Regional orchestra brings history to light

BURLINGTON — Silent films seldom were silent. They generally featured improvised organ or piano accompaniment, and some included a narrator.

That’s a piece of the past unknown to modern movie audiences, said film historian Michael Zahs of rural Haskins, north of Ainsworth in Washington County.

All that will change Feb. 7, when the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra (SEISO) teams up with Burlington Civic Music to present the acclaimed 1928 silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.”

Experts consider it one of the top five films of all time, Zahs said. “And I've read reviews where they say (star Renee Jeanne Falconetti) did the single most significant role of any actress in the history of movies.”

An adult choir of 30 voices will join 15 orchestra instrumentalists onstage in front of the screen at The Capitol, a former movie theater at 211 N. Third St., in downtown Burlington. The ensembles will unite to present Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio, “Voices of Light,” written to accompany the film.

Zahs secured his own place in history in 1981, when he rescued some of the world’s earliest known silent films. This priceless collection, predating 1908, was stored in a basement in Washington, Iowa, in boxes marked “Brinton crap.” Now 78, the retired science and history teacher’s efforts to secure and share this slice of history is captured in the 2017 documentary, “Saving Brinton.”

This one-of-a-kind silent film performance is part of the orchestra’s 75th anniversary celebration. A second new event follows one week later, with “Valentango,” a free, family-friendly Valentine’s Day matinee at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 in Mount Pleasant’s Chapel Auditorium, 601 N. Main St.

With “Voices of Light,” Civic Music’s website notes that Einhorn’s oratorio “delivers a haunting score with the chorale blending excerpts from ancient writings inclusive of Joan’s writing in the libretto. Stunning, emotional, and considered a modern masterpiece.”

It’s a masterpiece for a masterpiece, creating a new experience for modern moviegoers.

“When we go to a movie now, we don't always watch it that close, because we can listen,” Zahs said. “And here you have to watch, and you're more involved, I think, than in a present-day film.

“(Silent film audiences) need to watch the people's faces, because they're talking with their eyes, and we're not used to watching it that closely,” he pointed out. “Almost this whole film is close-ups of people's faces, and so you need to learn to hear what they're saying with their eyes. I've read reviews where they say (Falconetti) did the single most significant role of any actress in the history of movies.”

Written, directed and designed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, it chronicles the trial and execution of teenaged Joan, who claimed divine guidance in her quest to lead the French against the English during the Hundred Years’ War. Despite her victories, she was condemned for her visions, tried for heresy, and at age 19, was burned at the stake May 30, 1431, in Rouen, in northwest France.

Ultimately considered the savior of France, she was granted sainthood by Pope Benedict XV on May 16, 1920.

This film that blazed new trails in moving pictures also is blazing new trails for the orchestra.

“People have occasionally asked us why the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra doesn't perform film scores, which have become very popular,” said Music Director Robert McConnell of Saint Louis.

“The truth is, (symphonic film presentations) are prohibitively expensive for most smaller orchestras to do. In our case, since we usually perform in three different venues, it's not something that's typically affordable,” McConnell said, noting that this event will be given in Burlington only, not in Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant.

“‘Voices of Light’ is a really well-known silent movie score, and Richard Einhorn's composition fits the movie perfectly,” McConnell added. “Yet it's still a really expensive proposition. One of our patrons, Keith Schultz, is covering a major portion of the cost of putting on the movie, and we were able to split the remaining costs with Civic Music and Barbara McRoberts, who has been an advocate for the arts for a long time.

“For SEISO, this is probably a special one-time event,” he noted.

McConnell said the subsequent new event is likely to become an SEISO tradition.

Titled “Valentango,” it features award-winning guitarist W. Mark Akin of St. Louis; a regional children’s chorus; a regional youth string ensemble; and pop singer Kelsey Madsen of Cedar Rapids, a 2010 Hollywood Golden Ticket winner on TV’s “American Idol.”

Both Akin and Madsen have previously performed with the SEISO. The Valentine’s concert will feature a Spanish influence with music from “Carmen,” “Bolero,” “Danzon No. 2,” and others. Madsen, who now teaches at Vinton Shellsburg Elementary and the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy in Cedar Rapids, will wrap her golden vocals around Christina Perri’s love ballad,“A Thousand Years.”

“I am so very humbled and very excited to make music with the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra,” Madsen said in a video preview posted on SEISO’s Facebook page. “Bring your loved ones, come out, enjoy the music.”

The 75th anniversary season — off to a rousing start with full-house audiences for “A Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue” in September and “Hollydaze” in December — marks another milestone for director McConnell.

The Washington native is celebrating his 35th season wielding the baton for the SEISO, which draws musicians from its core regions of Ottumwa, Mount Pleasant and Burlington, as well as Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, North Liberty, Iowa City and other points in eastern Iowa, western Illinois, and northeastern Missouri.

The organization is seeing increased attendance at all concerts in every venue, which is heartening to the musicians, McConnell said. “The orchestra has maintained its reputation for energy and vitality, with rhythmic accuracy that’s excellent for a regional community orchestra.”

Looking ahead, McConnell remains focused on securing major gifts to ensure the orchestra’s future while maintaining what he calls “the special culture that makes SEISO unique in the orchestral world — a true regional treasure serving multiple communities with dedication, energy, and a genuine love for making music together.”