The London Serpent Trio 50th Anniversary Concert

Carlops Village Hall, 22/5/26

Nicholas Perry, Andrew Kershaw, Philip Humphries (serpents)

I don’t usually begin a review by describing the instrument played in the concert, but in this case I’ll make an exception. The serpent is utterly bewildering to look at, and a fiendishly difficult brass wind instrument to play. It’s an eight-foot long tube made of wood (sometimes covered in leather) curved into the shape of a snake to make it playable, with several finger holes and the mouthpiece of a brass instrument. The deep, smooth, slightly muted sound is somewhere between a bassoon and a euphonium. Most of the surviving original instruments are bass serpents (eight feet long if stretched out), but St Cecilia’s Hall in Edinburgh has a unique and huge contrabass serpent (sixteen feet long if stretched out) made in 1840 and nicknamed the Anaconda.

The serpent was invented in 1590 by Fr Edmé Guillaume, a French priest, to provide a bass line for church singing. In the 18th century it was used in military bands, and composers such as Mendelssohn, Wagner, and Berlioz used it in orchestral works. Unwieldy and difficult to play, it was superseded by valved brass instruments such as the tuba and euphonium. After nearly becoming extinct, the serpent was rescued from obscurity by the early music historian, instrument maker, and founder of the London Serpent Trio Christopher Monk (among others), and is now in rude health, with new pieces being written for it. In the 1990 Serpent Celebration in St John’s Smith Square, London, 57 ‘serpentists’ played an arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’.

This concert at Carlops Village Hall was part of the biennial Serpentarium (est. 1990), a gathering of serpentists from around the world in Carlops, near Edinburgh. Players from the UK and North America enjoyed the opportunity to play together and to indulge their love of this unique instrument. 

The London Serpent Trio’s first concert was on April Fool’s Day 1976. Fifty years later, after various changes of personnel, this group of professional musicians is going strong. The Trio have toured widely in the UK, Europe, and North America. As visually striking as their instruments, the musicians were resplendent in frock coats and wing collars. Their easy banter and camaraderie showed that they didn’t take themselves (or each other) too seriously, but their accomplished musicianship and love of the instrument was obvious.

Not much was historically written for the serpent so everything played tonight had been (dis)arranged for the trio, according to them. The arrangements of classical music, ballads, popular songs, and dance tunes were very thoughtfully done and brought out the instrument’s unique qualities.

The concert began with excerpts from the ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’ by G.F. Handel (1685-1759). The original work included serpents but Handel later removed them. Next came two Sonatas by Daniel Speer (1636-1707), a new composer to me. Then came the ‘Sweet and Low Suite’, including such diverse works as ‘Sweet and Low’ by J. Barnby (1838-1896), ‘Rule Britannia’ by Thomas Arne (1710-1778), and ‘My Grandfather’s Clock’ by H. C. Work (1832-1884).

‘Greensleeves’ and ‘I Will Give my Love an Apple’ were followed by the perky Allegro from ‘The Hen, the Cuckoo and the Donkey’ by F.A. Hoffmeister (1754-1812) with each instrument taking the part of an animal.

After a short break to rest the players’ lips the Trio returned with ‘Funeral March of a Marionette’ by C. Gounod, best known as the theme to the 50s TV series ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’, followed by Serenade No 2 K213 by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791).

Then came a lively Charleston by J.P. Johnson (1894-1955) and C. Mack (1873-1944) and a smooth rendition of ‘A Room with a View’ by Noel Coward (1899-1973). Finally the barnstorming encore saw the premiere of a (dis)arrangement of excerpts from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ by Hans Zimmer (1957-) and Klaus Badelt (1967-).

After the concert, the musicians answered eager questions from the audience, and their passion for the instrument and their commitment to spreading the word was evident. At the end of an excellent evening’s entertainment the audience slithered out, charmed.

Photo credit: London Serpent Trio