Voices Appeared - La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc

Renée Maria Falconetti in La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc

La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc is a 1928 silent film by Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film was condemned unseen in France, vilified by Catholic authorities and was even banned in England for its depiction of English soldiers. Now recognised as a cinematic masterpiece, startlingly ahead of its time, it was based on the actual transcription of the trial. It features a striking performance by Renée Maria Falconetti as Jeanne d'Arc.

The film has been presented with a variety of sound-tracks over the years, including music by composers as diverse as Nick Cave and JS Bach. At LSO St Lukes on 29 January 2016, the film will be shown with music performed live by the Orlando Consort (Matthew Venner, Mark Dobell, Angus Smith, Donald Greig). Uniquely, they will be performing only music from the period of Jeanne d'Arc's life (1412-1431) with music by Binchois and Dufay. It is, frankly, probably not something which would have occurred to the original director, but it is a very appealing prospect. (You can see the film on-line at YouTube with no soundtrack).

Further information and tickets from the Barbican website.