Is this achievable with multimedia involving
music? Can the whole be greater than the sum
of its parts?
On a Monday evening in May, I attended a
production that was certainly a close approach,
one that suggests interesting prospects for multimedia’s
future. The occasion was a performance of Richard Einhorn’s
Voices of Light
, along with a screening of the silent film mas-
terpiece
The Passion of Joan of Arc
at Avery Fisher Hall in
Lincoln Center. Details concerning the musical work and an
interview with the composer can be found in an article I wrote
for
The Absolute Sound
(Issue 115), but the background can
be laid out briefly. Einhorn is a New York-based musician
who, a decade ago, discovered the 1928 film, directed for a
French studio by Carl Dreyer. Cinema authorities routinely
cite
The Passion of Joan of Arc
as one of the most perfectly
realized and influential movies ever made. The unusual cam-
era angles, frame-filling close-ups, naturalistic acting, and the
manner in which the film is edited will impress even a casual
viewer as remarkably “modern.” The work derives much of its
power from Dreyer’s casting of Maria Falconetti, a stage actor
recruited from the Comédie Française, in the title role. So
truthful is her portrayal of Joan’s ordeal that the performance
can become almost difficult to watch. The actress reportedly
suffered a psychological collapse during the shooting.
Richard Einhorn used Dreyer’s film as the inspiration for
an oratorio on the subject of Joan of Arc’s final days – her
imprisonment, trial, and fiery death. The piece is written in an
accessible, but distinctive, musical language, largely tonal,
with dissonances applied sparingly. There are elements of
minimalism, but these are subtle components of the musical
texture, and the work has a fairly conventional dramatic
shape with a strong sense of forward impetus. Einhorn cap-
tures well the relentlessly claustrophobic quality of the movie
(all but the very end is filmed indoors), Joan’s vulnerability
and spiritual core, and the viciousness of her inquisitors.
Voices of Light
has had an excellent Sony recording [SK
62006]. That CD features, as the voice of Joan, the four
women of Anonymous 4, a quartet that specializes in Medieval
polyphony and has achieved, by classical music standards,
something like star status. The work has also been successful
in concert, with dozens of public renderings since its pre-
miere in 1994. The composer invited HP, my wife, and me to a
special presentation of
Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of
Arc
celebrating the 15th season of Marin Alsop’s Concordia
Orchestra. Alsop, who is also music director of the Colorado
Symphony and who has recently been named principal guest
conductor for several European orchestras, is known as a
tireless advocate for American music. She knows the Einhorn
piece well, and the participation of Anonymous 4 promised a
definitive performance. The auditorium was full and the
atmosphere expectant as the lights dimmed.
Technically and musically, the evening went splendidly.
The Dreyer film was projected on a large screen suspended
over the musicians, and the quality of the image was excel-
lent. Orchestral and choral execution were unassailable. But
although I knew Einhorn’s work very well from the CD and I’d
watched the movie on video several times, I was not prepared
for the emotional impact of the event. Somehow, I’d expected
the film and oratorio to be presented sequentially. Richard
