Tales from the Heart
74 mins | 2012
Michael Stillwater
Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen
This fascinating film offers a glimpse into the life and music of Morten Lauridsen, an artist considered to be one of the greatest living choral composers and certainly one of the most frequently performed.
About
Lauridsen is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and was also named an 'American Choral Master' by the National Endowment for the Arts. The film features intimate interviews with him in California, Scotland, and Waldron Island (in the San Juans), interwoven with performances of his masterworks in America and Scotland and commentaries by music contemporaries. It gives the viewer a rare opportunity to spend a little time with this extraordinary man, who has derived his inspiration from the natural world. As Lauridsen has observed, “You can hear that its serenity, calmness, and beauty have crept into my music.” “Life is a mystery. There is something bigger than us out there. And how do we tap into that? You go down deep.”
Shining Night, the first of a Song Without Borders trilogy, weaves interviews (with poet and former National Endowment for the Arts chairman Dana Gioia, conductor Robert Geary, composer/conductor Paul Mealor, conductor Paul Salamunovich, and local composer Alex Shapiro) with both live and recorded performances by a variety of choral groups (including Volti, Polyphony, the Dale Warland Singers, and the San Francisco Choral Society).
Lauridsen currently lives on San Juan Island. Prior to moving here, he spent many summers on Waldron, which is where he composed what Brett Campbell (who writes about music for The Wall Street Journal, Willamette Week, Oregon Arts Watch, San Francisco Classical Voice, and many other publications) has characterized as “some of the most poignant choral music of the last century.” Working out of two rustic cabins on Waldron, neither of which had running water or electricity, Lauridsen composed much of his music on a battered old piano that cost him $50, by light from candles and kerosene lanterns.
FILMMAKER BIO
Michael Stillwater
Michael Stillwater is an innovator with music, words, and images. An award-winning songwriter, recording artist, and filmmaker, he provides artistic and transformative reflection upon core societal issues, catalyzing creative expression in people of all ages.
Stillwater’s interfaith chants and healing songs are enjoyed in singing circles, gatherings, churches, and communities worldwide, with multiple recordings by other artists as well as himself.
An interfaith minister through the Chaplaincy Institute, he ministered through Heavensong, a non-denominational church based in California and Hawaii, from 1978 through 1990.
Through Song Without Borders, the nonprofit creative arts agency he co-founded, Stillwater produced films and other programs applying song to personal and societal transformation.
He created his first film, Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen (2012) together with his wife, Doris Laesser Stillwater. Acclaimed ‘a heartening rarity’ by the Wall Street Journal, the film received four Best Documentary awards at US film festivals and enthusiastic response from a global audience, including Europe and South Africa. The movie tells the story of the life and music of National Medal of Arts recipient Morten Lauridsen, recognized as the most performed choral composer of recent times.
CREDITS
Director
Michael Stillwater
Producer
Michael Stillwater
Composer
Morten Lauridsen
Cinematographer
Michael Stillwater
Editor
Michael Stillwater