A trio of silent films was gloriously brought back to life Monday evening at Pepperdine University as student composers wrote musical scores to accompany some iconic images that previously had no music attached. The school’s talented chamber orchestra and Pickford Ensemble performed during a special screening event called Up Against The Screen III.
This was the university’s third biennial event, which gives students the opportunity to score silent films and present them in a multimedia concert. The performance was held in the school’s beautiful Stauffer Chapel.
Six years ago, Pepperdine professor N. Lincoln Hanks was given access to some silent films of Mary Pickford, whose eponymous foundation funded the first two projects. The Pickford Ensemble was named in honor of the silent film star and funding grants.
“It started because we wanted to give our composition students the opportunity to have exposure composing for film—at the same time creating music live,” Hanks descried. “We thought silent film is the perfect idea. We wanted to give the performing musicians a chance to work with film as well—to have a multimedia experience with another art form.”
To make an entire evening concert, chamber music was interwoven between filmed pieces by auditioned musicians. Pepperdine’s chamber music director Louise Lofquist explained, “We wanted a way to incorporate some of the other instruments into the contemporary music.
“Some of our musicians are performing music that was composed at the same time as these films were produced and from the same cities,” Lofquist continued. “The films were produced in Paris and Berlin from the turn of the 20th century to the late 1920s.” The chamber musicians performed music from French and German composers, some known for their minimalist work and their musical responses to modernity as was reflected in some of the filmed pieces projected.
The student composers were able to choose the silent films they wanted to score. Those films previously had no written musical accompaniment. Hanks explained when the films were first created, the accompanying music was mostly improvised in the theaters by pianists and organists as the films were shown. Only sometimes there were composed scores.
“I just love getting out of the concert stage and the formality of classical music,” the music teacher and composer said. “I love new music. I love working with other art forms. This has been a joy for me to put this together and do something a little out of the norm especially for our students.”
The first film, excerpts from the German expressionist “Metropolis,” questions the price paid for technological advancement. Directed by Fritz Lang in 1927, it depicts a future techno dystopia. Student composer Jeremy Zerbe described his score as “meant to highlight the plot, which explores technology and its dangers.”
Keeping with the “subversive themes” of the evening, Lofquist introduced the chamber orchestra that played the music of German composer Kurt Weill. Mezzo soprano and student singer Danielle Adair sang a haunting “Surabaya, Johnny” with Emily Phan at the piano.
Student Wynn Nordlund presented his composition to excerpts of the early French film “La Coquille et le Clergyman” that he aptly described as “disturbing.” He said he wanted to heighten the emotions in his score and laughed when he asked the audience to “enjoy it.”
The evening was brought back up with what Lofquist called the “sassy and innovative” music of French composer Darius Milhaud, who went on to become the teacher of the late renowned jazz pianist Dave Brubeck.
The final film, the humorous adventure fantasy “Le Voyage dans la Lune” (“A Trip to the Moon”), was shown in its entirety. The new music composed by student Joshua Edward dynamically and delightfully captured the silly, sweet antics on screen.
This year a private donor, former Pepperdine professor Dr. David Ferguson, funded the project. Ferguson was honored Monday evening for patronage. Hanks, who served as the evening’s conductor, commented, “He’s a wonderful patron and we’re so happy he was able to help and fund this.”
