Alloy Orchestra

Last updated

Alloy Orchestra
Alloy Band Shot - Ken's 001.jpg
The Alloy Orchestra performing in 1995. R to L - Ken Winokur, Caleb Sampson, Terry Donahue
Background information
Origin Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genressoundtrack
Years active1991–2021
LabelsLobster Films, Flicker Alley, Kino Lorber, Accurate Records, Third Man, Bib Records, Image Entertainment, Warner Home Video
Past membersCaleb Sampson, Ken Winokur, Terry Donahue, Roger Miller
Website www.kenwinokur.com/alloy-orchestra

The Alloy Orchestra was a musical ensemble based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It performed its own accompaniments to silent films of the classic movie era on an unusual collection of found objects (horseshoes, plumbing pipes, and a bedpan, which comprised their so-called "rack of junk"), homemade instruments, accordion, clarinet, musical saw, and a sampling synthesizer, the group scored and performed with 40 feature-length silent films or collections of shorts. [1] The group is often credited with having helped revitalize the art of silent film accompaniment. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Percussionist Ken Winokur and keyboardist Caleb Sampson founded the group on June 12, 1985, to accompany a theatrical production of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Marilyn Monroe vs. the Vampires. [5] In 1991 Coolidge Corner Theatre director David Kleiler invited Sampson and Winokur to write a new score for Fritz Lang's science fiction film Metropolis . The pair composed many of the themes for the film, including the title theme "Metropolis" and the dance club scene, "Yoshiwara" and then brought percussionist Terry Donahue into the group before the first performance. [1] [6] After Sampson's death in 1998, [7] the band was joined by keyboardist Roger Miller, guitarist of post-punk band Mission of Burma. [1] They have composed music for approximately 40 full-length silent films or collections of shorts. [8] They also composed scores for 19 feature-length silent film DVDs and BluRays that have been commercially released. They toured extensively (performing an estimated 1000 shows worldwide [4] ) in 13 countries in North America, Europe, and New Zealand. [9]

After performing for over 30 years, Alloy Orchestra disbanded in 2021. Miller and Donahue continue the tradition of performing live music to silent films as members of the Anvil Orchestra. [10] [11]

History

After the premiere show in 1985, on December 31, 1991, Winokur and Sampson accepted a show for Boston's First Night, to perform music on a large scale junk sculpture in the Boston Common. The two organizers invited percussionists Michael Evans and Terry Donahue to join them. Next, in the summer of 1992, Sampson and Winokur were invited to contribute a new score for Metropolis at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Then the two brought percussionist Terry Donahue into the group before the first performance. [1] [6] Since that time Alloy devoted themselves to composing and performing new music for silent films. The Alloy Orchestra developed an extensive repertoire of music and sounds that it performed during the projection of silent films. Its three musicians used an array of found objects and electronics as well as traditional percussion, wind and keyboard instruments. [12] In addition to publishing scores for silent film releases, the group also recorded a number of CDs of their film music. The first was New Music for Silent Films through Accurate Records. [13] It was followed in 1995 by the album Lonesome, which appeared through BIB Records. [14] The collection Silents from 1997 brought together the contemporary scores for the films Plain Crazy, The Lost World , Nosferatu , Metropolis , and The Unknown . [15] Slapstick Masters, music for four short silent comedies, was then released on Accurate Records. The Last Command, Underworld, and finally The Complete Score for Metropolis were self-released.

The ensemble performed at film festivals and a variety of cultural events in the US and abroad, [16] including: Telluride Film Festival, [17] the Film Society of Lincoln Center, [18] The Roger Ebert Festival, [19] The TCM Festival, National Gallery of Art, AFI Silver, Maryland Film Festival, Cornell Cinema, [20] Hamilton College, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Pordenone Silent Film Festival, [21] The Louvre, [22] New Zealand International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, [23] Vancouver International Film Festival, [24] Mass Moca, [25] and many others. [26] They also performed on tour throughout the United States at local movie houses, such as Boston's Somerville Theatre, The Coolidge Corner, Ragtag Cinema, and the Englert Theatre. [12] The trio revised their scores as better and more integral prints of films become available. For instance, they performed a new score to accompany the recently restored version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis at the TCM Classic Movie Festival in April 2010. [27]

