The leitmotifs of music, love, and war intertwine in Nicholas Hytner’s “The Choral,” which screens at the Martha’s Vineyard. Film Center starting Jan. 23. The story, by Alan Bennett, follows the lives of residents of the small mill town of Ramsden in Yorkshire, England, set against the backdrop of World War I.
The film begins in 1916, with two teenage pals trekking through the countryside alongside men carrying guns. But they’re not on the battlefield. Instead, they complain about their task of helping to scare up the fowl for a hunting party that kills what they claim is an excessive 200 birds. Afterward, the two jokingly admit they’ve at least been given a fowl as a thank-you. Although the friends then go off to deliver dreaded telegrams to relatives, carrying news of loved ones killed in battle, they’re cheekily more interested in girls than in the presence of death all around them. Finished with their tasks, the young men, on a lark, decide to try out for the choral society when they follow a pretty young woman on her way in for an audition.
It turns out that the choral society is in difficult straits. It has lost most of its men to the war. Even more dire, the chorus master has just enlisted, leaving the choral committee out of ideas about who will replace him. Reluctantly, the elder men hit upon Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes). Although acclaimed, he comes with a host of problems. First and foremost, he recently returned from a career in Germany, where he preferred to live because, we are told, it has better choirs. Then we hear from a committee member who opposes hiring him, saying, “There’s talk of other things.” When asked what, he replies, “Let’s just say I prefer a family man.” Nonetheless, eventually, the committee ultimately determines that Guthrie is its best option.
Guthrie is taciturn at best, and unapologetic about his decision to live in Germany. Asked why, he replies, “Wouldn’t you stay in a country of cultured, civilized people? People who put music and beauty, art, at the center of everything they do? The English think music is just social life carried on by other means.” He reluctantly agrees to lead the society, provided he retains complete artistic control.
After a brick is thrown through the window during a rehearsal of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” prejudice against all things German alters the society’s musical selections. Assuming the anonymous protester hated the choice because of Bach’s nationality, they run through the great composers of choral music — Beethoven, Handel, Mendelssohn, and Brahms — only to have Guthrie continually inform them that, nope, sorry, they are all Huns. He finally lights upon a renowned oratorio by the English composer Edward Elgar, “The Dream of Gerontius,” based on John Henry Newman’s poem depicting the soul’s journey from death through judgment to Purgatory.
The challenge is recruiting more young men to meet the required numbers for the choir. They go to the pub, bakery, and soldiers’ convalescent home to entice the youth to come sing the holy oratorio. But as the film progresses, these same men begin to receive their conscription notices, and many are to leave just days after the performance.
Guthrie, who carries a deep, unspoken sorrow from his time in Germany, is at the heart of the tale. He is relentless in his pursuit of creating a superior piece of art, but gradually changes as he connects with the chorus members — young amorous men and women, and older members, some of whom are grieving the loss of their children.
Although Guthrie has the leading role, Fiennes plays him with a restraint that allows the entire ensemble to shine. In doing so, he supports the film’s central thrust — the poignant coming together of a community that finds strength in singing to confront the cruelty and chaos of war — a heartening message for the strife in our own times.
“The Choral” starts at the M.V. Film Center on Jan. 23. For more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com.