Pacific Chorale Presents Voices of Light / The Passion of Joan of Arc, Performed Live to 1928 Silent Film Masterpiece

Pacific Chorale, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad and celebrated for its artistic innovation and compelling performances, launches its 56^th season with Voices of Light / The Passion of Joan of Arc, a spectacular evening of music and film on Saturday, October 7, 2023, 7:30 pm, at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The cinematic event features Richard Einhorn’s “brilliantly effective” (Washington Post) 1994 oratorio inspired by and performed live to director Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film masterpiece, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Einhorn’s evocative work, written for orchestra, chorus and soloists, provides a haunting backdrop to the restored version of Dreyer’s cinematic tour de force, considered by many critics to be among the greatest films ever made. USA Today proclaims it “the most successful melding yet of classic cinema and live music.” Einhorn draws primarily on the writings of medieval women such as Hildegard of Bingen and Christine de Pizan, for his text, and, at points, even includes the words of Joan of Arc herself.

The featured soloists include Pacific Chorale members Alexandria Burdick, soprano; Rebecca Hasquet, soprano; Stephanie Shepson, mezzo-soprano; Jane Hyun-Jung Shim, mezzo-soprano; Jason Francisco, tenor; and Fernando Muñoz, bass.

The Passion of Joan of Arc was thought to have been lost in a warehouse fire, but a single print of Dreyer’s film was discovered in a janitor’s closet of a Norwegian mental institution in 1981, which, subsequently, “was digitally restored to pristine condition” (Bright Lights Film Journal). The film, based on the actual 15^th century transcripts of St. Joan’s trial for heresy, chronicles Joan of Arc’s trial in the hours leading up to her execution. Dressed as a boy, she led French troops in a defeat against British occupiers during the Hundred Years’ War, but was later captured and tried by French clergy loyal to the British and condemned to death by burning at the stake for her belief that she was spurred to action by religious visions. Pioneering director Carl Theodor Dreyer employed an array of techniques—expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, painfully intimate close-ups—to immerse viewers in the experience along with Joan. Of Renée Maria Falconetti’s legendary portrayal of Joan of Arc, the late renowned film critic Pauline Kael decreed, “It may be the finest performance ever recorded on film.”

Pacific Chorale’s 2023-24 Season is made possible, in part, by generous support from Platinum Season Sponsor Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons.

The Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

For tickets ($28 - $147) and information, visit www.pacificchorale.org or call 714-662-2345.

RICHARD EINHORN's unique music has been described as "hauntingly beautiful," "sensational," and "overwhelming in its emotional power." He is one of a small handful of composers who not only reaches a large, worldwide audience, but whose music receives widespread critical praise for its integrity, emotional depth, and craft.

Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, described as an "opera with silent film" has been hailed as "a great masterpiece of contemporary music" and "a work of meticulous genius." The piece has been performed over 250 times, selling out such venues as the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival; Avery Fisher Hall; Kennedy Center (with the National Symphony); Disney Hall in Los Angeles (with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Grant Gershon); the Esplanade in Singapore; the Barbican (with the London Symphony and Marin Alsop); and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The Sony Classical release of Voices of Light, featuring the vocal group Anonymous 4, was a Billboard classical bestseller, earning Einhorn the distinction of being one of only a few living composers to have made "the charts." Voices of Light has attracted national media attention including articles in the Wall Street Journal, segments on All Things Considered and Performance Today, and an extended profile on CBS television network's magazine show, CBS Sunday Morning.

Einhorn has written opera, orchestral and chamber music, song cycles, multimedia events, film music, and dance scores. The wildly popular Red Angels for New York City Ballet, with choreography by Ulysses Dove, was featured on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS and is in the New York City Ballet’s permanent repertory. The Shooting Gallery, a multimedia collaboration with filmmaker Bill Morrison, premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. Einhorn’s 90-minute oratorio about Charles Darwin, The Origin (original films by Bill Morrison), was broadcast in its entirety by WCNY-TV in Syracuse, NY, and received its European premiere at Die Glocke in Bremen, Germany. Other notable works include The Spires, The City, The Field, a 9/11 memorial premiered by the Albany Symphony under David Allan Miller; A Carnival of Miracles, commissioned by Anonymous 4 and premiered to a sold-out crowd at New Sounds Live; and My Many Colored Days, an orchestral commission from the Minnesota Orchestra. Recent projects include Bell, an opera-in- progress about Alexander Bell that was performed at Skidmore College in 2023; The Luminous Ground, for chamber orchestra and chorus commissioned by Musica Viva NYC, and Floe, commissioned by Trio 180. Richard Einhorn’s extensive film music catalog includes scores for the Academy Award-winning documentary short Educating Peter (HBO); Arthur Penn's thriller Dead of Winter starring Mary Steenburgen (MGM); and Fire-Eater directed by Pirjo Honkasalo, for which Einhorn won the Jussi (Finnish Academy Award) for Best Musical Score.