David Hattner excels at leading myriad forces, as demonstrated by his “calmly authoritative” (The New York Times) performances of Richard Einhorn's oratorio Voices of Light performed to the legendary silent film masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc. Hattner directed his first performances of this epic multimedia work at New York City's Winter Garden for live radio broadcast on WNYC with just one month’s notice, leading forces which included Ensemble Sospeso, Anonymous 4, the New Amsterdam Singers and vocal soloists Susan Narucki (soprano), Janice Meyerson (alto), Mark Bleeke (tenor), and Andre Kevin Neas (bass) in flawless performances.
The recording remains available for streaming in the New Sounds online archive.
The photos on this page feature David Hattner conducting a January 2018 performance of Voices of Light with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Northwest Film Center, In Mulieribus, chamber choirs from Portland State University, and vocal soloists Catherine van der Salm, Hannah Penn, Brian Tierney, and Anton Belov. Photos by Brian Clark.
Voices of Light
“Mr. Hattner synchronized the musical performance with the screening of the film effortlessly and led the musical forces in passionate, vital performances, which were received with enormous enthusiasm by the large audiences. He also possesses a rare quality - the ability to create an atmosphere that enables the performers to do their very best: to take risks and to make music that moves people.”
— Susan Narucki, soprano
