The Blood of a Poet special events silent films with live music

music composed and played by Harmonie Band and David James of Hilliard Ensemble
tickets: full-fare: PLN 60; reduced: PLN 35 – already available!

The Blood of a Poet (1930) is the surrealist debut of the scandalizing artist and writer Jeana Cocteau. The film, which became a milestone in the development of film language, describes a poet’s wandering through different planes of reality. You can take it as a kind of disturbing dream, a secret autobiography, as a record of the sufferings of an inspiration-seeking artist. The film is therefore a collection of ideas and images, where darkness, decay and death are set against visions of love and beauty. There are also many experimental tricks, bizarre and astounding – like going through a mirror, a girl levitating to a ceiling or statues coming to life. After the film’s premiere there was a real scandal - The Blood of a Poet was accused of being anti-Christian and could not be screened at all for a year. However, soon the film became noticed by sophisticated audiences and critics and now it is listed among the most distinguished pieces of surrealist film art and of French avant-garde.

Hilliard Ensemble – an English group established in 1974, is probably the best-known chamber vocal group in the world. Their experience and output are impressive and they are unrivalled as far as old and modern music is concerned. Their distinctive style and technical perfection are moving, both when you are listening to medieval or renaissance compositions or modern pieces, written specifically for the group. The Hilliard Ensemble's albums sell equally well as those by pop stars or famous tenors. The renowned album Officium, the fruit of their cooperation with the legendary saxophone player, Jan Garbarek, was recognized as one of the greatest hits of the 1990s. More than two million copies of this album have been sold, which make it one of the ten best selling classical music albums ever. The group’s popularity was boosted also due to the creative Arvo Pärt music projects. The Hilliard Ensemble performs at the most important music festivals in all the continents, giving about 100 concerts a year. It gathers huge audiences everywhere. They collaborate permanently with major orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra. The Hilliard Ensemble’s performances cannot be compared to ordinary concerts. The extraordinary and dynamic harmony of human voices reminds us that masterly singing can be not only an artistic experience, but spiritual as well.

Hilliard Ensemble:
David James – counter tenor
Rogers Covey-Crump – tenor
Steven Harrold – tenor
Gordon Jones – baritone

The Harmonie Band – a group of six multi-instrumentalists was established in 1985. It gained many fans worldwide, especially with its own originally arranged music compositions for classic silent films.

In 1991 the group became famous due to two projects: Music in our Time and Mixing It, in which the musicians used works of legendary modern music artists, including John Cage and Frank Zappa. In 1992 the Harmonie Band composed their own soundtrack for Carl Theodore Dreyer ‘s The Passion of Joan of Arc and since then they have concentrated on concerts accompanying classic films of the silent cinema era and on educating young people.

In 2007 the Harmonie Band plans a tour together with the legendary vocal group The Hilliard Ensemble. The musicians have known each other since 1995, when Paul Robinson - the leader of the Harmonie Band - was Hilliard's summer school’s official composer. One of the stops on this tour will be ERA New Horizons Festival in Wrocław.

The Harmonie Band:
Paul Robinson – Accordion/M1 Synth
Walter Fabeck – Piano
Julia Butterworth – Clerinet/Bass Clarinet/Sop sax
Dai Pritchard – Clarinet/ Bass Clt/ Sop sax
Kim Mackrell – Cello
Martin Pyne - Percussion