Alloy often worked in collaboration with film archives and collectors, such as: Film Preservation Associates, Lobster Films, George Eastman House, British Film Institute, Harold Lloyd Estate, Douris Films, Munich Film Archive, and the Lumiere Institute. The group endeavored to display the best available prints at their shows. For example, Alloy acquired its own new print of Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera from Gosfilmofond. Alloy and wrote its own score based on Vertov's notes for the film's 1928 premiere. [28] Alloy's director, Ken Winokur, restored and released new 35mm and digital prints of Phantom of the Opera, Son of the Sheik and The Eagle. [29]

Alloy released many DVDs, Blu-rays, and CDs. The group published seven CDs of their film music. The first was New Music for Silent Films through Accurate Records. [13] It was followed in 1995 by the album Lonesome, which appeared through BIB Records. [14] The collection Silents from 1997 brought together the contemporary scores for the films Plain Crazy, The Lost World , Nosferatu , Metropolis , and The Unknown . [15] Masters of Slapstick, music for 4 short silent comedies, was released on Accurate Records. In 2000, [30] The Last Command, Underworld, and finally The Complete Score for Metropolis were self-released.

In addition to publishing scores for silent film releases, the group also recorded a number of CDs of their film music. The first was New Music for Silent Films through Accurate Records. [13] It was followed in 1995 by the album Lonesome, which appeared through BIB Records. [14] The collection Silents from 1997 brought together the contemporary scores for the films Plain Crazy, The Lost World , Nosferatu , Metropolis , and The Unknown . [15] Slapstick Masters, music for 4 short silent comedies, was then released on Accurate Records. The Last Command, Underworld, and finally The Complete Score for Metropolis were self released.

Entertainment Weekly put the ensemble on its list of the 100 most creative people or groupings in the entertainment world. Terry Gross on National Public Radio called the trio "one of the pioneers in composing new music for old movies" and Lloyd Schwartz discussed their recording of scores to a pair of Buster Keaton films: "Most silent movie music just fills the void. Some of it even gets in the way. But the Alloy Orchestra really helps us see what we're watching and often the music, whether driving or fanciful, is worth listening to on its own." [31]

In addition to their work on silent films, Alloy Orchestra composed music for contemporary films, including Fast, Cheap & Out of Control by Errol Morris, Dragonflies, the Baby Cries by Jane Gillooly and Vakvagany by Ben Meade. In 2014 a recording of the music for the film Man with a Movie Camera was released on double vinyl by Third Man Records. [32]

Membership

Critical reception

Anne Midgette of The New York Times said the orchestra was "fast becoming the country's leading avant-garde interpreter of silent films." [33] She noted that the group had been producing at least one score yearly since 1991, and that Blackmail "showed it to have the ideal qualities one hopes for in a fusion of elements: attractiveness combined with endurance". [6] Roger Ebert called Alloy Orchestra "the best in the world at accompanying silent films". [34] A reviewer in The Georgia Straight wrote that the orchestra "has scored almost 30 silent films, crafting a unique sonic signature for each", [35] while Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times said, "Whatever's on the screen, the Alloy Orchestra makes it even more alive". [17] Filmmaker Guy Maddin called them "the maestros of sproing-and-chunk grandeur". [36]

Releases

Blu-ray and DVD

CD and records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silent film</span> Motion pictures without synchronized recorded sound

A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound. Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of inter-title cards.

<i>Metropolis</i> (1927 film) German silent science-fiction film

Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction silent film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang from von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same name. It stars Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, and Brigitte Helm. Erich Pommer produced it in the Babelsberg Studio for Universum Film A.G. (UFA). Metropolis is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction film, being among the first feature-length ones of that genre. Filming took place over 17 months in 1925–26 at a cost of more than five million Reichsmarks, or the equivalent of about €21 million.

<i>Jazz on a Summers Day</i> 1959 American concert film

Jazz on a Summer's Day is a 1959 concert film set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. The film was directed by Aram Avakian who also edited the film. and was princpal Cinematographer.

<i>King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis</i> 1970 American documentary

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis is a 1970 American documentary film biography of Martin Luther King Jr. and his creation and leadership of the nonviolent campaign for civil rights and social and economic justice in the Civil Rights Movement.

<i>Man with a Movie Camera</i> 1929 Soviet silent documentary film

Man with a Movie Camera is an experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov, filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman, and edited by Vertov's wife Yelizaveta Svilova. Kaufman also appears as the eponymous Man of the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janus Films</span> American film distributor

Janus Films is an American film distribution company. The distributor is credited with introducing numerous films, now considered masterpieces of world cinema, to American audiences, including the films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, François Truffaut, Yasujirō Ozu and many other well-regarded directors. Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) was the film responsible for the company's initial growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Miller (rock musician)</span> American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist

Roger Clark Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding Mission of Burma and performing in Alloy Orchestra/The Anvil Orchestra.

