FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD
Where: Christ Church Cathedral, 911 Quadra St.
When: Oct. 29 (The Phantom of the Opera), 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 1 (The Passion of Joan of Arc), 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $25-$43.45 (daily) or $54.06 (festival pass) from
Festival of the Dead has a foreboding title, and the films being screened include on-screen imagery that was deemed shocking at the time. But Christ Church Cathedral’s silent film showcase, with live choral and orchestral accompaniment, is much more welcoming than it appears.
“A lot of people come to our [regular] concerts, but they are classical music folk,” said Donald Hunt, director of music for Christ Church Cathedral. “Who we really want to see are the film people, who should be interested in this kind of thing.”
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) are two of the most celebrated films of the silent film era, and are anchored by standout performances from Lon Chaney and Renée Jeanne Falconetti in titular roles. The films will be screened today (Phantom) and Tuesday (Joan of Arc), respectively, with live accompaniment by a range of interesting guests.
Organist David Briggs, the artist-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, will improvise an on-the-spot score to The Phantom of the Opera, and the 30-person Vox Humana Chamber Choir — featuring soloists Kristen Birley (soprano), Yuliya Myers (mezzo), Tim Carter (tenor) and Nathan McDonald (bass) — will join 13 members of the Victoria Symphony and choir director David Stratkauskas for The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Ticket sales are very strong thus far, Hunt said. The festival was initially set to be staged prior to the pandemic, so audiences are rushing back to the venue for its long-awaited arrival. “This is the first time we’ve done live musical accompaniment to a film,” Hunt said.
The Phantom of the Opera is driving the majority of sales — Lon Chaney’s singular performance, which was deemed shocking at the time, is regarded as one of the greatest in film history — yet both films have something unique to offer. “I’ve worked with choirs all my life, and I’ve worked with choirs with orchestra from time to time, for sure. But I’ve never worked with choir plus orchestra plus a silent film, and that’s interesting,” Stratkauskas said.
Briggs will completely improvise his performance on the church’s Wolff organ during The Phantom of the Opera. His appearance, a partnership with the Royal 91原创 College of Organists, hearkens back to an era during which live musical accompaniment was a key component of movie houses.
“Imagine going to the cinema in the 1920s, and there’s an organist playing along,” Hunt said. “That’s what this will be like — but David’s a genius, so he’s able to incorporate things we don’t always associate with the film.”
The music being performed during The Passion of Joan of Arc is a 1994 score by Richard Einhorn, written to accompany the original cut of the film and synched to specific scenes. The task of keeping the music and movie aligned falls on Stratkauskas, who will need to cover a lot of ground when he’s on stage. “The musicians are all looking forward at me, with the film behind them. The audience will see both the choir and the soloists, and the orchestra, and I’m facing the film. It’s my job to make sure it all links up and everyone goes with the conductor's cue.”
Even those familiar with the films will see something new on each day. New scenes from The Passion of Joan of Arc that were found more than 50 years after its initial release have been added to the restored Criterion Collection version on DVD that will be shown Tuesday. “This particular version is the rediscovered one,” Hunt said. “They found it in a closet in a hospital somewhere in Denmark, in the 1980s. From that, they were able to recreate the version of the film that the director originally wanted, and that’s the one we’re showing.”
