The Early Music Show

Hannah French visits St Paul's Cathedral to explore the legacy of composer John Blow, who became master of the choristers at the newly consecrated cathedral in 1687. She meets its current director of music Andrew Carwood to talk about music that Blow may have written for the cathedral's opening service, and the dual roles that the composer had at St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. They are joined by natural trumpet specialist Russell Gilmour, who traces a line between some of the most important trumpeters in Blow's time, and gives a demonstration of how natural trumpets sound in the famously resonant acoustics of St Paul's. Music includes works by Blow, together with some of his pupils and successors, including Croft, Clarke and Purcell.