<i>The Werewolf of Washington</i> 1973 American film

The Werewolf of Washington is a 1973 horror comedy film written and directed by Milton Moses Ginsberg and starring Dean Stockwell. Produced by Nina Schulman, it satirizes several individuals in Richard Nixon's administration.

<i>Tartuffe</i> (1926 film) 1925 film by F. W. Murnau

Tartuffe is a German silent film produced by Erich Pommer for UFA and released in 1926. It was directed by F. W. Murnau, photographed by Karl Freund and written by Carl Mayer from Molière's original play. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. Set design and costumes were by Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig.

<i>Harrisons Flowers</i> 2000 film by Élie Chouraqui

Harrison's Flowers is a 2000 war-romance drama film directed by Elie Chouraqui. It stars, among others, Andie MacDowell, Elias Koteas, Brendan Gleeson, Adrien Brody, Marie Trintignant, Gerard Butler and David Strathairn. The film is also Quinn Shephard's big screen debut. The film premiered at the 2000 San Sebastián International Film Festival, and released in theatres on 24 January 2001 in France. Universal Pictures gave the film a limited theatrical release in the United States on 15 March 2002, then Lionsgate released this film in the United States on DVD in 2007. For this film's United States version, the film's length was reduced by about 5 minutes; it also features a new score by Cliff Eidelman.

The Club Foot Orchestra is a musical ensemble known for their silent film scores. Their influences include Eastern European folk music, impressionism, and jazz fusion; The New Yorker described their style as "music that bubbles up from the intersection of aesthetics and the id."

<i>Beggars of Life</i> 1928 film by William A. Wellman

Beggars of Life is a 1928 American part-talkie sound film that was directed by William Wellman. Although the film featured sequences with audible dialogue, the majority of the film had a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The film was released on both sound-on-disc and sound-on-film formats. Currently circulating are mute prints from the sound-on-disc version. The majority of the sound discs are believed to be lost.

<i>Little Lord Fauntleroy</i> (1936 film) 1936 film by John Cromwell

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1936 American drama film based on the 1886 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, and C. Aubrey Smith. The first film produced by David O. Selznick's Selznick International Pictures, it was the studio's most profitable film until Gone with the Wind. The film is directed by John Cromwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie Anderson Jr.</span> Musical artist

Bernie Anderson Jr. is a silent film music composer, organist and orchestrator. He has presented live accompaniments for silent films, with theatre organ and piano since 1995. He is also active in the preservation and restoration of Movie Palaces, Theatre organs and Classic Film.

<i>The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday</i> 1976 film by Don Taylor

The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday is a 1976 comedy western film directed by Don Taylor starring Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, Elizabeth Ashley, Strother Martin, Sylvia Miles, and Kay Lenz.

<i>The Champagne Murders</i> 1967 French film by Claude Chabrol

The Champagne Murders is a 1967 French crime thriller film based on a story William Benjamin, directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Anthony Perkins. It was the first of two films that Chabrol made with Perkins.

Silent Orchestra was formed in 1998 to bring live music and sound design to classic and contemporary silent films. They have performed their own new compositions for classic silent films at art house theaters, film festivals and art galleries since 1999. They have appeared on DVDs of classic Silent films released by Image Entertainment.

Double Trouble is a 1992 action comedy film released theatrically in limited release on February 14, 1992 and on home video. It stars the "Barbarian Brothers"—Peter and David Paul—and is directed by John Paragon. Co-stars include Troy Donahue, James Doohan, Collin Bernsen, Bill Mumy, Roddy McDowall, David Carradine and Lewis Arquette.The Barbarian Brothers appeared in person at the Marina Twins Cinema, one of five Honolulu movie theaters playing the title. The film was released on home video on VHS and LaserDisc in 1992. The film was issued on DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Video's Limited Edition Collection series in 2015. Kino Lorber released the film on Blu-ray in 2023.

The Cohen Film Collection is a film archive currently held by Cohen Media Group. Containing several hundreds of rare and classic movies spanning from the silent film era to the present day, it was previously referred to as the Rohauer Library prior to Cohen Media Group's ownership in 2011.

