Häxan, also known as The Witches or Witchcraft Through the Ages is a 1922 silent horror film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Consisting partly of documentary-style storytelling as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film charts the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, beginning in the Middle Ages through the 20th century.
Haxan has become regarded by critics and scholars as Benjamin Christensen’s finest cinematographic work. Part earnest academic exercise in correlating ancient fears with misunderstandings about mental illness and part salacious horror movie, Häxan is truly a unique work that still holds power to unnerve, even in today’s jaded era.
Häxan has had many fantastic live score attempts in musically re-creating the mysterious and whimsical aesthetic of the film. Now, with your own eyes you got a chance to see a truly unique version of Häxan with a brand new, original operatic soundtrack composed and arranged by a Canadian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and operatic singer ALIA SYNESTHESIA.
Film Release Year: 1922
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Composer, singer, producer, mixing/mastering: ALIA SYNESTHESIA
Haxan: Horror and Opera Edition Trailer
Buy/Stream Haxan Now Via BANDCAMP
HORROR AND OPERA is a small, one-woman project aiming to bring early works of horror to life by re-scoring the films with original, modern arrangements that feature elements of operatic and choral singing. The project is created and ran by ALIA SYNESTHESIA, a Siberian-Canadian classically trained operatic singer, multi-instrumentalist, electronic musician, and audio engineer.
Alia was fascinated by both horror and opera ever since she was a child. And while many contemporary music enthusiasts may find classical opera “difficult to listen to”, Alia aims to reveal the original beauty of operatic technique by creating arrangements that combine operatic singing and modern composition/instrumentation.
