The Philharmonic Society of Orange County is pleased to present "The Passion of Joan of Arc: Silent Film & Medieval Sound," a new project by British vocal ensemble The Orlando Consort, on Saturday, January 16, 2016, 8 p.m., at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The Orlando Consort creates a stunning live soundtrack to Carl Theodor Dreyer's monumental 1928 silent film biography of the saint and martyr, singing medieval songs composed during the lifetime of Joan of Arc (1412-1431) in live accompaniment to the film. A pre-concert lecture by Jean Drum will take place at 7 p.m. This performance is part of the Society's Eclectic Orange Series, which is generously sponsored by Judith and Howard Jelinek, with additional support from Bette and Wylie Aitken.
Immortalizing the trial of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer's cinematic masterpiece La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) features Renee Maria Falconetti as Joan, and her depiction of the Maid of Orleans has been celebrated as one of the best performances ever recorded on film. Of this thrilling new project, The Orlando Consort's baritone Donald Greig explains, "Our version is...the first entirely a cappella soundtrack, a particularly appropriate mode of expression given that voices instructed the proto-feminist French saint."
Formed in 1988 by the Early Music Network of Great Britain, 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 out as the outstanding leaders of their field. The Consort has performed at many of Britain's top festivals (including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival) and has in recent years made visits to France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Estonia, the United States, Canada, South America, Japan, Greece, Russia, Austria, Portugal, and Spain.
The Consort's impressive discography for Saydisc, Metronome, Linn, Deutsche Grammophon, and Harmonia Mundi USA includes a collection of music by John Dunstaple and The Call of the Phoenix, which were selected as Early Music CDs of the Year by Gramophone Magazine in 1996 and 2003 respectively; their CDs of music by Compère, Machaut, Ockeghem, Josquin, Popes and Anti-Popes, Saracen and Dove, and Passion have also all been short-listed. Their 2008 release of Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame and Scattered Rhymes, an outstanding new work by the young British composer Tarik O'Regan and featuring the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, was short-listed for a BBC Music Magazine Award. This is their second recording in a series for Hyperion exploring the polyphonic songs of Guillaume de Machaut; the first release (Le Voir Dit) was selected by New York Times critics as one of their favorite classical CD releases of 2013.
The Consort's performances also embrace the spheres of contemporary music and improvisation: to date they have performed more than 30 world premières and they have created striking collaborations with the jazz group Perfect Houseplants and the brilliant tabla player Kuljit Bhamra. The Consort currently holds a residency at Nottingham University and recent concert highlights include their debut at New York's Carnegie Hall.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, is located at 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Ticket prices start at $25 and are available at the Philharmonic Society box office at (949) 553-2422, online at www.PhilharmonicSociety.org, and at the Center box office at (714) 556-2787. A limited number of box seats are also available for purchase. Call for pricing and availability.
