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(2014) The sounds of silent films, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
The tradition of novelty — comparative studies of silent film scores
perspectives, challenges, proposals
Marco Bellano
pp. 208-220
"Music for the silent film was an independent, ever-changing accompaniment"1: from theater to theater, many different musicians worked on the same single silent picture. As a result, each film could have many different 'scores". Even when original compositions started to spread around 1908,2 only the big theaters in the most important cities in Europe or in the US were likely to benefit from that music: the smaller towns (with lesser artistic resources) often preferred to continue with compilation/improvisation practices.3 The existence of multiple interpretations created a tradition based on the continuous renovation of film music: a tradition of novelty.
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Full citation:
Bellano, M. (2014)., The tradition of novelty — comparative studies of silent film scores: perspectives, challenges, proposals, in C. Tieber & A. K. Windisch (eds.), The sounds of silent films, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 208-220.
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