On the 31st of October 2022, Halloween, I was joined by some of my family at a showing of a film that has been described as an ‘influential masterpiece of cinema’, the one and only Nosferatu. Essentially a plagiarised, unauthorised, German version of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel; Dracula. The silent German Expressionist horror film Directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok was part of a short-era of German Expressionism, and due to its silent nature, Murnau followed the screenplay closely when directing the film and even used a metronome to control the pacing of the film.
Shot on one camera to save on what was a very tight budget that put it’s production company into bankruptcy before the film saw the light of day. Released in 1922 the film originally had a score composed by Hans Erdmann and performed at the film’s premier by an orchestra, however as most of the prints of Nosferatu had been ordered to be destroyed due to the successful legal case from Stoker’s heirs including most recordings of Erdmann’s original score. Therefore over the years many a composer have taken it upon themselves to write improvised versions of a score for Nosferatu.
Which brings us nicely around to the ‘Symphony of Horrors‘ witnessed this evening in the Liverpool Philharmonic (Music Room). It was the turn of musician and composer Chris Green from Coventry to have a shot at composing a score for Nosferatu. This was the artist we were to spend the evening with as he played his score alongside a viewing of the film. Originally commissioned by English Heritage for a live outdoor screening of the film at Dracula’s so-called spiritual home of Whitby Abbey. Billed as a blend of electronic and acoustic music to accompany the silent film, it was played with talent and passion by Chris Green on both traditional and period instruments.
However.. this ‘blend of electronic and acoustic music’ really didn’t seem to work or go with the film at times.. at all. Unfortunately I felt it made parts of the film feel more funny than scary. A particularly fearsome part of the film late on for example was completely undermined by an upbeat musical accompaniment. This was called ‘Orlok Comes For Ellen’ and can be played via Chris Green’s website. At times Chris was literally just standing on the stage, arms folded, watching along with the film. He was playing along with a recording of his composition, rather than playing the entire composition live. Obviously a skilled composer and musician independently to have secured support from English Heritage for a commission that he is now taking on a fifteen-date UK tour, I simply felt his composition added nothing extra to the film but instead in parts brought down the quality of the original context that Murnau intended. I wasn’t alone in these thoughts.
I thought it could have been better if Chris had either secured the services of a live band to assist him in playing along with all of the parts in the composition, such as a drummer to play the drums, bass guitarist and so on. Or had he actually played along with the entire score rather than simply playing along with specific parts of the score and standing on the stage, watching a film, arms folded. But it wasn’t to be. Spoilt the immersion of a silent film with a musical score. It could have been so much more than it was. I just felt it wasn’t quite what it was billed as being.
If you really felt like it, you could spend money on a recording of Chris Green’s score from Nosferatu at the venue during or after the show. I passed on this opportunity. A lovely venue however with kind, attentive staff and a good space for performances. Will happily attend again in the future for something that will take away the aftertaste that this even left with us.
