21 OCT | Saturday 9.30 pm 
Funchal Cathedral 

´La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc´ 
- Film by Carl Dreyer (1928) with organ improvisation 
Karol Mossakowski, organ 

La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc 
Screening of the film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc directed by Carl Dreyer (1928), with improvised sooundtrack on the organ. 

The art of improvising to a film demands of the organist a very particular approach. The function of the music in the context of a film is very different from that of a solo concert or a liturgical service. In the case of the “cine-concert”, it is not autonomous, but depends on the development of the film. It must, in the first place, accompany the image, comment on the scene, create the appropriate atmosphere for each moment of the film. Thanks to the musical means, the effects or feelings created by the director acquire much greater strength and meaning. This is why, for an organist accompanying a silent film, it is essential to know each second of the film by memory and to interpret correctly the meaning of each scene in order to guide the listener in understanding the film. 

Another particularity of music improvised for film is, as I understand it, the idea of musical language. In this context, we do not have the limitations of stylistic unity, that is, the connection to one particular musical context, as happens, for example, when improvising a fugue “in the style of Bach” or a romantic prelude “in the style of Brahms”, etc. On the contrary, all means are valid in order to contribute to the reinforcing of the meaning of the image, as well as leading the musical narrative in order not to tire or bore the listener – which is not easy to do with a film of an hour-and-a-half, because one never improvises for so long without stopping in a concert! I consider that La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc matches the organ perfectly. The great variety of timbres of the instrument and its sonic breadth, resonating in a place such as a church, with acoustics rich in reverberation, allow one to restore justly and with dignity the difficult theme, one also deep and rich in emotions, of this cinematic masterpiece.

Karol Mossakowski

Karol Mossakowski is internationally recognized for his qualities as both performer and improviser. He has developed his deep musical personality from the age of three, when he began learning piano and organ with his father. After his musical studies in Poland, he took classes in organ, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, where his teachers were Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Lefebvre and László Fassang. Amongst the numerous prizes he has received are the first prize of the Prague Spring International Competition of 2013, as well as the Grand Prix of Chartres in 2016, one of the most prestigious international competitions. In the academic year 2014-15 he was, for six months, Young Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of Saint Louis in New Orleans (USA), where here have numerous recitals and courses in performance and improvisation. Karol Mossakowski has the desire to make music live through improvisation, to which he gives a substantial role in his recitals, and has developed through accompanying silent films. Thus, sought out for his innate talent as an improviser, he has recently given concerts at the La Rochelle International Film Festival, and the Lumière Festival in Lyon, where the audience heard him accompanying the film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc by Carl Dreyer, a version which will soon appear on the Gaumont Pathé label.