The Blow Torch

Available for 28 days

Hannah French visits St Paul's Cathedral in London to explore the legacy of composer John Blow, who became master of the choristers at the newly consecrated cathedral in 1687. She meets the 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're joined in the Cathedral by natural trumpet specialist Russell Gilmour, who traces a line between some of the most important trumpeters in Blow's time, and who gives a demonstration of how natural trumpets sound in the famously resonant acoustic of St Paul's Cathedral. The music includes works by Blow, together with some of his pupils and successors, including Croft, Clarke, and Purcell. Producer: Ben Collingwood.