Thursday, January 09, 2020

jan 31 | the passion of joan of arc | orlando consort live score


Exactly a decade ago, Pacific Theatre brought a remarkable work of art to our stage from New York City, to coincide with the cultural component of the 2010 Olympics. Reid Farrington's THE PASSION PROJECT was a one-woman performance piece which placed an actor/dancer in a 10X10 square of light on which were projected (from multiple angles) a barrage of clips from Dreyer's masterpiece of silent film, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC. I was so proud of the fact that we were able to place the piece in that year's PUSH Festival, which also featured a screening at Christ Church Cathedral of Dreyer's film accompanied by the live performance of a highly contemporary Stefan Smulovitz score.


Ten seasons later, Pacific Theatre again revisited the story of Joan of Arc this year with our season opener, MOTHER OF THE MAID, also of New York provenance - ours was the Canadian premiere of the work which debuted Off-Broadway the previous season with Glenn Close in the title role. And here we are, exactly ten years after that screening of Dreyer's PASSION at the Cathedral, with another PASSION screening, also at the Cathedral, this time with an ancient score performed live by the Orlando Consort.


Early Music Vancouver presents
FILM IN CONCERT: THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC 
FEATURING THE ORLANDO CONSORT
Fri Jan 31 @ 7:30 (Pre-concert talk 6:45)
Christ Church Cathedral

An intense experience awaits us as we journey to medieval France to witness the trial of Joan of Arc: a silent movie classic, the award-winning Orlando Consort provide beautiful live choral music composed and performed during her lifetime, intricately tailored to enhance the harrowing drama. Condemned unseen in France on its release, vilified by the Catholic authorities and even banned outright in England, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s film, La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928), is widely recognised as a masterpiece.

Formed in 1988, the Orlando Consort rapidly achieved a reputation as one of Europe’s most expert and consistently challenging groups performing repertoire from the years 1050 to 1550. Their work successfully combines captivating entertainment and fresh scholarly insight; the unique imagination and originality of their programming together with their superb vocal skills has marked the Consort as the outstanding leaders of their field.

“Simultaneously ravishing and reverential.” – Los Angeles Times

program notes + artist bios

tickets


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