London Brass: Sounds of Glory

There was a time, some years ago, when I undertook a project very close to my heart: an album of brass music called Sounds of Glory. It brought together pieces of my own, works by my dear friend, the late David Louis, and selections from masters such as Debussy and Gabrieli. We began with musicians from the Jerusalem and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras – gifted players, each one. But after a few rehearsals and an initial recording session, something became clear: talent alone is not always enough. There is a special artistry that comes only from a group of musicians who play together regularly, who breathe as one, who have forged their sound through years of shared experience. A brass ensemble is a family, and families are not created overnight.

At that crossroads, I realised I had two choices: to abandon the project or to strive for the very best. I chose the latter. That decision led us to the legendary London Brass – an ensemble whose name is synonymous with excellence. And so the recording took place where it naturally belonged: in London.

What followed was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. My musical partner, Israel Edelson, flew in from Israel to conduct. The musicians – brilliant not only in talent but in spirit – were warm, gracious, and deeply professional. Working with them was not simply a privilege; it was a joy.

But beneath the logistics, the travel, the rehearsals and the recording hours, there was a deeper story unfolding – the reason why this album needed to be made. Brass music has always carried within it a sense of the majestic, a reminder of human beings at their most aspirational. In an age increasingly dominated by bureaucracy, algorithms and the cold language of economic efficiency, we are in danger of forgetting that we also hunger for glory – not the glory of ego, but the glory of spirit. The yearning to rise above the pettiness and noise of the everyday and to connect, even briefly, with something larger than ourselves.

Brass instruments, with their burnished tones and soaring lines, speak that language naturally. They proclaim power without brutality, grandeur without arrogance, and, at their finest, a kind of nobility that feels both ancient and urgently present.

Perhaps that is why the Psalmist’s words have always resonated so deeply:

“You are clothed with glory and beauty, wrapped in light as with a garment.” – Psalms 104:2

In its own small way, Sounds of Glory was an attempt to give voice to that light – to remind us that beneath the clutter of modern life, we still carry the capacity for wonder, uplift and holy aspiration.

And sometimes, all it takes is the sound of a brass choir to awaken it once again.