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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Haydn - The Creation - Middle Temple Hall

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Wednesday 16th of November 2016 saw a performance of 'The Creation’ by Joseph Haydn at the ancient and magnificent Middle Temple Hall in London. Greg Morris directed the Temple Players and the Bar Choral Society through this miraculous work with great energy.


The Bar Choral Society’s Autumn Concert featured soprano Amy Haworth, tenor Andrew Tortise and bass DeAndre Simmons - the latter joining us from New York.


Joseph Crouch admirably accompanied the recitatives from the cello, double-stopping and spreading chords to provide harmonic support to the singers and continuity to the performance.


According to the programme notes, 'The Creation' was originally inspired by Handel’s ‘Messiah' and 'Israel in Egypt' - both of which Haydn had heard while visiting England.


The concert was promoted by the Bar Choral Society and was in aid of The National Brain Appeal and The Motor Neurone Disease Association. Both exceptionally worthy causes.



The concert was very well attended and the smart ensemble, wearing tails and long black was photographed by leading photographer Chris Christodoulou and was also audio-recorded for the archive. The rehearsal had seen an appearance from composer John Rutter, who is the choir's patron. He came to listen to the rehearsal as he was otherwise engaged during the evening concert. He addressed the ensemble and said that 'The Creation' has always been a special piece to him and he urged the choir to enjoy it, and clearly they did.

Classical, Haydn, Natural Trumpet, The Section