London Symphony Orchestra :: Hymne des Fraternisés

[postlink]http://yoursoundtrackfilm.blogspot.com/2011/12/london-symphony-orchestra-hymne-des.html[/postlink]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJqK5Hd61skendofvid
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Hymne des Fraternisés (I'm dreaming of home) 
Philippe Rombi
From a poem of Lori Barth





I hear the mountain birds
The sound of rivers singing
A song I've often heard
It flows through me now
So clear and so loud
I stand where I am
And forever I'm dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I'm dreaming of home


It's carried in the air
The breeze of early morning
I see the land so fair
My heart opens wide
There's sadness inside
I stand where I am
And forever I'm dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I'm dreaming of home


This is no foreign sky
I see no foreign light
But far away am I
From some peaceful land
I'm longing to stand
A hand in my hand
... forever I'm dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I'm dreaming of home.

*http://saturdaychorale.com/2011/09/16/im-dreaming-of-home-hymne-des-fraterniss-choeur-denfants-amazing-grace-youtube/

Storyline, Joyeux Noel (France, 2005):

In 1914, World War I, the bloodiest war ever at that time in human history, was well under way. However on Christmas Eve, numerous sections of the Western Front called an informal, and unauthorized, truce where the various front-line soldiers of the conflict peacefully met each other in No Man's Land to share a precious pause in the carnage with a fleeting brotherhood. This film dramatizes one such section as the French, Scottish and German sides partake in the unique event, even though they are aware that their superiors will not tolerate its occurrence.by Kenneth Chisholm

On the Christmas Eve of 1914, in the Western Front in France in World War I, the Scottish, the German and the French troops have a moment of truce and share moments of peace and friendship. When the soprano Anna Sorensen succeeds in convincing the Prussian Prince to join her tenor husband Nikolaus Sprink to sing for the German high command, Sprink brings her to the front to sing for his comrades in the trench. The Scottish Lieutenant Gordon and the French Lieutenant Audebert have an informal and unauthorized meeting with the German Lieutenant Horstmayer and negotiate a truce for that night, and the priest Palmer celebrates a mass for the soldiers. When their superiors become aware of the event, they have to pay for the consequence of their acts.by Claudio Carvalho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Based on a true story, the film opens with the usual callous killing among three groups of soldiers - German, French, and Scottish - who face an oncoming Christmas Eve in the trenches, the realities of fighting have precluded their getting time to retreat for air. But a miracle happens: among the Germans is a famous opera tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) who has aligned with his fellow troops in the trenches, hoping he can bring some minor sense of Christmas and understanding to them. His soprano partner Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger) finds a way to be with him in the trenches on Christmas Eve, 1914. Meanwhile the disgruntle troops of all three sectors are planning meager festivities and a bit of relaxation even in the trenches as the bodies of the day's plunder lie in the snow of no man's land. We get to know the French Lieutenant Audebert (Guillaume Canet) and his orderly Ponchel (Dany Boon), the German head of the regiment Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl), and the Scots - especially the priest/medic Palmer (Gary Lewis).

Christmas Eve comes and the voice of Sprink (in reality the tenor Rolando Villazón) sings 'Stille Nacht', rising out of the trenches to sing in the open of no man's land. Soon he is accompanied by the Scottish bagpipes and the 'chorus' of the Germans, the Scots and the French. They all emerge, share gifts of champagne and other libations, and agree to a cease-fire in honor of the holiday. It is in this magic moment that the true personalities of these warring men surface and each is seen as a vulnerable puppet of the WW I, exchanging addresses to meet after the war. Anna Sorenson has managed to enter the scene and during a communal mass led by Palmer she sings (the voice is Natalie Dessay) an Ave Maria (composed by the film's composer Philippe Rombi): the lovers have previously sung a duet version of Bach's 'Bist du bei mir'. For that moment in time the horrors of war melt and the camaraderie of the men glows and is carried into Christmas Day when all three groups of soldiers agree to bury their dead together. Of course the brutality and ignorance of war re-engages and the leaders of the three groups enter camp and threaten courts martial and punishment for the troops' lack of military discipline. The film ends in a manner that leaves the audience able to integrate the happenings of that Christmas Eve on the futures of these men.

The script is superb, the cast is uniformly excellent, the sets and cinematography are creatively moody, and the musical score by Philippe Rombi is one of the finest in years: the ending song 'I'm Dreaming of Home' deserves to become a standard. Would that everyone could see this film, a bit of global hope in the cloud of the destruction that shadows our world right now. Highly recommended.by gradyharp, USA

When war breaks out in the lull of summer 1914, it surprises and pulls millions of men in its wake. Nikolaus Sprink, exceptional tenor at the Berlin Opera House, will have to give up his prestigious career and the one he loves: Anna Sorensen, soprano and singing partner... Palmer, Anglican priest, has volunteered to follow Jonathan, his young church aide. They leave Scotland, one as a soldier, the other as a stretcher-bearer… Lieutenant Audebert has had to leave his wife, pregnant and bedridden, to fight the enemy. But the Germans now occupy the small town of Northern France where the young bride has probably given birth. Unless the worst has happened…. Having no news is the suffering which haunts Lieutenant Audebert’s every night…And Christmas arrives, with it’s snow and multitude of family and army presents. But the surprise won’t come from inside the generous parcels which lie in the French, Scottish and German trenches.That night, a momentous event will turn the destinies of Nikolaus, Anna, Palmer and Audebert around. Because the unthinkable will happen: rifles will be left at the bottom of the trenches to go, candle in hand, to see those opposite, shake their hands, exchange a cigarette and a piece of chocolate, wish them "Merry Christmas"...

This movie is inspired by a true story, which occurred in the trenches of the World War I battlefield on Christmas Eve in 1914.

When war breaks out in the lull of summer 1914, it surprises and pulls millions of men in its wake. Christmas arrives, with its snow and multitude of family and army presents. But the surprise won’t come from inside the generous parcels which lie in the French, Scottish, and German trenches. That night, a momentous event will turn the destinies of four characters : an Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, an exceptional German tenor and the one he loves, a soprano and singing partner. During this Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happens : soldiers come out of their trenches, leaving their rifles behind to shake hands with the enemy.

Writer/director Christian Carion ('Une hirondelle a fait le printemps' aka 'The Girl from Paris') is unafraid to write and create cinematic tales that touch the heart as well as the mind. 'Joyeux Noël' is a story of war and its effects on soldiers that goes far beyond sentimentality (or the opposite emphasis on brutality as found in American films) and offers the viewer insights to the responses of young men's minds to the monster of war and how they cope.

*http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/letters.html
*http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/dms/past/ww1/pforzheim2.html 
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/reviews

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