After additional rehearsals in Namur from 15–17 December, to rehearse some substituted repertoire (Kuhnau instead of Telemann, and Bach’s Magnificat in E-flat major instead of in D), parts two and three of this three-part and five-country tour followed. The second part of the tour featured Johann Kuhnau’s Magnificat in C major alongside J. S. Bach’s Christen ätzet diesen Tag (BWV 63) and J. S. Bach’s Magnificat in E-flat major (BWV 243a); this permeation of the programme featured fewer performers to on account of the small stage at London’s Wigmore Hall. Performances took place at AMUZ in Antwerp on 18 December and at Wigmore Hall on 19 December.

The final part of the tour, with medium forces (larger than in London and Antwerp and fewer than in Hamburg, Rotterdam and Dortmund) featured the same programme as the first part of the tour (TWV 1:1451, BWV 63 & BWV 243), with concerts at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam on Saturday 20 December, followed by a concert in the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni in Modena on Sunday 21 December and the final (video recorded) concert at the Teatro Grande in Brescia on Monday 22 December.

Vox Luminis was directed by Lionel Meunier, with Tuomo Suni as lead violin. The trumpet section consisted of Russell Gilmour, William Russell, Krešimir Fabianic and Sam Kinrade, with Koen Plaetinck on timpani. It was a joy, in particular, to perform Christen äztet diesen Tag, one of my favourite Bach cantatas; it even made it into my book, ‘Just’ Natural Trumpet, as a remarkably chromatic passage appears in the first trumpet part. I explain that ‘Bach musically portrays the anguish of Satan’s torment using five different semitone intervals: C to B (16:15), B to B♭ (15:14), B♭ to A (14:13), F to E (11:10), and G to F♯ (12:11). Chromatic means ‘colourful’, and Bach takes the listener through a full spectrum in this exceptional phrase.’ For more information about the book please visit www.justnaturaltrumpet.com

This tour, which for me effectively began with a trumpet and organ recital in Stuttgart, continued right up until the 23 December 2025. The final performance of the tour, in Brescia, was my last before Christmas and this year, even. Happy Christmas!