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.
Christmas at Hampton Court Palace
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2024, %ROn Friday 20 and Saturday 21 December 2024, I finished an incredibly busy week by playing carols with a small ensemble at Hampton Court Palace. We played Christmas music in the Great Hall and, later, a selection of carols requested by the visitors in the Presence Chamber and the Guard Chamber and . ‘Silent Night’ and ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ (the Holst version) were among the more traditional requests. ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ and a version of the current chart-topper ‘Last Christmas’ were also popular choices. There was one request to play ‘Long, long ago’, which was completely new to all of us, but fortunately in the carol book. I played modern trumpet with Sam Goble, Thomas Hewitt, Jamie Akers, Martin Sanderson, Bill Lyons, and Cameron Drayton, with several of the above doubling on historical instruments.
Cornetto, London, Modern TrumpetHave a wonderful Christmas and all best wishes for 2025.
