I had seen Dreyer’s Passion of Joan of Arc several times, but a long time ago. I remember it as a striking and memorable movie, and very modern for a silent movie: no melodrama or stilted movements.
This show was at Spaulding, and not very crowded. The 5 singers were in black to the left of the stage, with the movie on the big screen.
The singing was like Gregorian chant, and I have to admit that it was slightly soporific, and I did doze off once. That makes sense, because the music is all from the period, the early fifteenth century. The contratenor was featured whenever Joan was speaking on the screen, and other deeper voices were the judges and soldiers. The lyrics seemed to be in Latin – I caught a few kyrie eleison here and there. One scene was Joan receiving the sacrament, and the Consort sang the mass, matching the mute voice on the screen.
I liked this with the music – but I’m not sure it needed to be live, frankly.
I had forgotten that the movie was based closely on the trial of Joan of Arc in 1431, and they actually have something like actual court transcripts.