After three days of rehearsals, the concert took place at St. Giles Cripplegate, near the Barbican on Thursday 28th October 2021. A lighting and video team had arrived to capture the live performance for a high quality video, to be released at a future date.

The concert began with Johann Pachelbel’s Gott sei uns gnädig, which featured five natural trumpets. It continued with a stunning Alto solo with strings – Ach daß ich Wassers genug hätte, by Johann Christoph Bach. This exceptional performance featured Rory McCleery (who is also the director of the Marian Consort). One of Bach’s early predecessors as Cantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Johann Knüpfer was next to feature in the programme. His Die Turteltaube lässt sich hören illustrated the longstanding tradition of the Leipzig church cantata, before a performance from the more intimate forces of Kinga Ujszászi (director and lead violinist) and Jonathan Rees (viola da gamba), plus continuo, of Dietrich Buxtehude’s Sonata a 2. The concert ended with J. C. Bach’s Es erhub sich ein Streit, with warlike and triumphant trumpets and timpani, and the portrayal of the battle in heaven. The piece embodies the symbolism of the trumpet with improvisatory and overlapping fanfares in the warlike, principale register, and more florid clarino writing, which represents the angelic aspect of the text. It is a brilliant piece. If ever one could justify using the term ‘rousing’ for a piece of music with trumpets, I think this is it.

In all of the trumpet pieces in the programme, the notes that are naturally out of tune were at times noticeable and at other times, less so. Playing the natural trumpet is so contextual. What is definitely clear is that the consonant intervals sound so good when played together by a section of natural trumpets. The final chords sounded rich, and perfectly consonant. The tension-release formula on the natural trumpet, as I said in the rehearsal, may lead to some tense moments, which makes the release to a consonance feel all-the-more glorious.

There was not a moment in any of the rehearsals or concerts when we were questioned about our tuning on a consonant interval – sure, there were times when the 11th and 13th harmonics were slightly problematic (and, even then, it was only mentioned in the first – instrumental only – rehearsal) – but then they are supposed to be naturally out of tune notes on the natural trumpet. I was pleased and proud that all of our notes that were supposed to be consonant were. In other words, we had very few avoidable tuning problems, as far as I was aware. This is quite a feat when you consider the four-octave range between the lowest trumpet (2nd harmonic) and the highest trumpet (16th harmonic). It really is asking a lot, acoustically, from a trumpet that is the same size whether you are playing 1st trumpet, or 5th. In any other consort of instruments, the instruments are different sizes if you play the bass part and if you play the soprano part.

I (Russell Gilmour) played first trumpet in the section, with Katie Hodges on 2nd, Gareth Hoddinott on 3rd, Will Russell on 4th and Sam Kinrade on 5th. Keith Price played timpani. I made two of the mouthpieces in use in the trumpet section. I had also made the tubing (from sheet) for the trumpet I was using, utilising a Frank Tomes bell I had been given years ago, and I only got around to making it into a usable trumpet by Christmas Eve, 2020. I had also made a long crook to play in C at A=440Hz without using a pigs tail crook. The whole section played on instruments made on the same mandrel by successive instrument makers Frank Tomes (1936 - 2011) and David Staff (b.1958). 

A very distinguished trumpet player was in attendance, I won’t mention the name, but it was great that they came to the performance and supported the project. In fact, it was wonderful to bump into people again after the lockdowns and social distancing of late. I had forgotten what a thrill it is to walk to the tube, or up Whitecross Street, and bump into friends and colleagues. Throughout the day, I met players from the Academy of Ancient Music and the London Symphony Orchestra. Within a 500m radius, there were at least three concerts taking place. I also saw John Wilson (the conductor of the John Wilson Orchestra) outside the Barbican. It was nice to see a friend from the trombone section of the LSO, while we all enjoyed a drink in the Two Brewers after the various concerts. It's good to be back!