THE PIONEERS OF MOVIE MUSIC: SOUNDS OF THE AMERICAN SILENT CINEMA
(New World Records 80761-2):
Performed by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (19-piece version), Rick Benjamin conductor.
The motion picture is without doubt one of the most powerful art and entertainment forms in human history. And few would argue with the fact that a vital element of every film is its music: indeed, many hit movies owe a large part of their success to their musical “scores.”
Since the advent of sound films (i.e. “talking pictures”) in the late 1920s, movie music was usually preserved on the films themselves, and can still be readily experienced in screenings and via DVDs and the Internet. On the other hand, the authentic soundscape of the so-called “silent era” is hardly available at all. Yet the amazing fact is that the nearly the entire “language” of film music as we know it today developed during the silent film era; there was — and still exists in the form of written scores — a vast and beautiful repertoire of film music created by talented composers during the 1910s and ’20s. But until now, virtually none of this important and fascinating music has been available on recordings.
Into this surprising historical void comes this album, which presents for the first time the original scores of America’s pioneer film composers, including William Axt, Maurice Baron, Irénée Bergé, Gaston Borch, M.L. Lake, Erno Rapée, Hugo Riesenfeld, Victor L. Schertzinger, J.S. Zamecnik, and 8 others. The 28 pieces are sequenced so as to lead listeners into creating their own imaginary “daydream movie” as the CD is played.
This album also includes a fascinating 52-page booklet exploring the world of silent film music: the widespread use of cinema orchestras, the methods for scoring (“setting”) the films (“photoplays”), period performance techniques, and the influence of brilliant music loving exhibitors like the great Roxy (Samuel L. Rothafel). Detailed biographies of the composers are also included, most for the first time anywhere. The rare original film orchestrations recorded have been selected from the Capitol Theater’s 1,000–title collection of c. 1912 to 1928 cinema scores, played by one of the world’s leading silent film accompanists — the Paragon (Ragtime) Orchestra, conducted by Rick Benjamin.
Produced by multi-Grammy Award winning “Classical Producer of the Year” Judith Sherman, THE PIONEERS OF MOVIE MUSIC is a spectacular salute to the men and music that have added so much of the magic to the silver screen.
“The Funny Guy” (1928), (Mayhew Lake).
“Silent Sorrows” (1918), Gaston Borch.
“Dramatic Agitato No. 38” (1917), Adolf Minot.
“Battle Scenes (Hurry No. 4)” (1916), Adolf Minot.
“Zip (For Magazines, Weeklies, and Comedies)” (1925), Hugo Frey.
“May-Dreams (For Romance)” (1918), Gaston Borch.
“Western Allegro” (1923), Erno Rapée/William Axt.
“Dramatic Tension For Subdued Action” (1916), J.E. Andino.
“Furioso” (1918), T.H. Rollinson.
“The Moving Picture Rag” (1914), Ribé Danmark.
“Old Ironsides March” (main title, 1926), Hugo Riesenfeld.
A PIONEERING DISC IS READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP, MR. DEMILLE (headline) “…masterful character pieces full of melodic intrigue.” – Limelight magazine (Australia)
“… a stellar compilation of silent film music. PRO’s considered realization of this forgotten repertory brings with it the same energy and magic that once brought vitality to the silent screen. Adding to the many merits of the album are Benjamin’s extensive liner notes…. The recording will remain an important resource as the popularity of film music studies continues to expand in the academy and in the classroom. One hopes that this is only the first in a line of additional early film music volumes….” – Journal of Film Music
“What a wonderful surprise this album is. The music is grandiose and expressive….A wonderful and important collection….”
– Audiophile Audition
Nominee: Best Score – Archival Release Award “… a wonderfully-produced release. Expertly realized by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, this… is an important addition to the currently neglected aspect of the music written for film.” – REEL MUSIC
"Benjamin and his orchestra filled the second half of the evening with lilting, humorous, and even elegant readings of ragtime numbers, a W.C. Handy blues song, and even a Sousa march…Popular music, A.D. 1900, is still going strong." – Pasadena Star News
Kansas City Star
“This group is like a ragtime early music ensemble, striving to protect the integrity of this uniquely American musical genre.” – Kansas City Star
Fanfare 2
“…delightfully infectious. The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and its dynamic director have found a winning formula for educating the public in the most enjoyable way…” – Fanfare magazine
LaCrosse Tribune
“The magical, musical time machine.” – La Crosse Tribune
Washington Post 2
“Summoning both the subtle interplay and brassy vitality these pieces demand, the PRO does itself proud.” – The Washington Post
Buffalo News
“The results were irresistible. Halfway through the opening Knock-Out Drops Rag, someone enthused audibly, ‘Gee, they’re terrific!’ She was right.” – Buffalo News
American Heritage
“…the twelve-member Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has been touring the country in the ghostly footsteps of the thousands of ‘theater orchestras’ that once played in every hotel, vaudeville hall, and fair-sized restaurant. Few of them can have played with more bite and sparkle than the Paragon.” – American Heritage magazine
Gramophone
“…genteel melodic lines swim like fish through pure water.” – Gramophone magazine
BBC Music magazine
“superbly presented….prize-worthy.” – BBC Music magazine
American Music magazine
“… a deft, crisp, and energetic group…. one of the premiere forces in the reassertion of this repertoire in our musical consciousness.”
– American Music magazine
New York Times
“Best of all, the concert came off not as a dry musicological dig, but as an evening of…abidingly energetic fun.” – The New York Times
Wall Street Journal
“…protecting an important American treasure…not just be a pleasure to hear but for many a true revelation.” – The Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
“Vibrantly revived music.” – The Washington Post
Classics Today
“There’s plenty of variety here to give a representative sampling of some of the era’s finest pop music, and it’s all played with polish, authenticity, and all-out enthusiasm by the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra under Rick Benjamin’s inspired direction.” – Classics Today
Fanfare magazine
“If PRO is not already labeled a national treasure it should be.” – Fanfare magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer
“Four Stars…The music is incomparably sweet and stirring. And Rick Benjamin, who founded and conducts the PRO, is a musician of wit and sensibility.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Denver Post
“To hear the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra play the compositions of Scott Joplin or Irving Berlin… is to hear the promise many Americans felt about the prospects for the U.S. a century ago.”
– Denver Post
The San Francisco Chronicle
"Ragtime and opera joined hands and danced together in the most joyous fashion at Stern Grove on Sunday afternoon, with a vigorous and utterly charming performance of Scott Joplin’s 'Treemonisha'…the score, superbly led by conductor Rick Benjamin, is a resourceful marvel….For this performance Benjamin…unveiled his new arrangement of 'Treemonisha' for the 11-piece Paragon Ragtime Orchestra. That lithe, pungent blend of strings, woodwinds and brass…gave the performance a lively grace that helped fill the sunny meadow to perfection.”
– The San Francisco Chronicle