Baroque Classics

Info & track listings

Baroque Classics Alan Spedding and Crispian Steele-Perkins have enjoyed performing together for several years and decided to record those items from their repertoire which have given them and their audiences particular pleasure. The majority of these works are not familiar to a wide public since they are arrangements which demonstrate different facets of trumpet playing, and various instrumental curiosities from his collection whose repertoire has had to be re-created or re-invented.

Happily, Crispian’s musical education included composition lessons from Peter Wishart, who taught him to write in the style of the Old Masters; this has proved invaluable subsequently when he has arranged and reconstructed music by Handel, Mozart and other great figures of Baroque and Classical music as are represented here.A Virtuoso Performer Crispian Steele-Perkins is a trumpet soloist who is world renowned for the quality of his performances and wide ranging musical experience.

On graduating from the Guildhall School of Music, Crispian spent his early career playing with the English National Opera and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He then spent 15 years working in Recording, TV and film studios, developing a body of work which is universally recognisable today, from Handel to James Bond themes and pop classics.

Alan Spedding was born in London and studied organ and ‘cello at the Royal College of Music. He was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers at Beverley Minster in 1967, after three years as organist of the Parish Church, Kingston upon Thames.

He is well-known as an organ recitalist and has played in many cathedrals, concert halls and universities throughout the UK. He has undertaken recital tours in Germany, Holland and Belgium. He has broadcast many times on television and radio and has several CDs to his name. His published compositions include carols, anthems and organ music.

He was musical director of the Hull Choral Union for twenty- six years and has conducted the East Riding County Choir since 1969. With these two choirs he has been able to conduct most of the standard large-scale choral and orchestral works in the oratorio repertoire. He was music master at Beverley Grammar School for eighteen years and has taught part-time in the University of Hull where he is Organ Curator. The University made him an honorary Doctor of Music in 1994. He has also served as an examining member of the council of the Royal College of Organists and as Associate Editor of ‘Organists’ Review’, the foremost British organ journal.