Chronicles - Trumpet & Organ:

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.

Bach - BWV 130, BWV 50 - Solomon’s Knot - Bachwoche Ansbach

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After enjoyable performances at Bachfest Leipzig and Stour Music Festival, Solomon’s Knot gave two all-Bach concerts on consecutive evenings (Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 August 2025) at St Gumbertus Church for Bachwoche Ansbach.

The first programme featured movements of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (BWV 1051) interspersed throughout. For the second, the order was altered: it began with Johann Christoph Bach’s Es erhub sich ein Streit and continued with J. S. Bach’s Trauerode: Lass, Fürstin, lass noch einen Strahl (BWV 198), Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (BWV 1051)—Jonathan Sells, artistic director and bass singer, also played the baroque bass in this work—Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft (BWV 50), and concluded with Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (BWV 130).

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I played first trumpet, joined by William Russell (2nd trumpet), Gareth Hoddinott (3rd trumpet), Sam Kinrade (bumper), and Rosemary Toll (timpani). Though Es erhub sich ein Streit (BWV 19) was omitted from the main programme, the opening chorus was saved for the encore, closing each concert in triumphant style.

We travelled entirely by rail from the UK and stayed in the nearby town of Heilsbronn, which had an amazing outdoor swimming pool. 

During the festival, I was delighted to see several familiar faces, including Jörg Halubek, director of Il Gusto Barocco, with whom I recorded Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (BWV 1047) in the Orangerie at the Margrave’s Palace during my last appearance at Bachwoche Ansbach, in 2019. I’ll be seeing him again later this year for a trumpet and organ concert in Stuttgart. 

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Bach, Natural Trumpet, Solomon's Knot