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| The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). |
Two weeks ago I headed down from Galway to Cork to attend the Cork French Film Festival, which took place from March 3 to March 10. A small festival with a long history, since this was already its 24th year. I didn't intend to go and see many of the screenings, since I have already seen most of the films, however, one particular event of the festival caught my attention and it was the screening of an absolute cinematic masterpiece, Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, starring the unforgettable Renée Falconetti. The screening would take place at St. Fin Barre's Cathedral and would have live musical accompaniment. How often do you get to go to a cathedral and enjoy a masterpiece of cinema, moreover, accompanied with live music? So with this in mind I packed my bag and headed for the lovely city of Cork.
Over the years many composers have composed music for The Passion of Joan of Arc, in the DVD edition we can hear Richard Einhorn's score, surfing through the jungle of youtube you can also find a version, where an indie rock band Joan of Arc accompanies the film. So, to make my journey even more worthwhile I got in touch with Irene Buckley, who is the composer of the musical score for this special event, inviting her to join me for a cup of tea. An invitation which she kindly accepted. So below you can read the result of a lovely afternoon's chat about music, films and the project itself. Enjoy!
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| Irene Buckley. Standing outside Carnegie Hall during rehearsals for Flu, 2007. http://www.irenebuckley.com/ph07-carnegie.php |
So about Saturday's
experience, it was not really a screening of the film or a concert, but an
experience. Did it work out as you wanted it to work out?
Yes, it did.
I was very happy with how the performance went. We had two different performers
to the original show - this time Molly Lynch as the soprano and James McVinnie
on organ. It's always a little nerve-racking to have different performers, as
it could potentially change the sound quite a bit, but they did a wonderful
job.
During it, it
started to rain, do you think it added something to the screening/concert or
took away from it?
I was a
little apprehensive at first, as I didn't know what the sound was! I am, as you
can imagine, listening closely to the music during the performance, to check
the balance etc., so hearing this extra layer of sound was strange at first!
But from hearing people's reactions afterwards, they all agreed that the sound
of the rain added something to the experience.
Yes, it was a
bit confusing at the beginning. However, I think it even more emphasised the
atmosphere of the film and the music.
I read in
your homepage, that this is not your first experience in the film industry,
previously you have written original scores for My Beamish Boy, Liberty
Hall, God and Napoleon, Na Zimmers, to name only a few.
What does
music give to the film in a general sense?
A few weeks
ago, I saw Michael Haneke's beautiful film Amour - somebody told me
that there was no soundtrack, so I really wanted to see it. There are some
pieces of classical music in this film, but no original music was written for
it. I found this really interesting as I felt it didn't need any music when I
watched it. Music could have made it overly sentimental and therefore less
real. So, I may have to reconsider the whole purpose of music in film!
Did you know
that Carl Theodor Dreyer did not want any musical accompaniment for The Passion of Joan of Arc?
Well, it's
difficult to know if he would approve of this score! But thankfully so far, I
have been getting some nice compliments.
I would also
like to compliment your musical score, as it complimented the film.
Thank you.
What I hoped to accomplish for The Passion of Joan of Arc was to create
a score that played to the strengths of the film, without becoming overbearing
or distracting.
So, how did
the project of The Passion of Joan of Arc get started?
The artistic
director of the Cork French Film Festival, Paul Callanan, contacted me and
asked me to write the music for the film.
Last year...
Yes, it was
screened for the first time last year in the Cork French Film Festival, at
Triskel's Christchurch.
Have you seen
the film before? When you started to work on the project, did you watch it with
or without music?
No, I had
never seen this film before this project. I began to watch it with music,
written by Richard Einhorn, but then I didn't want it to influence me too much,
so I watched it without music.
From which
point of view did you approach the film, from Dreyer, Joan of Arc or your own
as a viewer's point of view?
I wished to produce a score that was
restrained to reflect Joan's character and her actions. I wanted to create a
voice for Joan, allowing her to express a range of emotions from reflection to
crying out. There was a wish to create a sound world that protected Joan, while
at the same time creating a claustrophobic, saturated atmosphere to magnify the
intimacy and confinement of the close up shots.
I enjoyed, in
particular, when the organ for the first time started to play together with the
soprano, it reminded me of the place where we were watching the film - that we
are all in the cathedral. I read that in your score you have used the text and
the structure of the Requiem Mass. Is that the reason why the
screenings/concerts take place in churches and cathedrals?
There are a
few reasons why the church is an appropriate setting for a screening such as
this – one is because of the obvious connotations with the church in this film,
but another one is because I use the church or pipe organ. You may not have
noticed, but a lot of the very low rumbling sounds heard in the score are
actually produced by the organ. I knew that low pedal notes could create a
beating or pulsing effect by playing two notes simultaneously that are close
together in frequency. I use this effect in particular scenes throughout the
film, some are heard alone where others are heard submerged under an already
dense electronic soundscape.
The film
depicts Joan of Arc's trial, imprisonment, torture and execution. For which
part of it was the hardest to write music?
Normally,
there are many constraints when writing music for film. There are less
constraints in The Passion of Joan of Arc as there is no audible
dialogue. Because of this, I had free reign to a certain extent. However, I
was extremely conscious that the story took precedence, and I was more than
happy for the music to be an 'additional' element rather than the primary
focus. Since it is a silent film, I needed to write continuous music for 90
minutes, so transitions between sections/pieces was also something I had to
think about.
Dreyer shot
the film from the first to the last scene in the right chronological order, did
you write music in the same way?
I wrote it
almost in the right order. In general, when I write I tend to start at the
beginning and work through it until I reach the end. I remember my composition
teacher telling me that I can start with the end and then write the beginning,
that I don't need to worry about the whole structure, about what happens in the
middle. But it always feels more natural for me to start at the beginning and
finish with the end. This process though, tends to be a slower method for me.
How long did
it take you to write the music for the film?
It took me
four months.
Your
compositions have been already played in Carnagie Hall, are you also
planning to bring this project overseas?
Yes, we are
going to Union Chapel in London in July, which is an amazing venue and then we
are in discussions about a Paris performance and where would be the most
suitable venue - there are so many beautiful churches in Paris!
You are now
finishing your PhD, I would like to wish you good luck with it.
Thank you.
Yes, I am now finishing off my PhD - I got a bit side-tracked for a while
though, as I had a lot of projects to work on.
What's next
for you after finishing PhD, any more music projects for films?
I will begin
to write an opera this year, called The Lament of Art O' Leary. For the
text, I am using a beautiful translation of this famous lament by the Irish
poet Vona Groarke. I am also writing it for the soprano Emma Nash, who performs
on The Passion of Joan of Arc.
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| St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork. http://www.cathedral.cork.anglican.org/index.php/Home/ |
