Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher is arguably the masterpiece of the Swiss-French composer Arthur Honegger. It’s an idiosyncratic score that touches nerves in the deep-rooted cultural mythology of France. Something between an opera, oratorio and psychodrama, it was written in 1935 to a libretto by the celebrated poet Paul Claudel. And it imagines Joan of Arc in her last moments at the stake where she’s about to burn, recalling scenes from her past life in visionary flashback—with assistance from the Virgin Mary, various saints and, above all, St Dominic, her spirit-guide. In some ways it bears comparison with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, ushering a soul into the afterlife. But its Catholicism is peculiarly French, with a more vivid sense of theatre and robustly hybrid nature. Half the roles are spoken as opposed to sung, including Joan. And that’s because the piece was a commission from the actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein (a legend of the 1930s world stage) for herself to star in. Comparably hybrid is the text, which tempers its religious fervour with absurdist satire. And the music, too, is crazily eclectic, from Baroque pastiche (with pianos that have been “prepared” to sound like harpsichords) to 1930s jazz (with saxophones) and use of the ondes Martenot—whose electronic wail becomes the sound of everything from howling dogs to supernatural deliverance.