Recording Chris Marshall's Threnody

Shea Lolin, Simon Desbruslais, Kevin Raftery, Jonas Persson & Chris Hussey

Jonas was our Sound Engineer

My view of the the Trumpet Concerto - soloist behind the strings in the middle

One proud Kevin Raftery after the session

Having our first Czech pilsner after the session - do we look tired? We were!

Summer recordings in Prague

26 July 2025

It’s not every week you get to spend time in Prague with a baton in one hand, music scores in the other, and a cold Czech pilsner calling your name in the evening! I’ve just wrapped up a whirlwind (but thoroughly successful) recording tour in this stunning city, where we managed to pack a lot of music into a few very rewarding days. All the recording happened at the legendary Smecky Studios. It was a real pleasure working with the Prague Metropolitan Orchestra: top-tier musicians, many of whom are members of the Czech Philharmonic.

The highlight was bringing a new Trumpet Concerto by Kevin Raftery to life with the British trumpeter Simon Desbruslais. This had to be one of the hardest concertos I’ve ever conducted. I was really bowled over by Simon’s exceptional virtuosity and stamina, performing this fiendishly challenging contemporary concerto with dazzling technical mastery – take after take. Do look out for the release of that in Divine Art in 2026.

But that wasn’t our only project: we also recorded Rebecca Taylor’s Christmas Tango (definitely to get you in the festive spirit – even if we were sweating in the studio!) and Threnody by Christopher Marshall, a wonderful piece cast in a Romantic style with lush, winding harmonies.

We concluded the session series by recording some library music for Mastertrack, featuring works by Strauss, Mozart, Grieg, Dvořák, and Handel (Could you guess the titles I wonder?). I must confess I felt a bit apprehensive about conducting Dvořák in front of these elite Czech musicians – after all, just how many times have they performed the slow movement of Symphony No. 9? Does the world need another by me?

My concerns quickly vanished when I noticed our cor anglais player, Jiří Zelba, from the Czech Philharmonic (also featured in my forthcoming release Frisson). The room fell silent for ‘that’ solo, and his performance was extraordinary. I didn’t see him look down at the music once. Truly outstanding musicianship.

I always try to make some time whenever I am in Prague to sample something of this cultural place. On this particular occasion I visited the Prague City Gallery to see the Enter The Room exhibition, an exhibition-come playground, exploring how gaming and storytelling shape contemporary art and interaction.

I can’t wait to see these pieces released – stay tuned!