The Changing of the Guard at Prague Castle on Thursday 22nd February 2024 accompanied by the Fanfare Orchestra of the Prague Castle Guards, an ensemble made up of six brass musicians and a percussionist.
00:00 Old Guard form up
00:23 Fanfare for the arrival of the New Guard
01:42 New Guard march in
02:41 Handing over The Castle Standard
03:31 Changing the sentries
05:04 Front gate sentries return to the square
06:47 East Gate sentries return to the square
08:04 Old Guard march off
09:39 New Guard march to the guardroom
10:11 Fanfare Orchestra depart the Presidential Palace
The ceremony was re introduced at the castle by President Havel in 1990 after years of communism. Film costume designer Theodor Pištek was asked to design the new uniforms for the guards, taking inspiration from centuries old uniforms but making them current and practical. At the same time, a special soundtrack was commissioned to be written for the band to play during the ceremony. Karel Bêlohoubek and Michael Kocáb achieved this and the same music is still played by the seven musicians in the window balconies of the presidential palace each day at 12:00. The musical ensemble was formed in January 1990 and became a fully professional ensemble in March 2004 after the abolition of compulsory military service.
The fanfare orchestra when joined with The Police Band of the Czech Republic forms a full marching band that can be seen at the palace during special events such as Welcoming State Visits. During my visit to Prague I was lucky enough to witness this unusual ensemble marching and playing during the State Visit of the President of Angola. This explains the reasoning as to why the Angola flag is flying at the palace during the guard change. To see the welcoming ceremony please follow the link below to the video:
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