passio
baroque MUSIC and silent movie
MUSIC
PASSIO DNJC secundum Ioannem by Alessandro Scarlatti
Roma, Oratorio del SS. Crocifisso, Holy week 1679
SILENT MOVIE
CHRISTUS by Giulio Antamoro
Cines - Roma 1916
Giulio Antamoro's Christus is known as the first religious epic in the history of cinema. Produced by the Roman company Cines in 1916, the film was shot almost entirely in Egypt, with a substantial expenditure of resources and funds, employing the best actors of the time, around two thousand extras, and specially made costumes and sets, with over 2,200 meters of film.
PASSIO
Video Live, Roma, Chiesa della Minerva - Festival di Pasqua. DVD De Agostini Editore
A distinctive feature of the work is the iconographic research carried out by director Giulio Antamoro, who includes tableaux in the film where masterpieces of the Renaissance are recognizable, from Michelangelo to Leonardo to Mantegna.
The project was initiated as a commission from the Alma Mater University of Bologna, on the occasion of the restoration of the film CHRISTUS carried out by the prestigious Cineteca di Bologna. We have a digitized copy of the film, originally released in the "Pathé Baby" format.
The film sequences are projected during the performance of Alessandro Scarlatti's Passio, which he composed at only nineteen years old, titled PASSIO Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Ioannem, marking the first demonstration of the composer's dramatic genius.
The impact of the images is powerfully amplified by the drama of the musical text, in a continuous dialogue between the two languages, different in nature and era, yet singularly attuned on an expressive level.
CHRISTUS by Giulio Antamoro. Roma, Cines 1916
Frames from the film
