Göttingen International Handel Festival - 2026 - Deidamia, Gala Concert & Messiah

25 May 2026, 20:00

It was a great pleasure to return to Göttingen for the 2026 International Handel Festival, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the festival orchestra, Festspiel Orchester Göttingen (FOG). It was an honour to play first trumpet throughout the whole festival, comprising a Gala Concert, five performances of Handel’s last opera (1741), Deidamia (HWV 42), and two performances of Messiah (HWV 56).

The 2026 festival opened with a grand Gala Concert which showcased FOG playing a programme of instrumental music in which the trumpets played in every work. The Gala Concert took place on Thursday 14 May 2026; it was conducted by George Petrou and presented by Volker Muthmann, and opened with Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes (Ouverture, Entrée des quartre Nations dans la cour d’Hébé, Tambourins, Air pour les guerriers portans les drapeaux, Adoration du Soleil, Ritournelle, Orage, Danse du grand calumet de paix exécutée par les sauvages, and Chaconne). This proved to be a wonderful exhibition of this marvellous orchestra with particularly vibrant interjections from the flutes and percussion; the first half culminated with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major (BWV 1068) with triumphant trumpets and timpani.

After the interval, we continued with Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D Major (BWV 1069), and, in-keeping with the celebratory theme, continued with George Frideric Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351). This was an absolute joy to play, and I think you could say the orchestra was firing on all cylinders! The performance was recorded for broadcast on the radio channel NDR Kultur.

The performance culminated with a specially composed new work by FOG’s harpsichordist, Hanneke van Proosdij (b. 1969), entitled Parea (2026). Much like the Danish concept of hygge or the Swedish tradition of fika, the Greek word parea encapsulates a cultural ideal: it describes the experience of sharing time, conversation, and communal activities with close friends in a way that nurtures connection; it seems to be something along the lines of enjoying a life-affirming sense of community with friends. The title already accurately captures the essence of working with FOG, and the piece itself, structured in three distinct sections, was both enjoyable to play and well written.

Parea begins with a rhythmic fanfare from the brass section. It was wonderful that Hanneke had left the music free from restrictive articulation markings—many contemporary pieces are often over-prescriptive in this respect. We were free to interpret this music as if reading a piece of music by Bach, Handel, or Rameau, if we wanted to. This was a refreshing change from most of the other contemporary pieces I have encountered. Parea continued into a more mysterious section, with all sorts of percussive sounds—glockenspiel, temple bells, and wind chimes have (presumably) never accompanied the Festspiel Orchester Göttingen before in its 20-year history. Percussionists Lola Mlacnik and Maarten van der Valk were in their element.

The piece ended with a rhythmic, folk-like dance with five-four bars aplenty and it just epitomised the sense of fun that the members of this orchestra radiate. Hanneke had written her piece for the same forces as the Fireworks Music, so everybody stayed on stage—which visually encompassed the communal ethos of her work. It was a great way to end this glorious and celebratory Gala Concert, in which we were joined by the alumni and alumna of recently-retired players, which was a delight both musically and socially.

After the show, there was an after-show party for the entire audience in the foyer of the Stadthalle and it featured the kind of music we often enjoy in the communal hotel kitchen. The first of these short performances, entitled ‘Reeling in the FOG’, featured Irish and Scottish folk music from Handel’s time with Brian Berryman, Catherine Aglibut, Daša Valentová, Jarek Thieł, and Hanneke van Proosdij performing. The second featured ‘Jazzy Riffs’ from vocalist (FOG violist) Gregor DuBuclet with Henning Vater, and Christoph Engel. The third show, ‘Musica Globus’, saw Milos Valent, Daša Valentová, Peter Spišský, Jarek Thieł, Mauro Zavagno and Jan Rokyta performing lively traditional dance music from Slovakia, Moravia, Germany, and England.

The following day, Friday 15 May 2026, was the premiere of the opera Deidamia, which featured soprano Sophie Junker in the title role. In so many other opera productions here over the past 12 years, I have waited for hours backstage in order to play a short fanfare-like entry somewhere in the middle of the opera, or perhaps a chorus near the end—this year was quite different. The trumpets were only involved in the first number of the opera, immediately after the overture. This was quite amazing for us, and we’d better not get too used to it!

We did have quite a bit more to do in the the two performances of Messiah, the first of which took place in the Musik- und Kongresshalle in the beautiful city of Lübeck on Friday 22 May 2026, and the second in the Stadthalle in Göttingen on Saturday 23 May 2026. I performed ‘The Trumpet Shall Sound’ with the Canadian-born bass, Drew Santini who was absolutely brilliant. It was a delight! The other soloists were Ana Maria Labin (soprano), Lena Sutor-Wernich (alto), and Ru Charlesworth (tenor); the NDR Vokalensemble (formerly known as the NDR Chor) were in excellent voice as well.

Just before leaving Göttingen on route to Lübeck (via an overnight stop in Hamburg), I fell down some steps and sprained my ankle quite badly. I suspected that it might have been broken, so I went to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf accident and emergency department in Hamburg for an X-ray. This showed that it was not broken, just badly sprained, and they gave me a strong velcro support to wear. The swelling took a few days to subside and I had a nasty bruise, but I was getting around OK just a few days later—it could have been much worse. The administrator at the hospital asked me if I had ever been there before—I replied in the negative. Amazingly, he found my records on the computer system; they had been registered when I came to Hamburg to perform Purcell in the Laeiszhalle with Solomon’s Knot—we had to have a Covid-19 test for that project in October 2020, and they still had my details on file!

After the performance in Lübeck, we returned to the hotel in Hamburg, and back to Göttingen the next day for the Messiah performance in Göttingen, and two final operas (along with an additional family version of the opera) on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 May 2026. The festival finished with an after-show party in the Keller of the Deutsches Theater. It was a great way to end this wonderful festival in which I was involved in the Gala Concert (perhaps too much?!), the opera (perhaps too little?!), and the oratorio (probably just right?!)—overall this turned out to be an excellent balance throughout the festival. It was great to work with George Petrou directing throughout, and we had a wonderful time with a fantastic atmosphere.

We had an amazing trumpet and timpani section for the whole festival, comprising Russell Gilmour, Gareth Hoddinott, and Lola Mlacnik. We had been joined by William Russell, Sam Kinrade, and Maarten van der Valk for the Gala Concert. There were also two horns in the opera, Erwin Wieringa and Renske Wijma, with Joana Mateu Carles joining them for the Gala Concert. So this was a festival year to remember!

I travelled home entirely by train, via rehearsals in Belgium and a performance in the Saint-Denis Festival in Paris with Vox Luminis. This is my last trip overseas before the baby is due, though I have a lot of activity planned in the UK for June, including with Les Talens Lyriques and Aurora Orchestra.

Russell Gilmour

writing on music, photography, engraving, travel and life as a freelance professional musician.

Russell Gilmour's innovative new book, 'Just' Natural Trumpet, is now available: please click here for more information.