Darren Moore (trumpet), Jeremiah Stephenson (organ), 9 August GMT Brass Ensemble, Andrew Pitt (director), 16 August, Peterborough Cathedral

Five trumpets, four trombones, a French horn and tuba, and that’s not to mention the organist! No wonder these two lunchtime recitals at Peterborough Cathedral amounted to a kind of brass lovers’ heaven.

Having said that, we’re not talking brass bands here, pleasing though they can be. Rather it was the bright, penetrative sound of orchestral brass that went wafting through the cathedral recently.

For me, the most thrilling moment in these two concerts came at the start of the GMT Brass Ensemble’s programme. The Earl of Oxford’s March by William Byrd, and La Mourisque by Tylman Susato, are two feisty 16th century dance tunes. Attractive and accessible, these arrangements demonstrated the sheer magnificence of 10 brass players going full pelt. From high trumpets to bass trombone and tuba these ebullient pieces also spoke of the richness of Elizabethan musical culture.

A week earlier, solo trumpeter Darren Moore had also included some early music in his programme. Giovanni Viviani’s Sonata in C was an unfamiliar, but appealing, threemovement work that included echoes of his contemporaries Monteverdi and Purcell. More importantly it provided a vehicle for Darren’s impeccable playing, precisely phrased, and delivered with the utmost clarity and control.

Not to be outdone, Jeremiah Stephenson moved from the chamber organ where he’d been accompanist in the sonata to the main cathedral organ and contributed another attractive solo. Not exactly early music this time but based on a theme by renaissance composer Clement Jannequin. The Variations by 20th century organist Jehan Alain highlighted the haunting nature of the original melody by employing quiet sonorities which created an atmosphere of meditation and mystery. The remainder of Darren Moore’s programme consisted of more challenging 20th century works including Okna by Petr Eben. Was this musical commentary on four stained glass windows by Marc Chagall just a little over the heads of many in the audience? It’s a tribute to the musicians that their performance of this taxing piece conveyed, at the very least, an impression of commitment and sincerity. And, as Darren said to me afterwards, ‘At least nobody walked out!’

There was more contemporary music in the programme by GMT Brass too, including a set of East European dances with the unwieldy title of Vozpelo e Pile. Written by Chris Batchelor this attractive score included sounds familiar from the upbeat music of Bartok and Kodaly. As if this wasn’t engaging enough the brass ensemble provided another foottapping piece as an encore. This was Chris Hazell’s deliciously jazzy tune oddly named Kraken, Another Cat.