Pioneers of African-American Cinema (2015) is a digitally restored anthology collection of independent Black cinema from the first half of the 20th century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 MacDonald, Scott (Summer 2020). ""The Film is our Director": Interview with Ken Winokur, Terry Donahue and Roger Miller - the Alloy Orchestra" . Film History. 32 (2): 121–143. doi:10.2979/filmhistory.32.2.06. S2CID   229198281 – via Project MUSE.
  2. ↑ Staff report. "Alloy Orchestra returns to Cornell Cinema this weekend". The Ithaca Journal. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  3. ↑ VIFFEST (2015-04-01). "Exciting Event: Alloy Orchestra Presents Wild & Weird Short Films for VIFF High". VIFF Blog. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  4. 1 2 TCFF (2013-07-26). "The Alloy Orchestra and a History of Silent Film Music". Traverse City Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  5. ↑ "Alloy Orchestra | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Midgette, Anne (2007-02-09). "Give Me Scotland Yard and Dial M for Music". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  7. ↑ "Caleb Sampson Obituary". Sun Journal . Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  8. ↑ @ilpublicmedia (2016-04-18). "The Alloy Orchestra: 25 Years of Creating New Music For Old Silent Movies". Illinois Public Media. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  9. ↑ "SOUND OF SILENTS: ALLOY ORCHESTRA. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  10. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (July 8, 2021). "After Three Decades, The Alloy Orchestra Has Disbanded". WBUR. Boston University. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Anvil Orchestra". AnvilOrchestra.com. n.d. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Biography on the Official Website, (accessed January 3, 2015).
  13. 1 2 3 Listing of the New Music for Silent Films album on Discogs.com, (accessed January 3, 2015).
  14. 1 2 3 Listing for the Lonesome album on Discogs.com, (accessed January 3, 2015).
  15. 1 2 3 Listing for the Silents collection on Discogs.com, (accessed January 3, 2015).
  16. ↑ "Alloy Orchestra". Indiana University Cinema. Retrieved 2022-05-05.[ permanent dead link ]
  17. 1 2 "Alloy Orchestra performing 'Phantom of the Opera' at Cinefamily". Los Angeles Times. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  18. ↑ "L'Inhumaine with the Alloy Orchestra". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  19. ↑ O'Malley, Sheila. "Alloy Orchestra Accompanies Lon Chaney Classic "He Who Gets Slapped" | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  20. ↑ Hwang, Catherine (2016-11-08). "Metropolis: Alloy Orchestra Come to Cornell Cinema". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  21. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (November 2003). Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-24072-8.
  22. ↑ photo, Staff | Courtesy (18 September 2015). "Alloy Orchestra accompanies 'Man with a Movie Camera' at Ross". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  23. ↑ "Metropolis". Seattle Weekly. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  24. ↑ "Alloy Orchestra creates a radical soundtrack for three silent-film masterpieces". The Georgia Straight. 2010-07-21. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  25. ↑ Staff, Berkshire Eagle (7 August 2014). "Mass MoCA: Alloy Orchestra to play live score". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  26. ↑ "Alloy Orchestra". Santa Fe New Mexican. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  27. ↑ WBUR: Andrea Sea, "Retro 'Metropolis:' Boston Trio Re-Scores A Sci-Fi Classic," April 23, 2010, accessed June 7, 2010
  28. ↑ Listing and toured extensively with the film (film print accessed January 3, 2015).
  29. ↑ "HERE &". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  30. ↑ Jazz, All About (2000-04-01). "Alloy Orchestra: Masters Of Slapstick album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  31. ↑ National Public Radio: Lloyd Schwartz, "The Alloy Orchestra: Silent Movie Scores," March 16, 2004, accessed June 7, 2010
  32. ↑ Newsitem on the Third Man Records website, October 2, 2014.
  33. ↑ Strauss, Neil (1997-08-08). "Vamping the Vampire". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  34. ↑ TCFF (2013-07-26). "The Alloy Orchestra and a History of Silent Film Music". Traverse City Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  35. ↑ "Optotracing: Getting the most out of plant biomass". doi: 10.21203/rs.2.15600/v1 .{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ↑ Johnston, Phillip (2021-08-12). Silent Films/Loud Music: New Ways of Listening to and Thinking about Silent Film Music. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN   978-1-5013-6642-0.
  37. ↑ Schwartz, Lloyd (2004-03-16). "The Alloy Orchestra: Silent Movie Scores". NPR. Retrieved 2022-05-05.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.