600 years of the musical traditions of England and York from today until July 13.

Festival administrative director Delma Tomlin says: "Inevitably, we shall be focusing considerably on the music housed in the York Minster so, yes, it's convenient the Minster library is staying open.

"There's a rich resource of music in the Minster, and in a way it's under-known, so we're bringing out that music.

"Why should the average person in the street think about the music that has been produced there, but nevertheless it is a phenomenal musical history from a very important cathedral."

Now in its 26th year, the festival will be covered not only by BBC Radio 3 as usual, but also by BBC 4 for the first time. Its television cameras are to record Sunday's 2pm concert by Phantasm entitled Autumn Flowers: 17th Century English Viol Music, at the festival headquarters of the National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret's Church, Walmgate.

Viol consort Phantasm are one of six festival attractions to sell out already: the others being their fellow festival debutant, American lutenist Paul O'Dette, tomorrow lunchtime at St Olave's, Marygate; Liber UnUsualis, tomorrow afternoon at All Saints' Church, North Street; Caroline Eason's Wednesday morning tour of the fortified manor house of Markenfield Hall, near Ripon; the City Waites, that evening, at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall, Fossgate; and soprano Catherine Bott and festival first-timer David Owen Norris, next Thursday night at The Gallery, Harewood House.

Phantasm will play works composed for noble amateur players and the royal court by John Jenkins and William Lawes, together with fantasias by Purcell.

Paul O'Dette will present The Royal Luters, music written for the English royal court around 1600 by Dowland, Bacheler, Johnson and Holborne.

Liber UnUsualis - soprano Melanie Germond, mezzo-soprano Carolann Buff and tenor William Hudson - are returning to York for the first time since the trio participated in the festival's Early Music Network International Young Artists' Competition. This time, Libe UnUsualis will perform Lost And Found, Music of 13th and 14th Century England: once-lost ornate works last heard 700 years ago in the richest monasteries and cathedrals of medieval England and the cosmopolitan court of Edward III.

The City Waites - Lucie and Roddy Skeaping, Nick Perry and Douglas Wootton - will present the curiously entitled Another Ballad On A Fish: Or How The World Wags in an evening of ballads, songs and dance tunes that span the jolly and the melancholic.

Catherine Bott, accompanied on fortepiano by David Owen Norris, will re-create the graceful entertainment offered to the beau monde in 18th century London in Haydn At The Pleasure Gardens.

After this afternoon's Tudor Showcase by children from Heworth CE Primary School at the NCEM, the first evening concert of the 2003 festival will be given by The Sixteen. Although they have sung at York Minster previously, they are making their York festival debut with tonight's programme of Music For Contemplation And Consolation in the Minster's Central Nave.

Conducted by Harry Christophers, the choir will perform motets, anthems and religious songs by the 17th century English composers Robert Ramsey and Henry Purcell. Tickets for unreserved seats in the side aisles are being bought, such is the demand to see this concert.

The Consort of Musicke will give directions to The Deep Abyss Of Hell at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall on Sunday evening, when 100 years of English music from the gates of bedlam will be assembled.

"There will be mad songs of every hue: joyfully mad, despairingly mad, mad with love, mad with jealousy, ecstatic madness and more," promises director Anthony Rooley.

In Tuesday's highlight, festival favourite Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg have picked songs and lute solos from 17th century England for Slide Soft, You Silver Floods, at the Lyons Concert Hall.

Outside York, Peter Seymour, from the University of York music department, will direct his European ensemble Corona Coloniensis in The Church's Year, a sequence of 17th century English anthems and motets at All Saints Church, Harewood, next Thursday evening.

Among the festival freshers, Alva will perform The Lark In The Morning, English Folk Songs and Dances, on Sunday night at St Mary's Church, Bishophill; David Timson and Jeremy Barlow will provide 18th century musical entertainment in The Whim Of The Moment at the NCEM on Tuesday afternoon; and The Cardinal's Musick will trace the life of Elizabeth I in Elizabeth at the Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, on Friday.

In further highlights, The Clerks' Group will sing Blessid Inglond, Ful Of Melody (spelling courtesy of the medieval equivalent of Seventies pop act Slade), in the Chapter House of York Minster next Monday; Ebor Singers will perform Music For Troubled Times, music and readings for the English Civil War, that night in the Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate; and The King's Consort will give the last concert, The English Orpheus, next Saturday evening at the Lyons Concert Hall.

The ninth Early Music Network International Young Artists Competition will bring musicians from all over Europe to the National Centre for Early Music next Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Tickets are "nearly sold out" for this event and selling fast for many more besides, so the adminis-trative director urges prompt booking.

The festival also will be celebrating "a fair sprinkling of Yorkshire's finest architectural gems", both in its range of concert venues in the medieval churches, guildhalls and historic houses of York and in additional events. Among these is the chance to look round the restored and preserved Poppleton Tithe Barn, Nether Poppleton, with civil engineer Alistair Jackson and historian Pru Bebb, on Tuesday morning.

For festival tickets, full programme details and brochures, ring 01904 658338.

u The National Centre for Early Music and York Early Music Festival are joining forces on-line with a new website at www.ncem.co.uk

Designed by York Internet company Salvonet, the website has facilities of on-line booking for NCEM events and the summer and Christmas early music festivals, plus a What's On section, information on education projects and details of how to hire the centre for conferences, meetings, recordings and performances.

Updated: 10:07 Friday, July 04, 2003