The connections between the composer, Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher and forces involved in this recording are closely interwoven and, at times, charged with historical and emotional resonance. In 1949, Honegger himself conducted the Prague Philharmonic Choir in the Czech premiere of his Le Roi David (1921). In 1970, the Czech Philharmonic, conducted by Václav Neumann, performed Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher to mark the first anniversary of the death of Jan Palach, the Czech student who set himself on fire in protest against the 1968 Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. Five years later, in 1975, the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir, and Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir, under Serge Baudo, recorded Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher for Supraphon.

This new recording by Animal Music is based on live performances given between 13–15 February 2025 at the Rudolfinum in Prague. Honegger’s oratorio was chosen by Lukáš Vasilek to mark both his debut conducting the Czech Philharmonic and the 55th anniversary of the work’s performance at the Rudolfinum in 1970. Reviewing the first of the three 2025 concerts, Bachtrack described it as “a performance for the ages” and Klasika Plus said “Vasilek’s interpretation was outstanding... the Prague Philharmonic Choir delivered one perfectly blended wave of sound after another, reaffirming its place among the European elite.” Principal Conductor and Artistic Director

Artists

Thomas Gendronneau (soloist), Susanne Bernhard (vocalist), Audrey Bonnet (soloist), Sébastien Dutrieux (soloist), Kyle van Schoonhoven (vocalist), Zachary Altman (vocalist), Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant (soloist), Dovlet Nurgeldiyev (vocalist), Veronika Rovná (vocalist), Anna Goryachova (vocalist), Prague Philharmonic Children's Choir, Anna John Schmidtmajerová (soloist), Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir, Lukáš Vasilek, Jiří Chvála, Petr Louženský