KISS2015 -- Rhetorical figures, sonifications & elements of Programmusik in live sound for silent movies: Franz Danksagmüller
Since I was a child I used to improvise to stories and pictures on the piano and on the organ. Later I started to improvise to silent films (solo and with other musicians). I’m fascinated by Sergej Eisenstein’s thought that each period will make it´s own soundtrack to his films.
Searching for suitable elements for the music I not only analysed works of the genre Programmmusik but also studied medieval modes and baroque rhetorical figures. I also used visual elements of the films to structure the soundtrack.
When playing with other musicians some improvisation sketches are necessary. It´s thrilling to find the right balance between just enough notation and too much fixation. My talk also includes my experiences with my latest projects of this kind – we muted the soundtrack of finalised films and re-did all the sound (music, sound design, voice) live.