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.
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (‘Eroica’) - Aurora Orchestra
%PM, %Europe/London %b %2024, %RAs strong geomagnetic activity caused the aurora borealis to show itself over much of Britain, the Aurora Orchestra gave six colourful and mesmerising performances of Beethoven’s third (‘Eroica’) symphony for audiences in France and southeast England. We performed the symphony from memory at the Apex in Bury St. Edmunds (7 May), the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London (8 May), Snape Maltings in Suffolk (10 May), Norwich Cathedral in Norfolk (11 May), and at La Rochelle’s Grand Théâtre de la Coursive (16 May).
Each concert came with slight variation; on the first two occasions we gave a presentation on the subject of the Eroica symphony described by conductor Nicholas Collon and the presenter (and Beethoven fanatic) Tom Service. The programme at Snape Maltings featured the Richard Strauss’s horn concerto no. 1 in E-flat with the incredible horn soloist Annemarie Federle (principal horn of Aurora). The performances in Norwich Cathedral enveloped audience members within the orchestra, and music for strings by Strauss (Metamorphosen) and Elgar (Introduction and Allegro) showed the skill of Aurora's wonderful string section.
Aurora Orchestra, Beethoven, France, Touring
Fab performance by @auroraorchestra of Beethoven’s third symphony this eve at Queen Elizabeth Hall pic.twitter.com/HWbaaY7GVF
— Sonia Sodha (@soniasodha) May 8, 2024
Each concert came with slight variation; on the first two occasions we gave a presentation on the subject of the Eroica symphony described by conductor Nicholas Collon and the presenter (and Beethoven fanatic) Tom Service. The programme at Snape Maltings featured the Richard Strauss’s horn concerto no. 1 in E-flat with the incredible horn soloist Annemarie Federle (principal horn of Aurora). The performances in Norwich Cathedral enveloped audience members within the orchestra, and music for strings by Strauss (Metamorphosen) and Elgar (Introduction and Allegro) showed the skill of Aurora's wonderful string section.
It was a great pleasure to play principal trumpet with Aurora once again, this time with Sam Kinrade (2nd trumpet) and Matt Henry (timpani). As ever, it was a wonderful project and the memorisation aspect brought wonderful fluency to the music; this is always a career affirming experience—electrifying concerts with like-minded musicians. I must admit it was quite difficult memorising this symphony while in the final stages of editing and proofreading my book (www.justnaturaltrumpet.com)—both activities can easily fill the available time—but I managed!
I’m looking forward to the next challenge with Aurora—performing Beethoven’s ninth symphony at the BBC Proms this summer! Seats sold out on the first day of BBC Proms ticket sales, but entrance for ‘Prommers’ will, as ever, be available on the day.
I’m looking forward to the next challenge with Aurora—performing Beethoven’s ninth symphony at the BBC Proms this summer! Seats sold out on the first day of BBC Proms ticket sales, but entrance for ‘Prommers’ will, as ever, be available on the day.