Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2015-16 | 27th Season

Early Music The Passion of Joan of Arc The Orlando Consort

Wednesday, October 14, 8:00 p.m. Friday, October 16, 8:00 p.m. From the Executive Director

Just one short month ago we opened our 27th season with visionary composer Simon Steen-Andersen’s Run Time Error. Simon challenged the JACK Quartet to engage with their instruments in innovative ways that defied conventions of the string quartet. In September, we also came together as a community to create the 4th Annual Morningside Lights procession inspired by New York night life. Last week, we celebrated William Schuman Award winner and Miller Theatre neighbor, John Luther Adams, with New York premieres of three pieces.

Tonight, we’ll open our Early Music Series with the Orlando Consort’s The Passion of Joan of Arc. I’ve been eager to bring this project to Miller since Donald Greig first told me about his idea to devise a medieval score for this renowned film. It was only an idea then, and seeing it fully realized on our stage has been magnificent. I am deeply moved by the artistry of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s film and the depth that Donald Greig’s score, comprised entirely of music composed in Joan’s lifetime, adds to it. I’d like to extend special thanks to Peter Vaughan, Director of Motion Picture and Information Technology at Columbia University School of the Arts, for his invaluable technical guidance and support.

Next week, we welcome cellist Matt Haimovitz to Miller Theatre and Columbia University as he performs spontaneous concerts all over campus, pairing Bach cello suites with commissioned overtures by contemporary composers. The locations of these concerts are a surprise, so be sure to follow Miller Theatre on Twitter (@MillerTheatre) and Facebook (facebook.com/millertheatre) to follow Matt’s journey. Matt’s ambitious project culminates in two evening-length concerts at Miller Theatre.

We’ll close October with our second Pop-Up Concert from Ensemble Signal. Inspirations pairs Ensemble Signal artists with the pieces they’ve always wanted to play, and I can’t wait to hear these talented musicians share their passion in such an intimate setting.

Thank you for joining us for this captivating evening of medieval polyphony and cinematic mastery. Audience members like you make it possible for us to continue to expand the boundaries of our programming.

Melissa Smey Executive Director Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2015-16 | 27th Season

Early Music Wednesday, October 14, 8:00 p.m. Friday, October 16, 8:00 p.m. premiere The Passion of Joan of Arc The Orlando Consort

La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928) written and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer accompanied by a live score of medieval music devised and developed by Donald Greig

Performers Matthew Venner, countertenor Mark Dobell, tenor Angus Smith, tenor Donald Greig, baritone with Robert Macdonald, bass

Film Cast Film Credits Jeanne d’Arc: Renée Maria Falconetti Director, Script: Carl Theodor Dreyer Pierre Cauchon: Eugène Silvain Historical Adviser: Pierre Champion Jean D’Estivet: André Berley Cinematography: Rudolf Maté Nicolas Loyseleur: Maurice Schutz Art Directors: Hermann Warm Jean Massieu: Antonin Artaud and Jean Hugo Jean Lemaître: Gilbert Dalleu Costumes: Valentine Hugo Guillaume Erard: Jean d’Yd Assistant Directors: Paul La Cour Jean Beaupère: Louis Ravet and Ralph Holm

This program runs approximately one hour and forty-five minutes with no intermission.

Please note that photography and the use of recording devices are not permitted. Remember to turn off all cellular phones and pagers before tonight’s performance begins. Miller Theatre at Columbia University is wheelchair accessible. Large print programs are available upon request. For more information or to arrange accommodations, please call 212-854-7799. About the Film

When La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc was released in 1928, Joan was a long-established symbol of French patriotism, and her story would have been familiar to Dreyer’s audiences. Indeed, his film deliberately played against much of the existing mythology, bypassing her victorious military career—and the iconic image of Joan armed for battle—and instead entered immediately into the intimate world of her trial.

