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Choral music documentaries?Date: April 16, 2012 by Mark Vuorinen  Views: 2896
Hello,
Each season my symphonic chorus hosts an outreach event at our local repertory cinema where we screen a documentary film about the power of choral singing or a composer featured in an upcoming concert. In 2011 we showed "the Singing Revolution" and in 2012 we offered "24 Preludes for a Fugue," about Arvo Pärt and his music. I am looking for a film to include at our "Philharmonic Night at the Movies" in 2012-2013 and wonder if others have ideas for a powerful, important and interesting documentary film that could be screened. It doesn't have to be attached to repertroire that we are preparing, but in case any of this repertoire triggers an idea, here is our season:
Beethoven 9
Mozart Requiem, with Ich habe Genug, BWV 82 and O Jesu Christ, meine Lebens Licht, BWV 118
Britten's St. Nicholas
Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light (which itself is a sound track to a 1928 silent film, which will be screened during the concert)
Bach Mass is B Minor
Duruflé Requiem, with Tallis Spem in Alium, Sheppard Media Vita and Purcell anthems
Many thanks, in advance, for your suggestions.
Mark Vuorinen, Artistic Director
Grand Philharmonic Choir
Kitchener, Ontario
Replies (11): Threaded | Chronological
Archive User on April 16, 2012 12:08pm
You might consider "Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen": https://innerharmony.com/show_product.php?pid=1282
There was a ChoralBlog about it that includes a trailer: http://www.choralnet.org/view/305914
on April 17, 2012 7:00am
Filmmaker Michael Lawrence has created 2 documentaries about J. S. Bach: "Bach and Friends" and "Bach and More Friends." They feature well-known musicians such as Joshua Bell and Bobby McFerrin playing and talking about Bach's music. Choral and vocal music do not get much attention but our chorus screened the first film when we did the B Minor Mass and it was well received. More info at http://www.mlfilms.com/
on July 28, 2012 4:05pm
Hi Mark,
This short documentary explores the collaborative experiences shared by the five writers and Composers of the original choral work entitled 'Come the Sails ' 2011.
The Waterford Choirs Association (WCA) commissioned the choral work as a tribute to Waterford and the profound relationship between the River Suir and the history of the city. The new work consists of four choral sections interlinked by a fifth instrumental piece which will be accompanied by the spoken word and has a performance time of ten minutes.
The Waterford Choirs Association is to assemble a spectacular massed festival choir of 200 adults, children and senior citizens for the premiere. Accompanied by a chamber orchestra, this promises to be a musical highlight of the festivities, creating a moment in time when Waterford choristers, musicians and poets celebrate the rich musical and maritime history of the city.
hope it is of some use to you.
Warm Regards
John Loftus
on July 29, 2012 9:43am
Hello John:
Fascinating, lovely documentary! May I ask how the poets and composers were found or recruited or...? And how long did it take from beginning to end to produce the entire score of "Come the Sails," from the time all of the poets and composers began working until the work was printed? As a composer who is very interested in trying to facilitate the creation and performance of new works by living composers, especially "emerging" or less well-known ones [see http://www.choralnet.org/list/classified/1952], I would love to learn more about this special collaboration.
Thanks,
Julia
on July 30, 2012 10:54am
Hi Julia,
thank you for the post, I believe it was within one year from concept to performance (late 2010 till mid 2011).
The poets and Composers that were asked to be part of "Come the Sails," each had a link with Waterford city in Ireland.
meetings with the core team and choir director would have chosen this remarkable group of individuals.
Choir director & conductor, Niall Crowley;
Composers:
Marian Ingoldsby, Eric Sweeney, Ben Hanlon, Sue Furlong and Greg Scanlon;
Poets:
Michael Coady, Peter Sirr, Megan Nolan, Mark Roper and John Ennis ,
Choir Production Team: Lynn Cahill. Joan Dalton, Jack Stephenson
Documentery Director John Loftus
Please find the attached ulr's for more info.
on July 29, 2012 5:01pm
I'm not sure you can get ahold of the whole video, but there's a lovely 3-minute intro on YouTube. Search for "Never Stop Singing". It's about choral music in Minnesota, but it applies to all of us.
Good luck!
Julia Simon
on July 30, 2012 4:20am
Hi,
We made a film with Simon Carrington and the Yale Schola Cantorum of their performance of Bach's St. John Passion, with scholars and performers discussing problems with the work and the amazing beauties of it as well. The young singers speak with great emotion about the development of their parts, and the singing and conducting are quite wonderful. It is for sale (I think for 16.00) from WWNorton. Let me know if you have trouble getting it. It is called: "Performing the Passion: JS Bach and the Gospel according to John."
There are some clips from it on youtube, for example:
I have made other films of choral repertory and am now finishing a film on Coptic chant.
Let me know if you are interested!
Margot E. Fassler
University of Notre Dame
on July 30, 2012 8:27am
Twin Cities Public Television did a documentary on the Rose
Ensemble entitled "The Rose Ensemble: Harmonies Across Time" that
is excellent. I was able to show it to my students prior to their
coming for a master class with my choirs.
If you go to mnvideovault.org you can find numerous complete documentaries produced by Twin Cities Public Television including The Rose Ensemble and Never Stop Singing that has been previously mentioned, as well as one on the process of writing and producing a new opera entitled "Making an Opera - The Grapes of Wrath."
on July 30, 2012 2:39pm
My favorite documentary about the power of choral music is
"Song of Survival."
http://www.musicmotion.com/product.htm?pid=434396
It recounts the story of the Dutch, English, and Australian women who survived 3 1/2 yrs in a prison camp in Sumatra during WWII. Working from memory, two of the women re-arranged orchestral works for women's voices, a "vocal orchestra" that helped them to endure the experience. The music was "discovered" in the Stanford University library by the late Patty Henning (Peninsula Women's Chorus) in the early 1980s, and the documentary includes footage of the PWC preparing this music for a concert that was attended by some of the survivors. Lana Mountford
Applauded by an audience of 1
on July 31, 2012 1:34pm
It's a little cheesy, but what about the French film Les choristes? Not a documentary, but a beautiful film.
Something a little different--but lovely and moving--is Young at Heart, a quasi-documentary about the older-adult choir of the same name.
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