The Passion of  Joan of  Arc (1928)
Original soundtrack by Cristiano Alberghini
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Smarrimento (mp3)

Absolute première live performance of the original sound track written expressly and specially for the projection by an historical motion-picture projector of the film “The Passion of Jeanne D’Arc” by Carl Theodor Dreyer.
The score has been accurately prepared according to every slight expressive and psychological shade used in the film, by facing a thorough analysis on the techniques of the film itself: the close ups, the very close ups, the rhythm proposed by the director with his special shot movements, the inner composition of the images, the system of cutting and montage adopted.

Once made the macro-structural division of the situations represented in the picture, I have tried to enter more in depth each of them, and I took care of the musical-expressive aspects so that they could represent closely, according to my own perception of course, the psychological implications proposed by the situations in progress.

So, the musical evolution and the elaboration I propose develop themselves on the two following main levels:

• Expressive: The expressiveness I propose in the diverse moments of deep emotive intensity in the film is conveyed through the horizontal aspect of the sound material, i.e. melody, which has the function of characterizing the spiritual dimension of the different personae.
• Psychological: This aspect is conveyed by the aspects of rhythm and harmony of the musical and tone-colour musical material I chose; this device is useful in order to underline the most concrete situations in which the actions develop by the look of the audience.

These two aspects are displayed both in the score and in a series of extemporary improvisations according to the feelings conveyed during the projection and vision of the motion picture.
   

"...The compositions by Cristiano Alberghini, who was also playing the piano, were remarkable because of their expressive and technical variety, and were enriched with echoes of Chopin, jazz, and avant-garde, which underlined at their best the images of the interrogations, of the tortures, of the rapture and torment ...."

1. smarrimento : il pensiero dei giudici - la tortura - il salasso
2. disperazione : Giovanna firma l'abiura e si pente
3. salvezza : la morte di Giovanna