Out of Silence

Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton have been making silent movie music for more than 30 years. “It’s a labor of love,” says Sosin, who was the previous “Music Scene” columnist for Compass. “We have a kind of mission to show audiences how much is gorgeous, emotionally powerful and visually stunning in these [silent] films.” Through their music, Sosin and Seaton interpret the film, they say, in a way that is appropriate to its period and style. Contrary to a common misperception — mine, at least — the earliest movies really were “silent.” There was no musical accompaniment. Short films (some no more than 30 seconds) were screened during breaks in vaudeville stage shows, and the orchestra took a break, too. “By the middle of the first decade of the 20th century, people said, we have this railroad chase scene; let’s put some music behind it,” Sosin said. Pianos were among the earliest accompaniments, but theaters had impressive organs by the mid-1920s, and many had a pit band with 20 members or more. As for Sosin and Seaton’s own process, it depends on the movie and the circumstances and ranges from completely improvised accompaniments to carefully calibrated, fully-prepared scores and everything in between. Sosin has written for all kinds of ensembles as well as for piano, which he plays, and for his wife, Seaton, a soprano who last performed here in the Light Opera Company of Salisbury. Tomorrow night at the Norfolk Public Library (“a fantastic place to see films,” says Sosin), the two will accompany the recently rediscovered silent movie “Beyond the Rocks” from 1922, a romance with Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino. Seaton will sing several period songs that she unearthed, and Sosin will play music on the piano, some improvised and some previously composed. “Beyond the Rocks,” with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton, will be shown tomorrow night, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m., at the Norfolk Public Library. Admission is free.Call 860-542-5075 for reservations.