Once upon a time during the belle époque in turn-of-the-century Paris, a short-lived film form called ‘scènes de féeries’, or ‘fairy films’, was becoming popular thanks to the Pathé Frères company. In jewel-like colours the films, made to appeal to young and old alike, recreated the theatrical spectacles of the age with their fantastical settings, dancing girls, mythical beasts, supernatural beings and a plethora of stage tricks enhanced by the techniques of the new medium of film.
Presented on this now out-of-print DVD with original hand-colouring, each film is accompanied by recording artists from the leading experimental label, Touch. Contributions from such acclaimed composers as Fennesz, Chris Watson, Hildur Gudnadottir, Philip Jeck, Jana Winderen & others combine in often surprising ways to create a unique and unforgettable experience.
with texts:
Pathé stencil colour fairy tales by Bryony Dixon
Scoring the past by Mike Harding
Track list:
Un Drame au Fond de la Mer (Drama at the Bottom of the Sea)
Ferdinand Zecca 1901
All sounds were recorded underwater
JOACHIM NORDWALL & HENRIK RYLANDER
Les Sept Chateaux du Diable
Ferdinand Zecca 1901
Ballet des Silphydes
1902
Ali Baba et les Quarante Voleurs
Ferdinand Zecca 1902
Valse Excentrique (The Eccentric Waltz)
1903
Japonaiserie
Gaston Velle 1904
Written, recorded and mixed by Pascal Wyse
Weird Fancies/La Danse du Diable
1904
Metamorphoses du Papillon (The Butterfly’s Metamorphosis)
Gaston Velle 1905
La Poule aux Oeuf’s d’Or (The Conjurors Lottery)
Gaston Velle 1905
In the 1903 film “The Conjurer’s Lottery”, a farmer hits the jackpot at a fair and wins a hen that lays golden eggs. However his good fortune is only brief, since thieves steal the gold and the farmer can no longer afford his upstart life style. He kills the hen in order to get to a last money-making egg. Instead of the anticipated gold rush, the devil appears. Films of this kind were shown at carnival fairs to entertain the public. The soundtrack took up the comedic aspect of these performances, entertainment that oscillated between plaudits, merriment and slight trepidation. The film’s background music is made up of field recordings of today’s carnival fairs and amusement parks (roller coasters, funhouse rides) as well as the sounds of computer games (MineCraft, Temple Run, Doodle Jump). The audio logos of online brokers and gambling websites are also blended in, as well as the sound from porno and horror films and other sounds of modern life (burglar and clock alarms, acoustic fault alarms). Also in the mix are manually played gramophone records, as well as modified instruments such as e-guitars and piano.
Les Martyrs Chretiens 1-3
1905
Loïe Fuller 1905
Prepared and performed live to the film
The Bewitched Shepherd
Segundo de Chomón 1905
L’Album Merveilleuse
Gaston Velle 1905
La Peine du Talion (Tit for Tat)
Gaston Velle & Albert Capellani 1906
La Fée du Printemps
V Lorant-Heilbronn 1906
Les Roses Magiques
Segundo de Chomón 1906
Clavier played by Dani
MICHAEL ESPOSITO & MIKE HARDING
Le Scarabee d’or (The Golden Beetle)
Segundo de Chomón 1907
Audio created from period projectors and electronic voice phenomena taken from a silent film studio in Santa Barbara, California.
Cendrillon ou la Pantoufle Merveilleuse (Cinderella or The Glass Slipper)
Albert Capellani 1907
Prepared and performed live to the film
MICHAEL ESPOSITO & MIKE HARDING
Spectre Rouge/ Skeleton Magician
Segundo de Chomón 1907
Audio created from period projectors and electronic voice phenomena taken from a silent film studio in Santa Barbara, California.
Pied de Mouton (incomplete)
1907
MICHAEL ESPOSITO & MIKE HARDING
La Sorciere Noire/ La Bruja Negra
1907
Audio created from period projectors and electronic voice phenomena taken from a silent film studio in Santa Barbara, California.
Au Pays de l’Or
1908
A trip to the magical underground gold foundry of the dwarves
Pascal Wyse: production, mixing and editing
Ed Gaughan: characters and voices
L’Oiseau Bleu
1908
La Belle an Bois Dormant
1908
La Legende du Fantome (The Black Pearl)
Segundo de Chomón 1908
The London Snorkelling Team were overjoyed at the opportunity to perform a new version of the music for the Black Pearl as it is one of the band’s favourite film soundtracks. The band also thought it was a great opportunity to iron out some of the mistakes in the original, and now very outdated soundtrack recording.
The soundtrack for the “Black Pearl” was written by Tom Haines, performed by the London Snorkelling Team and recorded at Brains and Hunch.
Traps, glockenspiel and electronics: Tom Haines
Wind Instruments: Ross Hughes
Organs and Synthesiser: Christopher Branch
Trombone: Pascal Wyse
EXTRAS
Barbe Bleue
Georges Méliès 1901
Recorded live in London, 2012
Little Red Riding Hood / Petit chaperon rouge
1907
and the students from Sint-Lukas University College of Art and Design in Brussels
(Anson Dyer’s animation made for Hepworth Picture Plays)
Credits & Acknowledgments:
All tracks published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd.
The BFI would like to acknowledge the enthusiasm and generous help of everyone who contributed to this release. Special thanks to Mike Harding, Bryony Dixon, Michael Brooke and Douglas Weir.
Thanks also to Esha Gupta, Philip Dumas (re:fine), Stephen Ford and Nikos Tzerbinos (IBF), Ian Vickers (Eureka! Design Consultants)
Disc Production Credits
Film curator Bryony Dixon
Soundtrack curator Mike Harding
Producer Upekha Bandaranayake
Artwork manager Marianthi Makra
France | 1902 -1908 | stencil-coloured, tinted, and black & white | silent with music |
156 minutes | DVD9 | Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 | Dolby Digital stereo audio (320kbps) | Region 2 DVD
Front Cover
DVD Insert
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