Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher is an oratorio

Oratorio

An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...

 by Arthur Honegger

Arthur Honegger

Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...

, originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein

Ida Rubinstein

Ida Lvovna Rubinstein was a Russian ballerina, actress, patron and Belle Époque figure.- Early life :Born in Kharkov, or possibly St. Petersburg,p408 into a wealthy Jewish family, Rubinstein was orphaned at an early age. She had, by the standard of Russian ballet, little formal training. Tutored...

. The drama takes place during the heroine's trial and execution, with flashbacks to her younger days. It premiered on 12 May 1938 in Basel

Basel

Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, with Rubinstein as Jeanne, and Jean Périer

Jean Périer

Jean Périer was a French operatic baritone and actor. Although he sang principally within the operetta repertoire, Périer did portray a number of opera roles; mostly within operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giacomo Puccini...

 in the speaking role of Brother Dominic with the Basel Boys Choir

Basel Boys Choir

The Basel Boys Choir is a Swiss boys' choir based in Basel; it grew out of the Boys' Choir of the Protestant Church of Basel-City, founded by Hermann Ulbrich in 1927. Today the choir is non-denominational. They sing both sacred and secular works...

 singing the children's chorus part, and Paul Sacher

Paul Sacher

Paul Sacher was a Swiss conductor, patron and impresario.-Biography:He studied under Felix Weingartner, among others. In 1926 he founded the Basel Chamber Orchestra to play works written before the classical period and modern works...

 conducting. The work was first performed in Canada at the Montreal Festivals

Montreal Festivals

The Montreal Festivals was an arts festival held annually in Montreal, Canada from 1936-1965. The festival was originally dedicated to the performance of classical music, presenting concerts of symphonic works, operas, oratorios, chamber music, and recitals...

 in 1953 under conductor Wilfrid Pelletier

Wilfrid Pelletier

Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier , CC was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving as the orchestra's first artistic director and conductor from 1935-1941...

.

Arthur Honegger entitled his work as a dramatic oratorio, adding speaking roles and actors. The work has an important part for the ondes Martenot

Ondes Martenot

The ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...

 and some productions have included film clips.

The librettist of the work was Paul Claudel

Paul Claudel

Paul Claudel was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism.-Life:...

. The work is about 70 minutes in length.

Roles

• Virgin Mary, soprano
  Soprano
  A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
  
   Berthe de Vigier
• St Marguerite/First voice, soprano Rosa van Herck
• St Catherine, contralto
  Contralto
  Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
  
   Ginevra Vivante
• Brother Dominique, tenor
  Tenor
  The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
  
   Jean-Alexis Périer
• Porcus-évêque Chaucon, tenor Ernst Bauer
• Heurtebise/Clerk, tenor Charles Vaucher
• Second voice/First herald, Serge Chandoz
• Second herald/Third voice, bass
• Jeanne d'Arc, spoken (ballerina) Ida Rubinstein
  Ida Rubinstein
  Ida Lvovna Rubinstein was a Russian ballerina, actress, patron and Belle Époque figure.- Early life :Born in Kharkov, or possibly St. Petersburg,p408 into a wealthy Jewish family, Rubinstein was orphaned at an early age. She had, by the standard of Russian ballet, little formal training. Tutored...
  
  
• Narrator, spoken
• Master of ceremonies, spoken
• Third herald, spoken
• Duke of Bedford, spoken
• Jean de Luxembourg, spoken