Date: 13 October 2007
Location: Victoria Rooms, Queens Road, Clifton
Time: 19:30

Bristol Silents presents a silent film and live music performance in Bristol and London in October 2007:

A new music score by composer Jean Hasse
to accompany screenings of the magnificent 1926 silent film, FAUST (Dir. F.W. Murnau, 106 minutes).

13 October (premiere) at the Victoria Rooms, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 - 7:30 pm and 21 October at the Barbican (Cinema 1), Silk Street, London EC2Y - 3 pm (part of their Silent Film and Live Music Series)

Performers:
The 20-piece South West Ensemble (COMA South West and Bristol-based players), John Traill, conductor.

The film:
Masters of Cinema Series/Eureka, original German domestic version. Director: F.W. Murnau, Script: Hans Kyser, Cinematography: Carl Hoffmann.
Starring: Gösta Ekman (Faust), Emil Jannings (Mephisto), Camilla Horn (Gretchen) and Yvette Guilbert (Marthe).

The Faust script is based on the German legend and the dramas of Christopher Marlowe and Goethe. Murnau interprets the story with fantastical scenery and effects, and remarkable contrasts in lighting, wind, fire and smoke. The superb international cast is riveting.

The new score:
The commission comes from Bristol Silents and COMA South West. Jean Hasse has composed an extensive score that mirrors the film's emotions and key events in the story line, reflecting the film's rich, emotional depth. The performances will also include several sections of improvisation, in the tradition of live music with silent film.

The composer:
Jean Hasse is a Bristol-based American composer, performer, music editor and publisher. A teacher of Composition at the University of Bristol, her pieces have been heard in major concert halls and at festivals around the world.

She also composes for films, videos and websites. In 2001-02 the media latched on to her short original ring tone melodies for mobile phones and a three-minute piece for ten phones. Somewhat parallel to this are her 60 short Pocket Pieces for piano solo, so the 106-minute FAUST score takes her composing to a nearly-opposite extreme.
Go to the Visible Music website >>

The conductor:
John Traill, principal conductor of the City of Southampton Orchestra and the Ensemble Isis, is Director and Lecturer in Music at St Anne's and St Catherine's Colleges, Oxford University. Hailed as 'one of the most promising conductors of his generation', John has performed with many leading orchestras in the UK, Europe and America, including the London Mozart Players and Orchestra of Opera North. He has won major prizes at the Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competitions, the 8th Leeds Conductors' Competition, and holds a DPhil (Oxon.).
Visit the John Traill website>>

Bristol Silents:
Bristol Silents have been programming Silent Film events in the South West and across the UK since 2000, including the Slapstick Silent Comedy Festival hosted by Paul Merton. They've helped create a great buzz about silent films in the South West and around the UK. Chris Daniels, Director, says "Jean has a real passion for this film and we knew her score for this much underrated classic would be extraordinary. We are delighted to be involved in the project."

COMA South West:
An active branch of Contemporary Music-Making for Amateurs, COMA South West are an enthusiastic and experienced group who rehearse and perform regularly. In the past two years they have accompanied a number of silent films as improvising performers, bringing the films to life with great
empathy.
Visit the Coma website >>

The FAUST project is funded in part by:
Arts Council England and the Britten-Pears Foundation.

Further details and links ­ including JPEG photos ­ can be found at Visible Music

Interviews can be arranged with the composer, conductor and performers. Please email Visible Music or call them on 0117 927 7131.

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