“Film music is like a small flame put under the screen to help warm it.” — Aaron Copland
Silent Film is one of the greatest cultural legacies of the United States. Sadly, more than 80% of the more than 11,000 silent films produced have been lost. With the introduction of “Talkies” in 1928 (The Lights of New York), the era of silent film quickly ended. During a short, furious period of silent movie palace architecture, America saw a campaign of theatre construction that made gold leaf, ponderous chandeliers, and the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ the rule and not the exception. Thousands of movie houses depended on live musical accompaniment for their silent movies, and while some smaller houses merely had pianos, the vast majority had theatre pipe organs. While these wonderful instruments were not inexpensive, even back then, it was far more affordable to have a “Mighty Wurlitzer” with a few house organists on staff than to pay for a full orchestra or even a modest band to perform in the orchestra pit every day.
These organs became wildly popular, and several manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon to join the Wurlitzer company to have an organ in every movie house in the land. In Philadelphia alone, there were more than 157 theater organs (now only a handful remain in the Delaware Valley).
When the “talkies” became mainstream movie entertainment right around 1930, the production of theatre pipe organs came to a screeching halt. While some organs were used on special occasions for a few short years, many took over the namesake of their chief reason for being – they became “silent.” Some were destroyed when old theaters were torn down decades later, some were ruined and/or vandalized, and a modest number of them found their way into churches and private home installations starting around the 1950s.
While there were originally several thousand theatre pipe organs around the U.S. and U.K., today only a few hundred remain.
One of the greatest films of that era was “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Filmed in 1923 and starring Lon Chaney as the Hunchback, it was Universal Studios’ greatest silent film success. Based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel (which led to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral), it is a masterpiece of stagecraft, makeup, and special effects. It premiered in New York City at the Astor Theater, which installed a large Morton theater organ for the occasion.
It is our pleasure to offer this film on October 31 at 8:00 p.m. in the chapel. The film will be accompanied by our organ scholar, Daniel Carroll, who will improvise the entire 1-hour, 40-minute soundtrack. The chapel organ has a kaleidoscope of colorful sounds that work perfectly in the genre of silent film accompaniment. Daniel is one of my most talented improvisation students. The Hunchback, accompanied by Daniel Carroll, will provide an incredibly enjoyable evening for all ages!
The film is free; concessions will be available! You are welcome to make a contribution toward the expenses of the evening at the door.