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"A beautiful and insightful book."
- Nathanael Johnson, Artery
"Excellent."
- Chicago Sun-Times music critic Andrew Patner on his blog, The View From Here
OH MY GOD: Messiaen in the Ear of the Unbeliever is based on Paul Festa's award-winning and critically acclaimed film Apparition of the Eternal Church.
The book and film capture the explosive responses of 31 mostly nonreligious artists to the apocalyptic music of Christian visionary Olivier Messiaen. The cast, hailed by The Mobile Press-Register as "among the most extraordinary I have ever seen or heard in a documentary," includes author Harold Bloom, filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell, Scissor Sisters singer Ana Matronic, and Kiki & Herb star Justin Bond.
The book can be thought of as a graphic novel version of the movie, with the transcript placed beside images from the film (pdf excerpt here). Running beneath these words and pictures is the director's commentary. This includes restored scenes and stories about the cast, the composer, and the making of what The Village Voice said "may be the best description of the Messiaen effect on record," and New Yorker music critic Alex Ross called "mind-bending."
OH MY GOD: Messiaen in the Ear of the Unbeliever is available for $50 plus $5 domestic shipping.
To order, please send a check to:
Paul Festa
Bar Nothing Books
426 Urbano Drive
San Francisco, CA 94127
Questions? Email paulfesta AT gmail DOT com.
www.paulfesta.com
www.apparitionfilm.com
www.apparitionfilm.com/book.htm