Comments on: Silent film and live performance workshop http://thebioscope.net/2010/07/23/silent-film-and-live-performance-workshop/ Formerly reporting on the world of early and silent cinema Fri, 17 Aug 2012 21:50:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: urbanora http://thebioscope.net/2010/07/23/silent-film-and-live-performance-workshop/#comment-11058 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:23:50 +0000 http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/?p=7340#comment-11058 I think the idea of the workshops is to encourage young musicians to engage with the live accompaniment of silent films, something which is going to be far easier for them with a piano (or smaller instrument) than a pipe organ. Organs were of course frequently used to accompany silent films in the 1920s, and there is a strong tradition in the USA for experiencing silent films today with organ accompaniment – less so here in the UK, notwithstanding your own efforts. As it is, I know that Stephen Horne has done organ accompaniments to silent films, and probably Neil Brand as well.

Do contact the workshop organisers to let them know you think.

]]> By: Peter Hammond http://thebioscope.net/2010/07/23/silent-film-and-live-performance-workshop/#comment-11057 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:47:21 +0000 http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/?p=7340#comment-11057 I’m somewhat amazed at there being no mention in the description above of pipe organs. Pipe organs were used to accompany silent films in the UK for about 10 years (i.e. all of the 1920s).

Once picture houses became too large to comfortably hear a solo piano, a great many installed pipe organs instead of either a piano or small orchestra, although some had both organ and orchestra. The early organs were basically church organs, although sound effects started to be added to them. By the mid 1920s instruments we would today recognize as cinema organs were being introduced and the first Wurlitzer organ from the States came over here in 1925.

Cinema organs were designed to be one man orchestras and the range of sounds, tonal variation, expression, volume and impact was far greater than just a mere piano, although they only required one person to play them and didn’t necessarily require music to be written for them – the silent film organists became extremely skilled in the art of improvising an accompaniment to the films.

Cinema organs continued to be installed in cinemas throughout the 1930s in order to provide musical entertainment, and by 1939 there were nearly 500 such instruments in cinemas in the UK.

Anyway I do hope that organs will be featured or at least mentioned in these workshops – really they ought to be held in a venue with an original cinema organ in and a suitable organist provided to demonstrate the techniques.

So far my company has presented two silent film presentations at Catford’s Broadway Theatre featuring the mighty Compton theatre organ as accompaniment. There will be more to come.

Regards

Peter

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