ABSTRACT

Despite their name, the silent films of the early cinematic era were frequently accompanied by music and other sound elements of many kinds, including mechanical instruments, live performers, and audience sing-alongs. The 12 chapters in this concise book explore the multitude of functions filled by music in the rapidly changing context of the silent film era, as the concept of cinema itself developed. Examples are drawn from around the globe and across the history of silent film, both during the classic era of silent film and later uses of the silent format. With contributors drawn from film studies and music disciplines, and including both senior and emerging scholars, Music and Sound in Silent Film offers an essential introduction to the origins of film music and the cinematic art form.

chapter |21 pages

Historical Introduction

part I|54 pages

The Evolution of Sound and Performance Practices

chapter 1|20 pages

‘Better Music at Smaller Cost’

Selling Mechanical Instruments to American Motion Picture Houses in the 1910s

chapter 3|15 pages

Sing Them Again

Audience Singing in Silent Film

part II|32 pages

The Evolution of Sound and Performance Practices

chapter 4|14 pages

‘Players Must Be of a Good Class’

Women and Concert Musicians in Irish Picture Houses, 1910–1920

part III|38 pages

Synchronisation and Scoring

chapter 7|22 pages

Edmund Meisel’s Score to Der heilige Berg (1926)

Prefiguring Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ Narrative-Scoring Practices in Live Performance

part IV|62 pages

Synchronisation and Scoring

chapter 8|11 pages

Carl Davis Interview

chapter 9|14 pages

Scenes from Ozu

chapter 10|13 pages

Rediscovering a Film, Revisiting a Film, Damaging a Film

A Musical Comparison of Three DVD Editions of Nosferatu