Joan of Arc was born to farmers in northeast France around 1412 in the midst of the Hundred Years War against Britain. France’s loyalty was divided between the crown prince, Charles of Valois, and the British King Henry V. At age 13, Joan began to hear voices that she believed had been sent by God, commanding her to save France by expelling the British and installing Charles as King. She donned men’s clothing and journeyed to Charles’ palace, telling him of her divine mission, and he (surprisingly) honored the young woman’s request to be given an army. In March of 1429, Joan led these forces to break the British siege at Orléans—a stunning French victory. She continued to spearhead a successful campaign to reclaim territory from the British, which culminated in the coronation of King Charles VII that same year. Joan was famous, a living legend in France.

She was captured a year later in the French region of Burgundy, which was allied to the British, and taken to the British-held castle at Rouen. At the request of the theology faculty at the University of Paris (also allied to the British), Joan was not treated as a military figure, but tried as a heretic. Charles made no attempt to negotiate for her release.

Dreyer’s film takes its content from the transcripts of Joan’s trial, although it condenses her year of captivity into a single day. The film includes the tensions between the British military, Catholic clergy, and townspeople of Rouen, who would have been sympathetic to the legendary Maid of Orléans. Twenty years after her death, Joan of Arc was re-tried and her condemnation was annulled. In 1920 she was canonized as a Saint—just eight years before Dreyer’s film.

Note by Nora Sørena Casey About the Program

In common with many other great works of art, when Carl Theodor Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc was first released its qualities weren’t immediately recognised. It opened in Copenhagen in April 1928, though it wasn’t until October in that same year that it received its second premiere in Paris, but only after changes insisted upon by the French church were made. Across the channel in , it was banned for a year because of its depiction of the brutality of the English soldiers, which was ironic given that their real treatment of Joan was considerably worse. Of the reviewers, only Mordaunt Hall, writing in , focused on the things for which the film is now known—its startling visual style and the central performance. Hall wrote:

“France can well be proud of ... The Passion of Jeanne d’Arc, for while Carl Dreyer, a Dane, is responsible for the conspicuously fine and imaginative use of the camera, it is the gifted performance of Maria Falconetti as the Maid of Orléans that rises above everything in this artistic achievement.” An historical context informed Dreyer’s choice of Joan of Arc as his subject. She was canonised in 1920, and in 1925 Joseph Delteil published a flamboyant biography of the new Saint, the rights to which Dreyer acquired. Ultimately, he set Delteil’s text aside and instead devoted himself to his more familiar approach: research. His main source was the transcripts of the trial, edited by Jules Quicherat in the 1840s, from which all of the film’s dialogue comes.

This commitment to authenticity extended to the design. A staggering one million francs of the seven million franc budget was given over to building the set, but Dreyer eschewed grand vistas of medieval architecture and townscapes in favour of close-ups and fast editing, reducing the art direction to mere details glimpsed in the background.

Much has been written about Dreyer’s visual rhetoric: the anachronistic use of irises to mask the image, a refusal to adhere to the conventions of screen direction in looks and movement, the concentration on close-ups, the exclusion of comprehensible spatial logic, and the low camera positions all produce feelings of claustrophobia and confusion. Maria Renée Falconetti’s role is counted as one of the great screen performances, but part of its power is derived from the surrounding shots. As we look with her at the austere judges or derisive soldiers, we project our own psychic discomfort onto Falconetti’s face, thereby doubling the heroine’s emotional state.

Music contains the same power to construct meaning. With this in mind, our initial task was to determine the emotional point of each scene and second-guess Dreyer’s intentions. Here we followed the tried and tested method of matching music to image that continues today, “spotting” the film, i.e. deciding where the music cues should begin and end and their functions in the scene. Sometimes the music we chose had a secondary relation to the scene (textual, historical, liturgical), and we have certainly not eschewed the more obvious clichés of film music where a dynamic or rhythmic motif coincides with a specific action. Our guiding principle is that at all times the performance should serve and ultimately illuminate this extraordinary film.

Exactly what kind of music Dreyer wanted to accompany screenings of La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc is unknown, but the notion that he wanted his movie to be appreciated in chaste silence is an exaggeration. He told Eileen Bowers, film curator of the Museum of Modern Art in , he wasn’t happy with the scores that he had heard thus far. One only has to look at his next project, Vampyr (1932), to find a preference for a through-composed score.

