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 - Christmas Oratorio - Deddington
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2024, %RAs storm Darragh raged across much of the UK, I performed Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Adderbury Ensemble and the Cherwell Choral Society at St Peter and St Pauls Church in Deddington, Oxfordshire. It was nice to return to this village one year after our performance of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Magnificat last year.
The performance, which took place on Saturday 7 December 2024, was directed by Paul Hedley and featured one-voice-per-part strings, led by Lucy Russell. I played first trumpet with Sam Kinrade on second, Ryan Linham on third, and Craig Apps on timpani. Interestingly, the chamber organ was a MIDI organ (using the very convincing Hauptwerk sample libraries). It was made in 2022 by Paul Baker and Martin Perkins and played by the marvellous Anhad Arora. It was a pleasure to listen to him playing, and brilliant that the organ remained absolutely in pitch despite the fluctuations of temperature throughout the day. It was definitely the right choice for this venue.
I have an ‘Oxfordshire sandwich’ in the next few days—or rather a ‘Frankfurt sandwich on Oxfordshire bread’—comprising this performance in Deddington, a concert at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper tomorrow, and a concert in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford on Monday. Let’s hope that all goes according to plan, and that storm Darragh doesn’t have other ideas!
Bach, Natural Trumpet, OxfordThe performance, which took place on Saturday 7 December 2024, was directed by Paul Hedley and featured one-voice-per-part strings, led by Lucy Russell. I played first trumpet with Sam Kinrade on second, Ryan Linham on third, and Craig Apps on timpani. Interestingly, the chamber organ was a MIDI organ (using the very convincing Hauptwerk sample libraries). It was made in 2022 by Paul Baker and Martin Perkins and played by the marvellous Anhad Arora. It was a pleasure to listen to him playing, and brilliant that the organ remained absolutely in pitch despite the fluctuations of temperature throughout the day. It was definitely the right choice for this venue.
I have an ‘Oxfordshire sandwich’ in the next few days—or rather a ‘Frankfurt sandwich on Oxfordshire bread’—comprising this performance in Deddington, a concert at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper tomorrow, and a concert in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford on Monday. Let’s hope that all goes according to plan, and that storm Darragh doesn’t have other ideas!
