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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Old Kirk Braddan - Isle of Man
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2022, %RI performed in a Christmas carol service with Onchan Silver Band (the band in which I began learning to play when I was five years old) at Old Kirk Braddan on the Isle of Man on Boxing Day 2022. I have played at this service for as long as I can remember, and I only missed it during the pandemic. This was my first time performing with David Karran as the musical director: he started playing in the band at the same time as me, when he was six years old.
I played the soprano cornet, and my mum and my wife were both in the congregation. It's always very atmospheric in this candlelit and cold church, and it is a wonderful part of my Christmas traditions.
