Man With A Movie Camera and made-up music

HBeaumont — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:16:53 +0000

Winnipeg musician to improvise silent film score in Halifax

Twelve Halifax musicians squeezed their instruments into the tiny top floor loft of the Roberts Street Social Centre Monday evening. Two guitars, two harmonicas, an accordion, a keyboard, a cello, a clarinet, a flute and a ukulele sat silently on laps and between knees. It was the group's first and only rehearsal before Friday’s live, improvised performance of a silent film score as part of the Sound Bytes Festival in Halifax (May 28 to June 28).

Winnipeg musician Garth Hardy orchestrated the meeting and skill share. To illustrate the importance of musical consensus within a group, he played a piece by one of his favourite composers: John Cage.

“This is the first time I’ve done this,” Hardy admitted a few days before the rehearsal, as he sipped java at a North Street coffee shop. “I’ve done five silent movie scores in the past four years, but this is the first time I’ll do it with a group of people.”

Hardy, an anarchist with a Masters in Music, has improvised with groups of musicians before, but he’s never taught anyone how to compose an hour-long movie score on the fly. And until Monday night at 7 p.m., Hardy didn’t know who would play the score.

“I don’t know the people who are going to show up,” Hardy shrugged. “I don’t know if they’re amateurs or professional musicians, I don’t know their skill levels, I don’t know how many of them have experience improvising.”

On Saturday he said he wasn't worried for Friday’s show because, as far as he’s concerned, there’s no pressure.

“I think these things are more about the process than they are about the end result,” he said. “It’s just this idea of a bunch of people getting together who all have different skill levels and ideas about music and all have a little part to play to make this big collective work. I think that’s really exciting.”