Classic Ross Amico

Tag: The Passion of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc on Film Music

Seven centuries ago, a humble peasant girl was able to convince Charles de Valois (soon King Charles VII) that she had been chosen by God to lead a French army against English forces during the Hundred Years’ War. With no military training, she achieved a momentous victory at the city of Orléans. She was later captured, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake at the age of 19.

The story of Joan of Arc has been treated numerous times on film. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll hear music from some of those.

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent classic “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) is justly celebrated as a landmark of world cinema. The film features a legendary performance by Maria Falconetti. Falconetti’s portrayal is unusually nuanced and cumulatively heartbreaking. Richard Einhorn composed “Voices of Light,” an original work, in 1994, to accompany the film. The recording includes contributions by Anonymous 4.

Earlier, in 1983, conductor and composer Ole Schmidt provided his own score to “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” Interestingly, Schmidt was born the same year the film was released. He also held the distinction of sharing Dreyer’s Danish nationality.

Luc Besson directed the “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999), featuring his then wife, Milla Jovovich, as the Maid of Orléans. The starry supporting cast includes John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, and Dustin Hoffman (donning an Obi-Wan Kenobi robe). The composer was Éric Serra. The score is primarily orchestral, but incorporates synthesized effects.

Finally, we’ll turn to Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan” (1957), based on the play by George Bernard Shaw. Graham Greene wrote the screenplay. Newcomer Jean Seberg is Joan, somewhat out of her element alongside veteran actors John Gielgud, Anton Walbrook and Felix Aylmer. Also, would you believe Richard Widmark as Charles VII?

Unfortunately, “Saint Joan” was immolated by the critics. Mischa Spoliansky composed the lovely score. You can sample some of it here, along with the film’s main title sequence, designed by the legendary Saul Bass:

I hope you’ll join me for music for movies about Joan of Arc this week, on “Picture Perfect.” Feel the burn, this Friday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

April 10, 2020
Richard Einhorn Voices of Light on WPRB

Tomorrow morning on WPRB, I’ll have a very special guest in composer Richard Einhorn. Einhorn’s oratorio, “Voices of Light,” will be performed tomorrow night, to accompany a screening of the 1928 classic film, “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” that inspired it.

Performers will include soloists of Notre Dame Vocale, the Princeton Festival Chorus, and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. This extraordinary event, the result of a partnership between the Princeton Symphony, the Princeton Garden Theatre, and The Princeton Festival, will take place at Princeton University Chapel at 8:30 p.m. Einhorn will give a free pre-performance talk at the Garden Theatre at 5 p.m. For more information, visit princetonfestival.org.

We’ll do everything we can to set the mood for this special presentation of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s magnum opus – which sports a riveting performance by actress Renée Jeanne Falconetti – with a special on-air visit from the composer at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Einhorn will talk about his work on “Voices,” which has been performed over 100 times, recorded for the Sony Classical label by Anonymous 4, and issued as a bonus soundtrack on the Criterion Collection’s DVD release of the film. We’ll hear selections from the oratorio, as well as sample some of the composer’s other music.

For the remainder of the morning, we’ll honor Joan of Arc with music written to her memory, music inspired by the Hundred Years’ War, music evocative of the Middle Ages in general, and some authentic music of the period.

We get medieval, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. The stake is always well done, on Classic Ross Amico.

PHOTOS: (clockwise from left): “Joan of Arc” by John Everett Millais; “Jeanne d’Arc,” gilded statue located in Philadelphia, by Emmanuel Frémiet; and Renée Jeanne Falconetti in “The Passion of Joan of Arc”

June 8, 2016
Joan of Arc Film Scores on WWFM

I suppose everyone is familiar with the basic story of Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who believed God chose her to lead the French against English forces during the Hundred Years’ War. She managed to convince the Dauphin, Charles de Valois (soon King Charles VII), to entrust her with an army, which she led to the besieged city of Orléans. There, without military training, she succeeded in achieving a momentous victory against Anglo-Burgundian forces. She was later captured, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake at the age of 19. Nearly 30 years later, the case was reopened and she was declared innocent. Revered for nearly 600 years, she was elevated to a national symbol by Napoleon in 1803 and finally canonized in 1920.

This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll be listening to music for films inspired by Joan’s historical exploits, with two scores written in response to Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 classic, “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” “The Passion of Joan of Arc” will be screened as part of this year’s The Princeton Festival. Soloists of Notre Dame Vocale will join the Princeton Festival Chorus and Princeton Symphony Orchestra to perform, with the film, “Voices of Light” by Richard Einhorn. That event will take place at Princeton University Chapel on June 9 at 8:30 p.m. Einhorn himself will give a free pre-performance talk at the Princeton Garden Theatre at 5 p.m. More information is available at princetonfestival.org.

We’ll be sampling from Einhorn’s score, written in 1994, as well as one commissioned from Danish composer and conductor Ole Schmidt, also written to accompany the film, in 1983.

In 1999, Luc Besson directed the “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” with his then wife, Milla Jovovich, as the Maid of Orléans, and a starry supporting cast, including John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman (donning an Obi-Wan robe). The composer was Éric Serra. The score is primarily orchestral, but incorporates synthesized effects.

Finally, we’ll turn to Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan,” based on the play by George Bernard Shaw. Graham Greene wrote the screenplay for the 1957 film. Newcomer Jean Seberg was Joan, somewhat out of her league alongside veteran actors John Gielgud, Anton Walbrook and Felix Aylmer. Also, would you believe Richard Widmark as Charles VII? Unfortunately, “Saint Joan” was immolated by the critics. Mischa Spoliansky composed the lovely score. Here’s the film’s main title sequence, designed by the legendary Saul Bass:

I hope you’ll join me for these scores written for films about Joan of Arc, on WWFM – The Classical Network, this Friday evening at 6 EDT, with a repeat Saturday morning at 6; or that you’ll listen to them later as a webcast at wwfm.org.

June 3, 2016

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