As the director, he would have had little control over the exhibition of his film, nor did he have any hand in the two scores written for its premieres. His thoughts about the 1951 version, cobbled together by Giuseppe Maria Lo Duca with music by J.S. Bach, Scarlatti, and others, are well documented. Dreyer’s musical objections were twofold: firstly, the music was from the wrong era, and secondly, the dynamic of the music was an ill-fitting fortissimo. A further criticism of the Lo Duca version was that in using religious music the soundtrack misrepresented the anti-clerical argument of the film. This point was never made by Dreyer, however, and with good reason: Joan’s own faith is never in doubt, and Dreyer argued that the priests were not so much hypocrites as misguided zealots. Hopefully our approach satisfies these specific grievances and might have even been met with Dreyer’s approval.

Certainly Dreyer makes the would-be composer’s task difficult. With no establishing shots and an almost schizophrenic alternation between rapid cutting (the film has 1,500 cuts in its 96 minutes) and still contemplation, the rhythm of the film poses unique problems. This makes our choice of pre-existing music quite appropriate. The tactus (beat) of this music remains broadly organic, as opposed to the hyper-precise cueing of modern scores. Our response echoes the practice of original silent-film accompaniment, though in place of a conductor we have an on-screen guide track.

All of the music you will hear comes from the early years of the fifteenth century, the period of Joan’s brief life, though whether Joan herself would ever have heard it is an unanswerable question. Charles VII, her king, was so short of money that he could no longer afford his own travelling choir. However, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was patron to Dufay and Binchois, and the Regent of France was patron to John Dunstable. It seems likely that Joan would have encountered at least some of the repertoire. An assiduous attendee of Mass, her travels took her to many large towns and cities like Orléans, Troyes, and Blois, all of which had choral foundations.

The early fifteenth century was a transitional period for polyphonic music. The earlier fourteenth century style is represented here by Richard Loqueville’s Sanctus and Billart’s Salve Virgo virginum. Parallel fifths, fourths, and octaves abound, as do the characteristic stark sixth-to-octave cadences. What will most strike the listener is the rhythmic interest and virtuosic flair in the upper parts that contrast with the stolid plainchant in the accompanying voices. The later, more melodic style is evinced in the secular chansons: Dufay’s Je me complains—in which we have substituted words from Christine de Pizan’s La Ditié de Jeanne d’Arc, written a year before Joan’s capture—and Gautier Libert’s haunting De Tristesse. Several other pieces display this sweeter, more consonant approach such as Johannes De Lymburgia’s Descendi in hortum meum, and several instances of fauxbourdon—an improvised system of parallel second-inversion chords—which display a fondness for thirds and sixths characteristic of English music. Though England, France, and Burgundy were almost constantly at war with each other, musical influence paid no heed to territorial boundaries. Indeed the English style— represented here by the Agincourt Carol and the anonymous O Redemptor—initiated the very transition from the earlier to the later styles.

It is now generally accepted that all of the music you will hear was performed by voices alone. Whatever one’s position on this musicological issue, the more intimate medium of five unaccompanied voices is particularly appropriate to the portrayal of a woman whose divine inspiration came in the form of the voices of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret. Program note by Donald Greig

Please visit www.millertheatre.com/explore/program-notes to read more about repertoire selections and scene breakdowns.

