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Ulysses Arts launched Silent Sirens, an album of music composed and performed by Stephen Horne, on 9 July 2021. One of the world's leading silent film performers, Stephen Horne is pianist in residence at the British Film Institute at London's Southbank Centre.
Silent Sirens is on all main streaming and download services including Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, Qobuz and HDtracks.
Silent Sirens is on all main streaming and download services including Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, Qobuz and HDtracks.
Stephen Horne comments: 'I have been a silent film pianist and composer for over thirty years. What began as an intriguing musical sideline developed gradually into a full-time nomadic career, accompanying more than a thousand films in more than twenty countries. During that time I developed hundreds of musical themes and it has long been my ambition to record an album, incorporating some of these into musical pieces.
The tracks on this album are intended to stand alone from the films by which they were initially inspired. However, most of these films have two things in common. Firstly, they share a certain haunting quality, leaving unanswered questions to reverberate in the viewer’s mind long after ‘The End’. Secondly, at least for me, the strongest impression is made by the films’ leading women – the actresses and their roles. Combining these two elements suggested the theme of Silent Sirens.
While the music of Silent Sirens stands on its own, in general terms inspiration has come from The First Born, The Manxman, Varieté, The Informer, Tonka of the Gallows, Menilmontant, Stella Dallas, L'Hirondelle et La Mésange and Visages d’Enfants. For those who are interested, some of the titles are taken directly from the films’ inter-titles. A couple of the pieces are purely personal, with no connection to any film.'
Read Stephen Horne's interview about his album in Silent London.
STEPHEN HORNE SINGLE RELEASES
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Beyond The Trees
Miles Mander’s The First Born was co-written by Alfred Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville, which may explain its startlingly Hitchcockian elements. Madeline Carroll’s lead protagonist has a yearning quality, as she misguidedly tries to hold on to her unworthy husband’s love, by giving him the child he craves more than anything. |
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Will You Wait?
The melody of ‘Will You Wait?’ was originally the love theme in my score for Hitchcock’s film ‘The Manxman’. The title is taken from a pivotal moment in the romantic triangle at the centre of its story. Pete Quilliam has always loved Kate Cregeen, but she secretly desires his best friend Philip Christian. On the eve of leaving to make his fortune in America, Pete asks Kate ‘Will You Wait?’ Blithely thinking that he will never return, she says "Yes Pete, I’ll wait." |
Faces of Children
Faces of Children is inspired by 1925 French film Visages d'enfants – one of the most haunting portrayals of childhood ever made. Despite the perfectly rendered happy ending, what lingers is the impression of a child’s struggle to comprehend bereavement. The melody of my piece originally accompanied the final scene, when the boy protagonist stares into a churning river, contemplating oblivion. |
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