Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2006 Sommario / Contents

2000.With the assistance of Malcolm Hooson, an organist and military
music expert based in Cambridge, we found the piano parts for the 33
different pieces recommended by Hutcheson; where these were not
available, Hooson transposed them for piano from other parts. The
performance at this year’s Giornate will be only the 10th time this
accompaniment has been played since 1916, and the second time
outside the UK.
The score recommended by Morton Hutcheson is a medley of light
classics, folk songs and tunes, military band music, and pop songs of the
era, notably by Ivor Novello. We know that the music suggested by
Hutcheson was used in at least ten different cinemas in England and
Scotland. However, what is important is not that it was used on every
occasion, but that this is likely to be the kind of music that was played
when the film was originally screened.
Until the discovery of this music, musical performances of the film were
not only rare, but also tended to be “ironic” in style. As Stephen Horne
explains, it is hard for musicians to come to this film with a blank mind.
It is not an exaggeration to say that we were startled by some of the
selections on Morton Hutcheson’s list. Of course, historians had
reminded us that the context in which the film was first screened was
very different from today, but the music helps us to appreciate that
difference at a more profound level. But perhaps it is most valuable in
helping the members of a modern audience, who are trying to
appreciate the experience of those viewing the film for the first time in
1916. – TOBY HAGGITH, con ROGER SMITHER
La musica
È pressoché impossibile per un musicista moderno, improvvisando la
musica per The Battle of the Somme, non suonare in un modo che
rifletta il nostro comune senno di poi. Il cue sheet originale di
Hutcheson offre una sfida a quest’impulso, che può far sentire il
musicista in egual misura legittimato e mortificato. Dalla nostra
prospettiva, le sue scelte musicali variano dall’autenticamente
commovente al totalmente inadeguato. Un esempio del primo caso
potrebbero essere i suoi suggerimenti per le scene dei morti sul
campo di battaglia, che sembrano completamente in sintonia con la
pietà della guerra. Un esempio del secondo caso potrebbe essere il
suggerimento di suonare, quando i soldati vanno all’assalto la prima
volta, l’ouverture della Cavalleria leggera di Suppé. Una tentazione
per il musicista è quella di eliminare qualunque offesa alla sensibilità
moderna eseguendo questi passaggi problematici in modo ironico. Io
cerco di evitarlo, e dopo diverse esecuzioni trovo ora una certa
pregnanza nel contrasto tra lo stridente ottimismo della musica ed
immagini che hanno acquisito un significato così terribile.
Nondimeno, penso che sia ancora ragionevole dare dei giudizi sul
medley di per sé. Vi sono anche certi punti in cui l’ingegnosità di
Hutcheson sembra venirgli meno. Per esempio, all’inizio della Parte
5 egli suggerisce che l’ouverture all’opera Das Nachtlager in Granada
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[di Konradin Kreutzer, 1834] sia eseguita dal principio alla fine.
Alcuni passaggi hanno scarsi legami con le scene che accompagnano,
così qui penso che un po’ di sano lavoro di correzione sia
giustificato. Dopo tutto, non è certo una novità per i musicisti
giudicarsi a vicenda nel proprio lavoro, e si può di certo immaginare
una band ribelle che nel 1916 suonasse facendo il doppio gioco con
questo cue sheet. Nel complesso, tuttavia, penso che lo scopo
dell’esecuzione di stasera sia quello di presentare Hutcheson nella
miglior luce possibile, anche se questo comporta un numero di
equilibrismo tra la fedeltà e la reinterpretazione partecipe.Alla fine,
nonostante alcuni momenti alienanti, penso che la sua selezione
formi una partitura sorprendentemente efficace, in parte perché
mostra la stessa tensione che Toby Haggith ha trovato nel film
stesso: tra un senso del dovere propagandistico ed il desiderio di
dare un’atterrita testimonianza. – STEPHEN HORNE
The music
It is almost impossible for a modern accompanist, when improvising for
Battle of the Somme, not to play in a way that reflects our shared
historical hindsight. The original Hutcheson cue sheet presents a
challenge to this impulse, which can make the musician feel in equal
parts validated and humbled. From our perspective, his musical choices
vary from the genuinely moving to the wildly inappropriatejn example of
the former would be his suggestions for the scenes of battlefield dead,
which seem fully attuned to the pity of war. An example of the latter
might be the recommendation to play Suppé’s Light Cavalry
Overture, as soldiers go over the top for the first time. One temptation
for the musician is to undercut any offence to the modern sensibility by
playing these troublesome passages ironically. I try to avoid this, and
after several performances I now find poignancy in the contrast
between the music’s strident optimism and images that have acquired
such terrible meaning.
Nevertheless, I think that it is still reasonable to make judgements about
the medley on its own terms. And there are certain places where
Hutcheson’s ingenuity seems to desert him. For example, at the
beginning of Part 5 he suggests that the overture to the opera Das
Nachtlager in Granada [by Konradin Kreutzer, 1834] be played straight
through. Some passages bear scant relation to the scenes that they
accompany, so here I think a little judicious editing is legitimate.After all,
it is hardly a modern phenomenon for musicians to pass judgement on
each others’ work, and one can certainly imagine a rebellious cinema
band in 1916 playing fast and loose with this cue sheet. Overall, though,
I think that the point of tonight’s performance is to present Hutcheson
in the best possible light, even if this involves a balancing act between
fidelity and sympathetic reinterpretation. In the end, despite some
alienating moments, I think that his selection forms a strangely effective
score, partly because it displays the same tension that Toby Haggith has
found in the film itself: between a sense of propagandist duty and a
desire to bear horrified witness. – STEPHEN HORNE
EVENTI MUSICALI
MUSICAL EVENTS