The Medieval Manuscript the 'Chronicles of Mann and Sudreys' mentions various locations, including the Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and even places as far away as Norway and Brittany.
Russell Gilmour (trumpet) and David Kilgallon (organ) use melodies from these countries and they merge and fuse these ideas together with their own to create unique compositions for trumpet and organ. The idea behind their musical collaboration is to explore traditional music from these countries and to adapt the music, interpret it and explore it. Chronicles' musical format is slightly unusual in that it combines trumpet and organ - not the instruments you may initially associate with folk music - but it is an approach that has sparked a lot of interest.
Their limited edition EP "Prologue" is a sample of things to come, as the production of a full album is underway. The full album will be Chronicles' musical impression of the Isle of Man's influences and rich history - as documented in the Chronicles of Mann.
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writing on music, photography, travel and life as a freelance professional musician.
Gluck - Orfeo Ed Euriduce - Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2023, %RAfter a wonderful Handel Festival in Göttingen, I returned home for just a few days before returning to Germany with a case full of cornetti and trumpets. I joined the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, under the conductor René Jacobs, for their rehearsals and performances of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo Ed Euriduce in June 2023.
Concert, Cornetto, Germany, Natural Trumpet, Spain
We began with rehearsals in the beautiful city of Freiburg, in the foothills of the Black Forest, and following the first performance in Freiburg’s Konzerthaus on 6 June 2023, we travelled to Spain to perform in Barcelona (Gran Teatre del Liceu—pictured below—on 8 & 9 June), Oviedo (Auditorio Palacio de Congresos Príncipe Felipe on 11 June) and Madrid (Teatro Real Madrid on 13 June).
I played trumpet and cornetto with Jaroslav Rouček, and Charlie Fischer played timpani. Since the project was in A = 430Hz, I had to make extensions for my cornetti to play in this unusual (for cornetti) pitch. I took to my workshop in February 2023, and produced two extensions based on a concept illustrated by Bartolomeo Bismantova in his Compendio Musicale (Ferrara, 1677), Biblioteca Panizzi, MSS. REGG. E 41. The extensions, which I made from brass, boxwood, and leather work surprisingly well. I decided to make two extensions, one for the cornetto that is usually in 440 Hz and one for the cornetto that is usually in 465 Hz. Having both instruments at my disposal was incredibly useful and the 465 Hz cornetto was especially useful in the opening chorus, and in some of the higher passages later on.
René Jacobs made this semi-staged performance, with just three soloists, rather dynamic with plenty of movement, additional percussion, and ensemble acting from the RIAS chamber choir.
It was a pleasure to play with the Freiburger Barockorchester led by Cecilia Bernardini, and the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin; we we had an excellent cast of singers too: Helena Rasker (alto) sang Orfeo, with Polina Pastirchak (soprano) as Euridice and Giulia Semenzato (soprano) as Amore.
This had been a wonderful tour with many highlights, including wild swimming in the river Dreisam in Freiburg (and in the Balearic Sea near Barcelona), the excitement of Barcelona, wonderful Asturian food and the sierras (as well as processions for Corpus Christi) in Oviedo, and the grandeur of the royal palaces in Madrid.
I played trumpet and cornetto with Jaroslav Rouček, and Charlie Fischer played timpani. Since the project was in A = 430Hz, I had to make extensions for my cornetti to play in this unusual (for cornetti) pitch. I took to my workshop in February 2023, and produced two extensions based on a concept illustrated by Bartolomeo Bismantova in his Compendio Musicale (Ferrara, 1677), Biblioteca Panizzi, MSS. REGG. E 41. The extensions, which I made from brass, boxwood, and leather work surprisingly well. I decided to make two extensions, one for the cornetto that is usually in 440 Hz and one for the cornetto that is usually in 465 Hz. Having both instruments at my disposal was incredibly useful and the 465 Hz cornetto was especially useful in the opening chorus, and in some of the higher passages later on.
René Jacobs made this semi-staged performance, with just three soloists, rather dynamic with plenty of movement, additional percussion, and ensemble acting from the RIAS chamber choir.
It was a pleasure to play with the Freiburger Barockorchester led by Cecilia Bernardini, and the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin; we we had an excellent cast of singers too: Helena Rasker (alto) sang Orfeo, with Polina Pastirchak (soprano) as Euridice and Giulia Semenzato (soprano) as Amore.
This had been a wonderful tour with many highlights, including wild swimming in the river Dreisam in Freiburg (and in the Balearic Sea near Barcelona), the excitement of Barcelona, wonderful Asturian food and the sierras (as well as processions for Corpus Christi) in Oviedo, and the grandeur of the royal palaces in Madrid.
The thrilling final concert took place in the Theatre Real in Madrid. It was a pleasure to give our final performance in this resplendent venue.
After the final concert in Madrid, I left for Paris to join Les Talens Lyriques for their recording and performance of Louise Bertin’s Fausto (1831). I had travelled to Freiburg by train via Paris on 1 June 2023 to drop off four additional instruments I need for Les Talens Lyriques, meaning that I’m travelling with a personal-most of eight instruments: fortunately I managed to fit everything into just two trumpet cases!