Portsmouth Festivities 2013: Recital with Crispian Steele-Perkins:

 by Melissa Smith

Crispian Steele-Perkins
(Wiki Commons)

Sunday 30th June saw the reining in of another successful Portsmouth Festivities, with a spectacular recital from world-renowned trumpet soloist Crispian Steele-Perkins. He and accomanying pianist Leslie Pearson had the entire audience of the cathedral entranced as they played their way through the history of the trumpet, from its humble beginnings as ‘the Cornett’ to the contemporary tunes of the twentieth century.

A highly experienced solo artist, Crispian is known internationally for his classical trumpet skills. With credits to his name such as the theme tune to Antiques Roadshow and the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, it comes as no surprise that every member of the audience was expecting a rousing performance, and they were not left disappointed.

The evening began with a performance of Sinfonia in D by Handel, which provided a fitting base for what was yet to come. The pieces themselves were interspersed with short presentations on a collection of various trumpets and trumpet-like instruments, each played in turn to great (and somewhat humorous at times) effect. One such presentation involved a demonstration of a seventeenth century style bugle, which provided a fascinating insight into the development of the instrument.

Popular tunes performed included Trumpet Concerto in E flat by Haydn and a rendition of some of the most famous songs from West Wide Story by Leonard Bernstein. This performance was enhanced all the more by the knowledge that accompanist Leslie Pearson was in fact the pianist for the original London production of the show.

Ending the recital on a jazzy note, we were treated to a swing medley by Glen Miller. This had the audience nodding along as the final notes of a truly enjoyable evening, and indeed the whole Festivities period, were heard.