Hill, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1521-0396 and Bauer, Evgenii (2019) Child of the Big City - Silent Film Composition. [Composition]

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Abstract

Ensemble Performance – Trumpet, Flute, 2 Bassoons, Bass Trombone, Percussion. – [Dir. Evgeni Bauer]

Premiered at Byre Theatre, St Andrews - April 26th 2019.
Performed by New Music Ensemble
Conducted by Bede Williams.

The great privilege in developing this new score has been to discover and tease out the many subtleties and underlying themes within Bauer’s film.

The music seeks to reflect the historical context, with musical references of original Russian Tango music from the 1920s, but to position the film solidly within the contemporary. It would have been simple to allow the music to pass judgement or its own interpretation upon the characters, as in some more conventional silent film accompaniments, but I wanted to embrace the moral ambiguities in the film, instead seeking to represent and embellish equally the internal conflicts and desires of the main characters as they pass through the narrative and this period of great social and political change.

This soundtrack explores the position and role of music in contributing to the diegetic construct of film. Music in film is traditionally defined as existing outside of the narrative world of film, within non-diegetic space, but this soundtrack nonetheless seeks to position itself not as accompaniment too but as a direct evocation of the diegesis of the film, integrating itself into the very fabric of the film by responding to the textural and emotional undercurrents that drive the story.

It challenges conventional assumptions and attributions of music into the non- / extra- diegetic sphere, positioning it as a key factor in this rendering of this iconic film.

Item Type:	Composition
Uncontrolled Keywords:	soundtrack, silent film, bauer, contemporary composition,
Subjects:	M Music and Books on Music > M Music N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Design (DES) Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > Digital Arts, Research & Enterprise (DARE)
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2019 10:57
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/26019

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