Something Old and Something New

For the Deal and Harrogate festivals we are playing some very fine British brass music, both old and new. Maxwell Davies’ trumpet quartet Telos 135 and Purcell’s Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary will benefit from the addition of timpani to our usual line up of four trumpets. Purcell wrote excellent music for the trumpet much of which is very widely loved, Trumpet Tune is one of his most famous and often played by us at weddings. The Canzona and March begins both recitals and this is Purcell at his best, beautiful and heart wrenching.

Ross Brown is a trumpet player with a special interest in Renaissance and Baroque performance practice. We asked him to compose us a piece influenced by the popular music that was around in Purcell’s time. Entitled Booze, Ballads and Bloodshed, he draws from drinking songs, military tunes and popular airs, some of which are still in circulation today. He also quotes from Man that is born of a woman used in Purcell’s funeral music in 1695 and from Lillibulero, satirical verses set to a popular tune that Purcell composed in 1678. The premiere will be at the Harrogate Festival on the 30th July.

In a different vein the premiere of a new work by young Portugese composer Hugo Ribiero will be at the Deal Festival on 11th july. I don’t want to give away too much but there will be lots of percussion and action from Bella Tromba. Steve Burkes percussion will include a host of different metal instruments with very different sounds. Vibraphone, cymbals to be played bowed and my personal favourate a giant Tam Tam.