Sony G90 manual Special presentation of Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan

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