A Real Film Composer

By -

Few films today are without music, and most of the time this music is programmed to the final product, the film is shot, edited and finalised before the composer does his/her part. So, the music is slotted in at all the right moments (if the composer does their job right).

However, before movies had sound, there were composers of a different sort, local organists that would play along with a film to add mood music as the film displayed on the screen. This sort of "in the moment" performance isn't one we tend to give much credence to any more, as it's been nearly a hundred years since we've needed this skill to accompany our films.

Fortunately, the skill hasn't been lost. In an article by Peter Hummers, of the Sentinel Staff, he writes about Dorothy Papadakos, a noted organist, who enjoys film-score improvisation. The beauty about this sort of performance is the live aspect of it; the performer is right there watching the film with us. As the mood shifts, so can the performer. Yes, there are elements of existing scores, bits that get used for their recognisably - Papadakos played Bach's "Toccata in D minor" to set the mood for Carl Laemmle's 1929 version Phantom of the Opera.

I have long marveled at jazz performers and their ability to improvise a piece, much in the same manner Bach or Liszt were famed for their ability to dance along the keys. But Ms Papadakos is even more amazing as she matches what she does with a film. That is truly a skill!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more