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The music man brings silent films to life
By Liza Li |
June 30, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Pianist John Sweeney is a storyteller, bringing new life to silent films, many of them forgotten masterpieces.
Sweeney, who is based in Britain, played live music for six silent films made by Alfred Hitchcock and screened in Shanghai recently.
Since 1990, Sweeney has been playing music for silent films and performs at various film festivals. He also composes and works with dance and theater companies. In play for silent films, there's no sheet music. He interprets the story, the characters, the setting and the audience's feelings.
"I'm improvising, I know the films and I know what's going to happen," he told Shanghai Daily.
Sometimes he has to play for films that he has never seen before.
"I find it works best to play in the moment, when you are also responding to the audience," Sweeney said. "I follow the action, I try and get inside the characters."
Silent films were made without dialogue and music; music was provided by orchestras, ensembles or individual performers. The first feature film with sound was "The Jazz Singer" in 1927 by Alan Crosland.
"One thing I love about silent cinema is that you can see the same film with different people playing the music, and it will change the film," Sweeney said.
In Shanghai, Hitchcock's "Blackmail" (1920) was screened twice, once with Sweeney playing and once with the electronic band FM3.
"I think that's a wonderful thing that the film can always be reinterpreted by the music," Sweeney said. "What's interesting about a lot of these films is that they are much more varied in types of films than you would associate with Hitchcock's later films."
"The Farmer's Wife" is a comedy, a style not usually associated with Hitchcock, the British master of suspense. When Sweeny was interpreting it, he added more rural and pastoral feelings. "Champagne" is a very 1920s jazz age type of film, so he played jazz from that period.
"Each musician has their own musical style but we also would read a film in a different way. Often when I watch other people playing music for a film, I'm surprised," Sweeney said.
Sweeney is self-taught and his background is in classical music, where there's room for interpretation but not improvisation. In 1990 he started to play for silent films at Riverside Studios in London and subsequently at National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank), the Barbican Cinema, Nottingham Broadway, The Imperial War Museum and Bristol Watershed. He performs at many silent film festivals.
Sweeney recorded a sound track for Hitchcock's recently restored "Downhill" (1927) as part of BFI's "Hitchcock 0" restoration program; the film and soundtrack were broadcast on Sky TV.
"I started playing the piano when I was about 10. I always like making up little tunes and I got into the world also playing for dance classes," he said.
Sweeney is currently playing for Richard Alston's Dance Company in London. When dancers exercise he can decide what to play, classical and contemporary. Although there's improvisation in playing for silent films, Sweeney says it's "definitely not an abstract process. Most are fiction, most times you follow where the story is going and that gives you the musical shape and shape of the narrative."
The tickets to the silent film screenings were sold out and Sweeney said he was surprised many young people were interested and wanted to talk about their feelings after watching and "hearing" the film.
"I feel optimistic about the future of silent film," he said, adding that apart from being art, the films also shed light on the pasta.
"One of the greatest silent films I've played for was made here in Shanghai, 'The Goddess' (1934)," he said. Sweeney said the film, starring Ruan Linyu, was extraordinary and he played it without seeing it beforehand. "I was amazed," he said, "I would love to see more Chinese silent films."
Sweeney, who is based in Britain, played live music for six silent films made by Alfred Hitchcock and screened in Shanghai recently.
Since 1990, Sweeney has been playing music for silent films and performs at various film festivals. He also composes and works with dance and theater companies. In play for silent films, there's no sheet music. He interprets the story, the characters, the setting and the audience's feelings.
"I'm improvising, I know the films and I know what's going to happen," he told Shanghai Daily.
Sometimes he has to play for films that he has never seen before.
"I find it works best to play in the moment, when you are also responding to the audience," Sweeney said. "I follow the action, I try and get inside the characters."
Silent films were made without dialogue and music; music was provided by orchestras, ensembles or individual performers. The first feature film with sound was "The Jazz Singer" in 1927 by Alan Crosland.
"One thing I love about silent cinema is that you can see the same film with different people playing the music, and it will change the film," Sweeney said.
In Shanghai, Hitchcock's "Blackmail" (1920) was screened twice, once with Sweeney playing and once with the electronic band FM3.
"I think that's a wonderful thing that the film can always be reinterpreted by the music," Sweeney said. "What's interesting about a lot of these films is that they are much more varied in types of films than you would associate with Hitchcock's later films."
"The Farmer's Wife" is a comedy, a style not usually associated with Hitchcock, the British master of suspense. When Sweeny was interpreting it, he added more rural and pastoral feelings. "Champagne" is a very 1920s jazz age type of film, so he played jazz from that period.
"Each musician has their own musical style but we also would read a film in a different way. Often when I watch other people playing music for a film, I'm surprised," Sweeney said.
Sweeney is self-taught and his background is in classical music, where there's room for interpretation but not improvisation. In 1990 he started to play for silent films at Riverside Studios in London and subsequently at National Film Theatre (now BFI Southbank), the Barbican Cinema, Nottingham Broadway, The Imperial War Museum and Bristol Watershed. He performs at many silent film festivals.
Sweeney recorded a sound track for Hitchcock's recently restored "Downhill" (1927) as part of BFI's "Hitchcock 0" restoration program; the film and soundtrack were broadcast on Sky TV.
"I started playing the piano when I was about 10. I always like making up little tunes and I got into the world also playing for dance classes," he said.
Sweeney is currently playing for Richard Alston's Dance Company in London. When dancers exercise he can decide what to play, classical and contemporary. Although there's improvisation in playing for silent films, Sweeney says it's "definitely not an abstract process. Most are fiction, most times you follow where the story is going and that gives you the musical shape and shape of the narrative."
The tickets to the silent film screenings were sold out and Sweeney said he was surprised many young people were interested and wanted to talk about their feelings after watching and "hearing" the film.
"I feel optimistic about the future of silent film," he said, adding that apart from being art, the films also shed light on the pasta.
"One of the greatest silent films I've played for was made here in Shanghai, 'The Goddess' (1934)," he said. Sweeney said the film, starring Ruan Linyu, was extraordinary and he played it without seeing it beforehand. "I was amazed," he said, "I would love to see more Chinese silent films."
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