About the Program About the Artists

The Orlando Consort Dunstaple and The Call of the Phoenix, Matthew Venner, countertenor which were selected as Early Music CDs Mark Dobell, tenor of the Year by Gramophone Magazine in Angus Smith, tenor 1996 and 2003 respectively; their CDs of Donald Greig, baritone music by Compère, Machaut, Ockeghem, with Robert Macdonald, bass Josquin, Popes and Anti-Popes, Saracen and Dove, and Passion have also all Formed in 1988 by the Early Music Net- been short-listed. Their 2008 release work of Great Britain, the Orlando Con- of Machaut’s Messe de Notre Dame and sort rapidly achieved a reputation as one Scattered Rhymes, an outstanding new of Europe’s most expert and consistently work by the young British composer challenging groups performing reper- Tarik O’Regan and featuring the Estonian toire from the years 1050 to 1550. Their Philharmonic Chamber Choir, was short- work successfully combines captivating listed for a BBC Music Magazine Award. entertainment and fresh scholarly insight; This is their second recording in a series the unique imagination and original- for Hyperion exploring the polyphonic ity of their programming together with songs of Guillaume de Machaut; the first their superb vocal skills has marked the release (Le Voir Dit) was selected by New Consort out as the outstanding leaders of York Times critics as one of their favorite their field. The Consort has performed at classical CD releases of 2013. many of Britain’s top festivals (including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh Inter- The Consort’s performances also embrace national Festival) and has in recent years the spheres of contemporary music and made visits to France, Holland, Belgium, improvisation: to date they have per- Germany, Italy, Sweden, Estonia, the USA, formed over 30 world premières and they Canada, South America, Japan, Greece, have created striking collaborations with Russia, Austria, Portugal, and Spain. the jazz group Perfect Houseplants and the brilliant tabla player Kuljit Bhamra. The Consort’s impressive discography The Consort currently holds a residency for Saydisc, Metronome, Linn, Deutsche at Nottingham University and recent con- Grammophon, and Harmonia Mundi USA cert highlights include their debut at New includes a collection of music by John York’s Carnegie Hall. About Miller Theatre

Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and one of the most vital forces nationwide for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, and multimedia. Founded in 1988, Miller has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the U.S. A four- time recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders—to present innovative programs, support new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences.

Advisory Committee Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Linda Nochlin Regula Aregger Karen Hagberg Margo Viscusi Mercedes I. Armillas Mark Jackson Marian M. Warden Rima Ayas Eric Johnson Cecille Wasserman Paul D. Carter Fred Lerdahl Janet Waterhouse Mary Sharp Cronson George Lewis Elke Weber Stephanie French Philip V. Mindlin Columbia University Trustees Jonathan D. Schiller, Chair Andrew F. Barth Marc Holliday A’Lelia Bundles, Vice Chair Lee C. Bollinger, Benjamin Horowitz Lisa Carnoy, Vice Chair President of the University Ann F. Kaplan Noam Gottesman, Vice Chair William V. Campbell, Charles Li Mark E. Kingdon, Vice Chair Chair Emeritus Paul J. Maddon Esta Stecher, Vice Chair Kenneth Forde Vikram Pandit Jonathan Lavine, Vice Chair Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. Michael B. Rothfeld Rolando T. Acosta James Harden Claire Shipman Armen A. Avanessians Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Columbia University School of the Arts Carol Becker Dean of Faculty Jana Hart Wright Dean of Academic Administration Miller Theatre Staff Melissa Smey Executive Director Charlotte Levitt Director of Marketing & Outreach Brenna St. George Jones Director of Production James Hirschfeld Business Manager Jen Gushue Marketing & Communications Associate Megan Harrold Audience Services Manager Katherine Bergstrom Artistic Administrator Taylor Riccio Production Coordinator Rhiannon McClintock Executive Assistant

Aleba & Co. Public Relations The Heads of State Graphic Design Thanks to Our Donors Miller Theatre acknowledges with deep appreciation and gratitude the following organizations, individuals, and government agencies whose extraordinary support makes our programming possible.

$25,000 and above Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts Dow Jones Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Ernst von Siemens Foundation

$10,000 - $24,999 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Margo and Anthony Viscusi Mary Sharp Cronson New York State Council on the Arts Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation at Columbia University The Evelyn Sharp Foundation

$5,000 - $9,999 The Amphion Foundation Karen Hagberg and Mark Jackson H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation CLC Kramer Foundation Craig Silverstein

$1,000 - $4,999 Regula Aregger Christine and Thomas Griesa Christopher Rothko Barbara Batcheler Donella and David Held J.P. Sullivan Susan Boynton Roger Lehecka Cecille Wasserman Paul D. Carter Philip Mindlin Janet C. Waterhouse Consolate General of Denmark in New York Linda Nochlin Elke Weber and Eric Johnson Hester Diamond Jeanine and Roland Plottel Anonymous R.H. Rackstraw Downes Jessie and Charles Price Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Peter Pohly $500 - $999 Oliver Allen Stephanie French Paul J. Maddon Mercedes Armillas Claude Ghez Marian M. Warden Fund of the Foundation ASCAP Carol Avery Haber / Haber Family for Enhancing Communities Rima Ayas Charitable Fund Katharina Pistor Elaine S. Bernstein James P. Hanbury James Sharp Cedomir Crnkovic / Cavali Foundation John Kander Cia Toscanini Kristine and Joseph Delfausse Mark Kempson and Janet Greenberg Kathryn Yatrakis

