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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Bach - Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten [BWV 207] – New College, Oxford
%AM, %Europe/London %b %2022, %RI played first trumpet with Oxford Bach Soloists for their performance of Bach’s cantata Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten [BWV 207] at New College, Oxford, on Sunday 23rd January 2022. BWV 207 was the final piece in the concert, which also included Bach’s first Brandenburg Concerto [BWV 1046] and the cantata Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht! [BWV 52]. Each cantata featured recognisable thematic elements from the first Brandenburg Concerto.
Tom Hammond-Davies directed the Oxford Bach Soloists and the solo singers were Lucy Cronin (soprano), Jess Dandy (alto), Nick Pritchard (tenor) and Peter Harvey (bass).
Bach, Baroque, Baroque Style, OxfordBWV 207 featured a Ritornello [5a], very similar to the one in the first Brandenburg, which appears to be a simple AABB piece. It is written for just two trumpets (reflecting the fact that Brandenburg 1 is written for two horns) but I imagine that any trumpeter in the eighteenth century might have been tempted to enlist the help of the third trumpeter (who plays in the outer movements), as it is very tiring for just two players, playing on trumpets in D. Having had covid-19 in December and laryngitis thereafter, I was very glad of the help on this occasion. I wrote an arrangement of this piece, so that both the first and second trumpet player would get some help from the the third player, who would act as a bumper. The arrangement worked very well, and we did not take up any additional rehearsal time – which is always at a premium – organising the bumping, as I had written it out for three players.
Tom Hammond-Davies directed the Oxford Bach Soloists and the solo singers were Lucy Cronin (soprano), Jess Dandy (alto), Nick Pritchard (tenor) and Peter Harvey (bass).