SPSCC choirs to perform silent film soundtrack with screening
Originally published on The JOLT News on June 3, 2026
Last year, I had the opportunity to speak with South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) Choral Director Dr. John Guarente for this column.I could not include it in my column at the time, but I distinctly remember Guarente telling me about a dream project he had for his choirs. A year later, audiences get to witness that dream come true.
The SPSCC choirs will be performing Richard Einhorn’s "Voices of Light," which has become the most universally acclaimed soundtrack to the 1928 silent film, “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” by Carl Dreyer. SPSCC will be screening the film as the choirs perform the piece.
The concert will also feature a professional chamber orchestra and soloists Cassandra Willock, Crystal Zimmerman, Charles Lyon Stewart and Dr. Ryan Gamble. Zimmerman and Gamble are both voice professors at SPSCC.
This is a concert you will not want to miss! This concert is being performed one night only on Friday June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts. Admission is a suggested $15 donation at the door.
This column will give readers a sneak peek at this upcoming historic event.
Sneak peek
“The Passion of Joan of Arc” is a legendary film in cinema history.
According to Guarente, “The official director’s cut of the film was considered lost for a long time, until it was rediscovered in a mental institution in Norway in 1981.” He continued, “The cinematography is many years ahead of its time, and one can see where later filmmakers got some of their ideas.”
Joan of Arc was played by Renée Jeanne Falconetti, who had previously been known as a comedic actress.
As Guarente described, “Falconetti communicated a wide range of emotions from defiance, to rapture, to complete mental anguish.”
SPSCC film professor Mike Gray will be giving a brief foreword at the concert to explain more about the film’s significance.
“The Passion of Joan of Arc” has been on Guarente’s radar for over a decade since he saw it at a conference in 2012.
“I was seated next to my doctoral mentor Dr. Karen Kennedy, and we were both completely awestruck by the performance. The film itself is a masterful work of early cinema, and Einhorn’s score complements the film with such reverence and care. I have never seen anything quite like it," Guarente said.
Stepping into this project has made Guarente and members of his ensemble feel connected with history. It’s not just about holding a reverence for the events of the past, or embracing a sense of nostalgia in keeping music and film history alive, it goes much deeper.
“I feel connected with Joan of Arc and her tragic story, and with the actors and filmmakers of 'The Passion of Joan of Arc,' many of whom were born in the 19th century. As 'Voices of Light' is an oratorio, I feel connected with the history of choral music and oratorio singing. The choral parts we will be performing are largely written to sound like Gregorian chant, which forges another connection with music history dating back to Medieval times," Guarente said.
Whether you find yourself in the audience or on stage, you get to connect to the past through the universal language of music as different tones strike different chords in your heart; communicating something that could never be captured in a textbook. When ensembles perform any composer’s music, they keep those melodies and histories alive.
Silent film works in a similar way, as we watch real people from previous eras communicate using their facial expressions, body language, and through other observable elements like set and costume design. Any time you have the chance to see a silent film at a local theater, you are fulfilling an important role in sustaining film preservation efforts for future generations of audiences.
There are many ongoing conversations in Thurston County about why silent film remains relevant today. I want to leave you with this specific note from Guarente on why “The Passion of Joan of Arc” is relevant and important to our society.
He wrote: “Within five minutes of the film, viewers will be able to appreciate the connection of Joan of Arc’s story to our current times. Joan was a bold, self-assured young woman who cut her hair short and dressed in men’s armor to lead and win some important battles for France at the end of the Hundred Years’ War. For this, she was put on trial and ultimately destroyed. Today, women and gender (nonconforming) individuals are constantly fighting for equal rights and treatment against authorities that seem hell bent on silencing them. I think we can all pay tribute to Joan and perhaps reignite our energy to keep fighting the good fight.”