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 - La Resurrezione - The English Concert
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2021, %RI played first trumpet with The English Concert for a video recording of Handel’s oratorio La resurrezione [HWV 47]. The recording took place at St. John’s Smith Square in London on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of March 2021.
Harry Bicket directed this very fine ensemble of instrumentalists and an esteemed cast of singers: Danielle De Niese (Soprano), Lucy Crowe (Soprano), Lawrence Zazzo (Countertenor), Hugo Hymas (Tenor), and Brindley Sherratt (Bass).
It was refreshing and fulfilling to perform and record the entire oratorio in sequence, as if an audience was present. Working in this way captured the atmosphere of a live performance and brought a heightened sense of concentration; everybody seemed to be suitably immersed and ‘in the zone’. I was pleased to reacquaint myself with some pre-pandemic subsidiary live performance skills, such as the minutiae of stagecraft - i.e. knowing exactly when to enter and leave the stage to appear and depart in a timely, concise and confident-yet-sensitive manner before and after each entry. It was also a welcome challenge to quickly learn the cues within an unfamiliar (to me) oratorio. These sorts of skills are certainly analogous to muscles that can atrophy if underused.
It was great to be a part of this small but perfectly-formed wind and brass section within this world-class ensemble: Katharina Spreckelsen (oboe & recorder), Hannah McLaughlin (oboe & recorder), Joe Qui (bassoon), Russell Gilmour (trumpet) and William Russell (trumpet). Particular instrumental highlights came from Joe Crouch (cello) and from the duet between Emilia Benjamin (viola da gamba, who also doubled on violin for much of the rest of the oratorio) and Tuomo Suni (lead violin). The entire performance will be shown on television in the near future.
Handel, London, The English ConcertHarry Bicket directed this very fine ensemble of instrumentalists and an esteemed cast of singers: Danielle De Niese (Soprano), Lucy Crowe (Soprano), Lawrence Zazzo (Countertenor), Hugo Hymas (Tenor), and Brindley Sherratt (Bass).
It was refreshing and fulfilling to perform and record the entire oratorio in sequence, as if an audience was present. Working in this way captured the atmosphere of a live performance and brought a heightened sense of concentration; everybody seemed to be suitably immersed and ‘in the zone’. I was pleased to reacquaint myself with some pre-pandemic subsidiary live performance skills, such as the minutiae of stagecraft - i.e. knowing exactly when to enter and leave the stage to appear and depart in a timely, concise and confident-yet-sensitive manner before and after each entry. It was also a welcome challenge to quickly learn the cues within an unfamiliar (to me) oratorio. These sorts of skills are certainly analogous to muscles that can atrophy if underused.
It was great to be a part of this small but perfectly-formed wind and brass section within this world-class ensemble: Katharina Spreckelsen (oboe & recorder), Hannah McLaughlin (oboe & recorder), Joe Qui (bassoon), Russell Gilmour (trumpet) and William Russell (trumpet). Particular instrumental highlights came from Joe Crouch (cello) and from the duet between Emilia Benjamin (viola da gamba, who also doubled on violin for much of the rest of the oratorio) and Tuomo Suni (lead violin). The entire performance will be shown on television in the near future.