The Sounds of Early Cinema in Britain: Textual,
Material and Technological Sources
The Institute of Musical Research and the Barbican, London
Sunday 7 Tuesday 9th June 2009
This interdisciplinary conference brings together researchers from widely
divergent fields to share perspectives on the sonic practices associated
with early film exhibition, particularly in Britain. The first decades of
film exhibition in the UK were characterized by flux and experimentation.
Musical and sonic practices were often improvisatory, but always contingent
upon the resources available, their stage of technological development, and
the exhibition venue itself, which might have been a music hall, fairground,
theatre, or purpose-built venue. Elements of performativity and contingency
continued well into the sound era; live musical performance long remained a
key part of film exhibition in many cinemas. This conference is the first of
four events organised by the AHRC-Funded Beyond Text Network ?The Sounds of
Early Cinema in Britain? to enable, encourage, and consolidate research and
practical activity in this field, and is particularly concerned with the
nature, limitations and potentialities of the sources available for studying
these practices.
Linked film screenings at Barbican Centre, London:
· Sunday 7th June, 3pm: Way Down East (D. W. Griffith, 1920), accompanied
by the original Wm. F. Peters/Louis Silvers score conducted live by Gillian
Anderson.
· Monday 8th June, 8pm: The Flag Lieutenant (Maurice Elvey, 1926), with
Albert Cazabon?s original score arranged and performed by Philip Carli at
piano, with Gunter Buchwald on violin and Paul Clarvis on percussion.
The provisional programme and booking form are available from:
<http://music.sas.ac.uk/imr-events/imr-conferences-colloquia-performance-events/the-sounds-of-early-cinema-in-britain-textual-material-and-technological-sources.html>
More information on the Network and updated information about Network events
can also be found here:
<http://projects.beyondtext.ac.uk/research_workshops.php?i=31&p=The%20Sounds%20of%20Early%20Cinema%20in%20Britain>
Places for this event are limited. Please book by the end of April 2009.
For further information about the network, please contact Dr Julie Brown
(Royal Holloway, University of London) <(julie.brown /at/ rhul.ac.uk)> or Dr
Annette Davison (University of Edinburgh) <(a.c.davison /at/ ed.ac.uk)>