$100 - $499 Gail and James Addiss June O. Goldberg Caroline and Anthony Lukaszewski Qais Al-Awqati, M.D. Gordon Gould James Mandel Edward Albee Richard Gray Mary and Andrew Pinkowitz Roger Bagnall Barbara Harris Edmée B. Reit Jim Boorstein Bernard Hoffer William Ryall Elizabeth and Ralph Brown Frances and Raymond Hoobler James Schamus and Nancy Kricorian Caplan Family Foundation Alan Houston and Lisa DeLange Elliot Schwartz Rashmy Chatterjee Frank Immler and Andrew Tunick Timothy C. Shepard and Andra Georges Ginger Chinn and Reggie Spooner Sandra and Malcolm Jones Gilbert Spitzer and Janet Glaser Spitzer Gregory D. Cokorinos William Josephson Rand Steiger and Rebecca Jo Plant Norma Cote L. Wilson Kidd, Jr. Peter Strauss David Demnitz Janice Landrum Jim Strawhorn Vishakha Desai and Robert Oxnam Barbara and Kenneth Leish Larry Wehr Pamela Drexel Arthur S. Leonard Seymour Weingarten Peter and Joan Faber Richard H. Levy and Lorraine Gallard Ila and Dennis Weiss Ruth Gallo Peter C. Lincoln William C. Zifchak Marc Gilman Sarah Lowengard Anonymous

as of October 6, 2015 Early Music

“Miller Theatre has carved an enviable niche for itself in the field of early music”–Olivia Giovetti, Classical Singer Magazine

With radiant harmonies and cascading polyphony, early music has beguiled Miller audiences since the theater’s founding. Today’s masters of period performance bring this ancient music to life, each employing their own signature style. This season we’ll hear from returning favorites The Tallis Scholars, Le Poème Harmonique, and New York Polyphony, while the Belgian ensemble Vox Luminis make their Miller debut.

Saturday, November 14 New York Polyphony: Songs of Hope The twice Grammy-nominated New York Polyphony performs an array of elegiac sa- cred works from across the centuries and across the globe, from Renaissance Spain to Revolutionary Russia to modern day Norway.

Saturday, December 5 The Tallis Scholars: Christmas Across Centuries The peerless Tallis Scholars return to the picturesque sanctuary of St. Mary’s with a celebration of Christmas that includes works from Arvo Pärt and selections from the holiday mass Puer natus est nobis.

Saturday, February 13 Vox Luminis: The Bach Dynasty The Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis—acclaimed for their “profound, rewarding, and intoxicating” (Gramophone) performances—make their series debut with motets from one of music’s most illustrious families.

Sunday, April 3 Le Poème Harmonique: Airs de Cour Le Poème Harmonique performs a program of airs de cour. These songs of passion and unrequited love capturing the delicate beauty idealized by the French aristocracy are a perfect fit for the ensemble’s impassioned performance style. Upcoming Events

Thursday, October 22, 8:00 p.m. HAIMOVITZ PLAYS BACH Cello Suites III, IV & V Matt Haimovitz, cello

Saturday, October 24, 8:00 p.m. HAIMOVITZ PLAYS BACH Cello Suites I, II & VI Matt Haimovitz, cello

Tuesday, October 27 doors at 5:30 p.m., music at 6:00 p.m. POP-UP CONCERTS Ensemble Signal: Inspirations

Saturday, November 7, 8:00 p.m. JAZZ Anat Cohen Quartet: Celebrando Brasil

Tuesday, November 10 doors at 5:30 p.m., music at 6:00 p.m. POP-UP CONCERTS Curtis 20/21: Pierrot Lunaire

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