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.
Handel - Messiah - Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2024, %RFollowing my return flight to the UK from Frankfurt (having performed at the Alte Oper yesterday), I travelled directly to Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford to play first trumpet in Handel’s Messiah. This performance, on Monday 9 December 2024, was directed by Peter Holder and featured Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Frideswide Voices, The Wolsey Ensemble, and the soloists Harriet Burns (soprano), Katie Bray (mezzo), Nick Pritchard (tenor), and Thomas Humphreys (baritone); I performed ‘The Trumpet Shall Sound’ with the latter.
This was my final Messiah performance of the year. Christ Church Cathedral was looking very festive, and it was also great to see my old friend (and fellow Royal College of Music alumni) Richard Moore, who was playing the chamber organ and harpsichord as part of his role as Sub-Organist at Christ Church.
Handel, Natural Trumpet, Oxford, The Section, ‘Just’ Natural Trumpet
This was my final Messiah performance of the year. Christ Church Cathedral was looking very festive, and it was also great to see my old friend (and fellow Royal College of Music alumni) Richard Moore, who was playing the chamber organ and harpsichord as part of his role as Sub-Organist at Christ Church.
The combined choirs sounded excellent and many of the young choristers who also happen to play brass instruments asked me how I can play so many different notes without using valves. I gave them a brief and simple answer, but it was very reassuring to know that copies of my book, ‘Just’ Natural Trumpet, are preserved in both the Christ Church Library and the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford.