The Passion of Joan of Arc
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
France, 1928
90 minutes; 16mm or DVD
Materials for presenters
Original score composed and performed by composer/cellist Lori Goldston.
When performing her dream-like cello score to accompany Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film masterpiece, “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” Lori Goldston has been praised for keeping it a truly live experience — even for her. Drawing from medieval secular and liturgical music, free improvisation and electronics, the score was originally commissioned by Emily Charles of the Fine Arts Theater in Berkeley in July of 1998.
track 7 from The Passion of Joan of Arc
“The grammar of editing has changed over the years so sometimes it’s hard for people to watch silent films,” she says. Studying the film and the filmmaker, she uses music to translate the movie’s original intent, helping people appreciate mood, pace and timing.
Lori felt privileged when her accompaniment to “The Passion of Joan of Arc” debuted with an introductory talk by Marie Falconetti, daughter of Renée, whose performance as Joan has been described as one of the finest ever recorded on film. In addition to accompanying the film at such venues as Time-Based Art Festival and Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon, the Olympia Film Festival and for the Pike Street Cinema and Shining Moment Films in Seattle, Lori collaborated with producer Tucker Martine to record it.