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O Vos Omnes by Carlo Gesualdo

on January 29 2012, by Jo

We are delighted to be making a return visit to Milverton, Somerset in February. The acoustics in this beautiful parish church are well suited to sonorous sacred music and so we have chosen to include music by Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613), John Bull (1546 - 1623) alongside a new work by Helena Gascoyne.

O Vos Omnes by Carlo Gesualdo has been arranged for us specially by Paul Archibald and the words of the mass translate as:

O all you who walk by on the road, pay attention and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow. Pay attention, all people, and look at my sorrow if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.

The music is resonant and chromatic, ideally suited to the open sound of trumpets. There has been much speculation about the impact of Gesualdo’s life on his writings. If you like reading a life story worthy of a Shakeperean tragedy than Click here to see the decline of his reputation from Prince to Criminal.  We will be pairing this work with a Suite from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. On first hearing I loved John Bull’s The King’s Hunt, you can actually hear the horses galloping past. So much music from this period is pictoral rather than abstract and it’s lovely to play music that tells a real story.

Our premiere for this recital is Trumpet Quartet No.1 by Helena Gascoyne. Helena is currently studying composition at Goldsmiths, London. Trumpet Quartet No 1 by Helena Gascoyne. My previous post is an interview but here is a flavour of what to expect:

The first movement begins with a fanfare-like call.  Harmonically the music is modal in character, moving mainly between the aeolian and dorian mode.  Rhythmically the metre is constantly changing.

The second movement is slower in tempo and contrasting in mood.  The opening theme almost jazz ballad like with its 9th, 11th and occasional 13th chords.  This same theme heard again towards the end of the movement, re-harmonized and with the phrases extended in length.

The opening of the final movement is rhythmically jaunty in character.  However the music progressively becomes more and more sinister in mood.  Towards the end of the movement we hear distorted fragments of the fanfare-like call and main theme from movement one: in places this is heard simultaneously.

The return of the jaunty opening of movement 3 movement brings Quartet No 1 to a close.


From the start Bella Tromba has sought to develop the concept of brass as chamber music. Yes, we like tunes, can play quiet and have the stamina to deliver a full evening programme. The range of the regular trumpet is three octaves and much of our repertoire makes use of smaller trumpets, flugels or even Baroque trumpets. The concert at Milverton will feature a bass trumpet, a new addition to our line up. The bass trumpet is usually heard in the orchestral music of Wagner, Strauss or Stravinsky. We are really interested to receive feedback from our audience at Milverton about hearing this unusual instrument.

A New Piece by Helena Gascoyne

on January 04 2012, by Jo

Helena Gascoyne is heading towards the completion of a new piece for Bella Tromba to be performed on February 18th as part of a recital for The Milverton Concert Society . She spoke to Jo over a coffee about where her music comes from, how she translates it from head to paper and what inspires her.

“I have music running through my head all the time.  It’s a bit like musical tinnitus, I can’t switch it off.  When I get an idea that grabs me, that’s when I rush to write it down.  However quite often my ideas are lost due to the time consuming process of actually putting them down on paper or even using Sibelius.  When I’m composing I hear the music fully orchestrated.  Having perfect pitch allows me to hear the melodies and harmonies in a specific key.  When I was five my dad would play ‘guess the note on the piano’ with me and I could name the note without peeking.  Each key has its own colour: for instance I see the key of G as yellow and the key of B flat as green.

I get my inspiration from emotional highs and lows.  When my music comes out I’m not aware than I’m writing in the style of a particular composer and I don’t try to emulate other composers but people often tell me my music is like Gershwin, Rachmaninov or Prokofiev.  Sometimes I can see the connections but I certainly don’t set out to write in their style.

I listen to music more for research and perspective rather than as background.  The last live gig I saw was the music of Michel Legrand. I like all kinds of music from Latin and jazz to Baroque through to Romantic.  I enjoy listening to the jazz pianist Keith Jarrett and I love playing the piano music of Scarlatti,Skriabin and Ravel.
I think my music catches people immediately with its strong melodies and complex harmonies, reflecting my love of jazz music.”

Helena Gascoyne studied piano at the Royal Welsh College of Music. As a pianist she has worked as a repetiteur for singers from the Welsh National Opera, accompanied the National Youth Choir of Wales and performed solo recitals at St David’s Hall. Helena is now studying for a Masters in Composition at Goldsmiths, London.  Her new piece, as yet untitled, will be premiered at St Michael’s Church, Milverton on February 18th 2012.