Encountering sound: the musical dimensions of silent cinema

Abstract

This article identifies silent film soundtracks as evidence of the tensions between old and new audiovisual cultures, and examines the distinctions between our experience of live and mediated cinema through contemporary modes of presentation. My primary interest is in the aesthetic and cultural dimensions of film sound, and the ways in which digital technology influences the creation, performance, and recording of music for silent cinema. Parallel to this subject, I address the relationship between scholars and their object of study. I analyse how different audiovisual environments (rehearsal and concert spaces, recording studios, theatrical and domestic spaces) shape the aesthetics of film sound and the culture of its reception. More generally, this article seeks to engage film studies with media and performance studies, arguing that a reflective and interdisciplinary approach is needed to evaluate our ever-changing encounters with live and recorded film sound.