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The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Reiniger, 1926)With original music by Phillip Johnston
Performed by Phillip Johnston, James Greening, Alister Spence, and Casey Golden
Phillip Johnston: alto saxophone, composition
James Greening: trombone
Alister Spence: keyboards
Casey Golden: keyboards
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) is a silent silhouette animation by Lotte Reiniger, considered by many to be the first feature-length animated film. Influenced by Georges Méliès (Voyage dans la lune) and Paul Wegener (Der Golem), Reiniger had an astonishing facility with cutting–holding the scissors still in her right hand, and manipulating the paper at lightning speed with her left hand, so that the cut always went in the right direction. She drew the storyboards and devised the plots and characters, which were closely linked. William Moritz describes it as “a brilliant feature, a wonderful film full of charming comedy, lyrical romance, vigorous and exciting battles, eerie magic, and truly sinister, frightening evil.”
The score for Prince Achmed again represents a unique approach to music for silent film. Combining electronic and acoustic instruments, the score is structured around a pre-recorded score of sampled electronic loops and percussion. Against this, a live band will perform, consisting of two keyboards, soprano saxophone, & trombone. The music is through-composed, seasoned with elements of improvisation, and invokes elements of jazz, blues, minimalism and classical music.
Taken from The Arabian Nights, The Adventure of Prince Achmed tells the story of a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical flying horse and sends the rider off on a flight to his death. But the prince foils the magician’s plan, and soars headlong into a series of wondrous adventures — joining forces with Aladdin and the Witch of the Fiery Mountains, doing battle with the sorcerer's army of monsters and demons, and falling in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu.
“Johnston’s soundtrack adds an extra dimension to the 2D-nature of the animation, with energetic jazz layered over the pre-recorded percussion track that builds up and flows through the film. While Johnston and Reiniger’s compositions are each complex in their own ways, they come together simply and beautifully, stripping animation back to its abstract qualities of light, shadow, image and sound.”
–Anna Madeleine, The Guardian
About the Musicians:
In addition to his work in jazz and improvised music, film scoring, theatre and multimedia Phillip Johnston has been composing original scores for silent films for over 30 years. His collaborators include John Zorn, Art Spiegelman, Richard Foreman, Chris Abrahams and Sandy Evans. His recent performance of his score for Teinosuke Kinugasa’s Page of Madness (1926) at The Red House played two shows to packed houses. Ken Winokur of the Alloy Orchestra wrote of his 2023 book, Silent Films/Loud Music “Johnston analyses silent film scores with the keen eye of someone who has created some of the seminal works in the field himself.”
James Greening has been a leading voice in the music scene in Sydney and Australia for more than forty years. Trombones, pocket trumpet, slide trumpet, tuba, sousaphone and diddly bow bass add to James' diversity as a performer, in jazz as a founding member of seminal Australian jazz bands such as Ten Part Invention, Wanderlust, the catholics, the Umbrellas and the Australian Art Orchestra.
Pianist and composer Alister Spence is one of the leading lights in contemporary original jazz and improvised music in Australia. The Alister Spence Trio has enjoyed critical acclaim both nationally and internationally, being nominated twice for Best Australian Jazz Album at the ARIA Awards (2004/2007). He is also a founding member of Clarion Fracture Zone, Wanderlust and The Australian Art Orchestra.
Casey Golden is a forward-thinking musician based in Sydney. Described as ‘a brilliant improviser with a highly developed melodic sensibility’ (The Australian) and ‘a pianist of sheer class’ (Jazzwise), he’s been involved in a wide range of original music ranging from jazz/improvised projects to electronic, pop and film music.
More information about Prince Achmed:
https://phillipjohnston.com/the-adventures-of-prince-achmed-1926-3/
More information about Phillip Johnston: https://phillipjohnston.com/
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
81 Johnston St, Annandale NSW 2038, Australia, 81 Johnston St, Annandale NSW 2038, Australia, Pyrmont
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