BED IN: Excerpt from B minor mass solo

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This Sunday on VN we celebrate the first of our five Sundays in BHM here on RTÉ lyric fm,
the month of October here in Ireland and in other countries, a month which recalls the
many contribution of the African diaspora and people of colour around the world—
contributions to arts, culture, literature, science, and so much more, and of course—music.
And today my special guest is Dr Justin Bland, he joins me today from his home in Denmark.
Justin, thank you so much for joining me today on Vox Nostra.

02 JB VO LK01

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It’s a pleasure to have you on the programme, Justin—and what a thrill to talk to someone
who makes a living playing such a unique instrument: the natural trumpet, the historic
trumpet. And now that I’ve let that cat out of the bag, I’d like to find out from you: what
brought you to the natural trumpet, and to the world of early music?

04 JB VO LK02

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Well as they say: it’s a slippery slope, isn’t it? You can really get hooked in. And it’s a bit, if I
may say so, similar to the story of many musicians who come into the world, the
soundworld especially, of early music. There’s something about the sound and the phrasing,
the timbre and colour of the instruments, many other elements that seem to draw people
into the world of historically informed performance. And speaking of which, Justin, you do a
pretty nice job of drawing people in to what you do—you’ve got a great presence on social
media, and people can check out what you’re up to, on Instagram for example—where your
handle is naturaltrumpeter, or on your website, justinblandtrumpet.com. All of this is great
because it inspires people, especially young people starting their studies, it inspires and
excites them about early music and in your case, the natural trumpet. It’s great, really great.

So we heard what brought you to the music—but what brought you to Europe, specifically
to Denmark?

08 JB VO LK04

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Yes, it does seem to be going really well for you, indeed! When I check out your calendar,
you seem to be quite busy with engagements throughout Europe, and North America as
well, and with all of this busyness and concertising, it makes me think…here we are, at the
beginning of BHM, and here you are, an in-demand virtuoso of the natural trumpet, and
Black—in the company of many and varied musician colleagues, but as far as the natural
trumpet goes: are you one of the few Black, professional, natural trumpet players? Do you
know if there are any other professional historical trumpet players of colour?

10 JB VO LK05
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That may well be the case for now, but of course, by you performing, and being yourself,
you are certainly inspiring so many other players who are coming in down the pipeline of
professional players of this beautiful instrument, especially young people and up and
coming professionals.

Let’s talk about one of your specialities: as I understand it, you specialise in the high-register
repertoire for the natural trumpet, can you tell us a bit about what pieces fall into that
category?

14 JB VO LK07

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Yes, and if our listeners remember from the beginning of our time with you, just before we
began, we started off with an excerpt from Bach’s mass in B minor, with you playing the solo
from the Patrem omnipotentem section. Let’s get a taste of something else from your
recorded performances, I’ll leave the choice up to you.

16 JB VO LK08

[Music: excerpt from The Trumpet Shall Sound]

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That was Justin Bland, natural trumpet, in an excerpt from that well-known section of
Handel’s Messiah, The Trumpet shall sound. Taken from one of Justin’s live concert
recordings, really splendid playing. Justin, that makes me want to ask: will we get to hear
and see you in concert here in Ireland sometime in the future?

18 JB VO LK09

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That’s fantastic—a chance to see and hear you right here in Ireland—for those who want to
check that out in advance, that’s the Dublin Brass Week, their website is
dublinbrassweek.com, and it runs from 26-29 JUNE 2023. Modern and historical brass both
represented in Dublin during that week, coming next summer.

Now, Justin, as I understand, you don’t just play the early natural trumpet, without valves,
but also a few different versions or variants of early trumpets, is that right?

22 JB VO LK11

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A man of many talents—and I don’t say that lightly! You don’t just play trumpets of various
kinds, but also recorder, and on top of that, you also sing! You’re a countertenor, as I
understand!
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Well, I’m going to give our Vox Nostra listeners a taste of your talents in the singing
department, and it’s with a section from the 4th mvt of Buxtehude’s cantata “Jubilate
Domino.”

MUSIC BED: BUXTEHUDE JUBILATE, DOMINO mvt 4

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From the 4th mvmt of Buxtehude’s cantata “Jubilate Domino,” that was Justin Bland, my
guest today on Vox Nostra, in countertenor mode—we’ve been talking about his work as a
natural trumpet player, but also got to hear him as a vocalist.

Justin, thanks so much for being with me today on the programme, it’s been a real pleasure.
I look forward to hearing more of your performances, and being in touch for when you
come to Ireland in the future. Thanks for the music that you bring to us and to so many

27 JB VO LK14

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Dr Justin Bland, my guest today on Vox Nostra. Later this hour, we’ll return to his
musicmaking for our Sunday Sonata. You’re listening to RTÉ lyric fm.

MUSIC:
HERTEL CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND OBOE, Justin Bland trumpet, Eric Beselin, Oboe

For SUNDAY SONATA: Finger Sonata for Trumpet (Duo1702)