Critical Praise for Pandemic Relevant Film 'Love's Fever' Created by Eric Fraad

Contact: Helen@CreativePublicity.biz

“Love’s Fever” New Short Music Film Directed by Eric Fraad Released by Heresy Films

Early Music Singer Caitríona O’Leary Performs Ballad from Day Seven of Giovanni Boccaccio’s “Decameron” Set to Music by 14^th Century Composer Lorenzo da Firenze

Funded by an Irish Arts Council Covid-19 Crisis Response Award.

“…REMARKABLY PRESCIENT”.   Robert  Hugill, Planet Hugill

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“…a compelling piece of singer-acting. Treat yourself”   Norman Lebrecht,

Slipped Disc

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 LINK TO THE FILM: https://tinyurl.com/y29vfmz3

Inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, Heresy Films a division of Heresy Records, has released Love’s Fever, a short covid-19 Pandemic relevant music film created by international opera and stage director Eric Fraad. (Boccaccio probably conceived The Decameron after the epidemic of 1347, and completed it by 1353) Fraad’s film personifies the Italian poem Deh Lassa La Mia Vita, which occurs at the end of Day Seven in the Decameron. The narrative takes place in an isolated villa outside the Italian city of Florence during the height of the Black Death: throughout ten days of seclusion, seven young women & three young men, seeking refuge from the plague take turns telling stories and singing songs to entertain themselves and each other.  

Caitríona O’Leary set the song Deh Lassa La Mia Vita, to the melody of the song No Vedi Tu Amore written by 14^th century composer Lorenzo da Firenze. The plaintive melody appears in MS Mediceo Palatino 87, f47V, also known as the Squarcialupi Codex. It as a monophonic ballata expressing a young woman’s distress centered on her despair of never being able to return to the place of emotional and personal balance which she formerly enjoyed. The opening refrain which is also sung between each of four verses and at the end of the song translates as follows:    

Alas, my life’s forlorn! 

Oh, shall it ever be that I’ll regain 

The place from which I had to part in grief?

 ABOUT CAITRÍONA O’LEARY

Caitríona O’Leary (www.caitrionaoleary.com) has recorded twenty-five critically acclaimed albums with her band Dúlra and the celebrated early music ensembles Sequentia, The Harp Consort, Joglaresa, eX among others. Her recording of The Wexford Carols (producer Joe Henry, guest artists Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash, Rhiannon Giddens, Dónal Lunny) reached #1 on Billboard.

Caitríona has worked closely with many of early music's leading artists including Christopher Hogwood, Ben Bagby, Andrew Lawrence King, Konrad Junghaenel, Pedro Memelsdorff, Hille Perl, Lee Santana and many others. 

Her latest recording for Heresy Records, The Red Book of Ossory with her medieval/jazz fusion ensemble, Anakronos received five stars from the Irish Times, ArtMuseLondon called it “a singular work of genius” and RTÉ Lyric fm and The Journal of Music lauded it as “One of the records of the year”.

Caitríona has toured and performed around the world, including such venues as the Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Cité de la Musique and the National Concert Hall, Dublin to name a few. She regularly performs at festivals throughout Europe and beyond including Halle Handel Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Tage Alter Musik Herne, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Festival Montalbâne, Festival Cervantino Guanajuato (Mexico), Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Concerts Spirituels Geneva, Zagreb Summer Evenings Festival, Split Summer Festival (Croatia), Dublin Theatre Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Belfast Festival at Queen’s, etc. 

Film Credits

Director and Producer – Eric Fraad

Singer – Caitríona O’Leary

Editor – Martin Mai

Art Director – Gareth Jones

Recording and Mix Engineer – Caitríona O’Leary

Mastering Engineer – James Darkin

Camera Operator – Tara Slye 

www.heresyrecords.com