3 silent films

I kind of want to talk about something different about the silent films that I don't think will get covered a whole lot in class. After watching the 3 films I began to notice differences in the music that was being played. I was a Music Education major up until last semester so I tend to notice weird things like these. In the first movie we watched, A Child of the Big City, the whole thing was played by piano and the mood nor the tempo really changed throughout the movie. I really want to point out that in the 3rd movie we watched with the ballerina Gizelle, every time she appeared a theme was played. I am sure many of you have heard it at some point in your lives; for me I have even played it a few times. It is entitled Le Cygne (1866) by Camille Saint-Saens, but most people will know the piece as "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" rewritten by Andrew Lloyed Webber for The Phantom of the Opera. Almost every time Gizelle appeared in her ballerina outfit this movement would play. I found it very interesting that movies this early were already using this kind of music. Music adds a lot to a movie and can help to interpret how a person might be feeling. The music will be sad and slow when some one is unhappy, or for instance when Gizelle dances the music is somber. Other times music can set the mood for agitation or great joy. From the three movies as a whole, this was the most interesting aspect that stood out to me.