Richard Einhorn is about as excited as one man can be about a 1928 silent film — and he is eager for audiences to feel the same way.
” ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ is so absolutely extraordinary that most people are completely unprepared for the power of the film when they see it for the first time,” he said. “It really is one of the most demanding movies ever made and it regularly makes the list of critics’ best films ever.”
Einhorn, however, is not a film critic, but rather an American composer with experience in film scoring. When he first saw the film, the experience was so inspiring that he soon started working on an oratorio to accompany it. Six years after that first viewing, “Voices of Light” was being performed in sold-out concert halls throughout the country.
“Voices of Light” is not a mere soundtrack to the film but rather, a spectacular live performance that includes soloists, a chorus and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in this special event at the Music Center at Strathmore on Saturday night.
| Onstage |
| Voices of Light |
| Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $28 to $88; 410-783-8000; bsomusic.org |
BSO Music Director Marin Alsop conducts the orchestra, along with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society under the direction of Tom Hall and four soloists in this awesome production played out in tandem with the black-and-white silent movie glittering silvery-bright on a cinema-size screen behind the live action.
The showing of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s film is a tribute to BSO’s first-ever Women of the World Festival and, not by coincidence, it marks the 600th anniversary of the 1412 birth of the French heroine and martyr.
“I did an enormous amount of research on the period and put together a libretto that [was] taken from the writings of medieval female mystics of the time, women who were very similar to Joan of Arc in terms of their beliefs and concerns,” Einhorn continued. “The soloists and choir will not be putting words in Joan’s mouth, but rather commenting on the film as it is playing.”
The comments, Einhorn says, revolve around themes of fire, battle, having visions and hearing voices.
Einhorn comments more on the power of the film than what many consider to be his moving and sublime score, when he says, “If you have a list of your 10 favorite movies, after you see ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc,’ you’re going to have a list of 11 favorite movies.”
