State Theatre Collection During COVID Part 6 Publications

           This was when the producers of the silent film shows realized that with their growing popularity odd lists of appropriate classics plus bits and pieces of composed pieces and some popular pieces were not enough. All they had were the cue sheets and were just suggestions of what could be used in each film. There had to be money to be made from publications designed specifically for orchestras accompanying the silent films so publishing companies went to work. Often well-known composers were hired to create these volumes. They consisted of a variety of pieces in different moods with cues giving ideas what each piece could be used for such as  ‘Humorous drunk escapade’ ‘Emotion Reproach’ ‘General Perplexity- Panic’ and so on. Each piece naturally falls into sections in which each part can be used independently. Some of the most successful editions were written for performers who were not of great ability, so any basic pianist even now can get a work by Zamecnik and be able to sight-read it. It was a massive growth area.Below is another bit of the silent film era touching the 2020s. A T-Shirt design called The Sound of Silents. If you look at the name of the composer on the right, it is Zamecnik. I got a free T-Shirt by telling the manufacturer who he was and sending a recording of one of his pieces. Hurry, of course.  Buster Keaton in The General of course. Music is ‘Hurry’  by ZamecnikAnother well-known composer who wrote for Photoplay type series was Ketelbey. I always turned my nose at his compositions like ‘In a a Persian Market”. Just too obvious but then I did not realize how much he composed for the silent films. Immediately it puts his compositions in a new light and has greatly increased my respect for him. Zamecnik wrote for all the Sam Fox volumes. It was extremely successful and these volumes are found all over the world and separate compositions are found in great numbers in the collection. Ketelbey wrote for  Bosworth Film Play. These pieces tend to be more challenging but are in a recognizable Ketelbey style. His works are massively represented in the State Theatre Collection, including In a Persian Market, so loved by André Rieu. Just to remind you here it is Ditson’s Music for Photoplay used the composer Langey who even now young woodwind players know as the creator of  manuals for learning their instrument. The list below contains some of the sets of Photoplay Music held in The State Theatre Collection. There is the bread and butter music of a show. What I find notable I’d that most of those publishers are still publishing music today.Sam Fox Photoplay volume 1,2,4,5Sam Fox Moving Picture Music volume 1 to 3Schirmers Photoplay Series volume 1 to 6Bosworth’s Film PlayChapel’s Cinema LibraryBosworth’s Loose Leaf Cinema IncidentalsDitson’s Music for the PhotoplayJacob’s Orchestral MonthlyCapitol Photoplay SeriesKino Classics Modern Screen LibraryBelwin Concert EditionHawkes Photoplay SeriesJacob’s Publication for OrchestraCarl Fischer Orchestral AlbumsJacob’s Orchestral Monthly was an American magazine for orchestra musicians that always included one or two complete theatre orchestral arrangements meant for the silent shows. Fascinating magazines full of articles and advertising of the era This was the height of what was known as Tin Pan Alley. This was a  collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States. The competition was fierce and their output during the height of the silent films was enormous.The need for films also grew. Where there was a lack of accompanists, much of the best of these music folios were recorded onto 78 records. The one below by Zamecnik, he also used for what was the last silent film used in The State Theatre in 1929. The film was Wings and won the first Oscar for best film and the only silent to win it. Music composed by Zamecnik, of course. Hear part of his winning soundtrack at the blog dealing with 1929. Here is another one we have often played, “Evil Plotter” The silent film composers had worked out many compositional techniques based on classical cues they used. These began to have almost a cliche status but were very important. A cue had to be played a short time before an emotion or change of scene appeared on the film to prepare the audience for what was to come. Look at one we did in Steamboat Bill Jnr. Buster Keaton was to be dressed in clothes to wear on his father’s boat.  There is an intertitle preparing the audience for the joke and the music gives a hint to what it might be. It continues with a snare drum playing march style so, by the time Buster Keaton appears, the audience is ready and laughs. This sort of thing was worked out in that sort of detail.The composers had templates for their music. Indians in cowboy and Indian scenes used quaver note drumming of open fifths in the bass, Chinese scenes had high treble grace notes with discords and triplets, death scenes used minor-key melodies played by the tenor and bass parts, horses were shown by quaver two semiquaver rhythms in 6/8 time, mysterious scenes used broken pizzicato syncopated music while Hurry tended to be fast runs of notes against a regular crotchet beat in the bass. It was possible to successfully build the musical backing for a film purely by using one of Zamecnik’s folios.