When Silent Films Speak in Music at Silver Spring’s Festival of Film & Sound
Silent films never truly lived in silence—behind every flickering frame, live musicians like Jon Mirsalis breathe emotion into the story. At the Library of Congress Festival of Film & Sound, Mirsalis faces a unique challenge: sometimes he scores films he’s never seen, relying on brief summaries or old cue sheets packed with popular 1920s tunes. Yet, he rarely follows these musical recipes, preferring to craft original scores that support the film without stealing the spotlight. For well-known classics, his melodies are familiar companions; for rare finds, improvisation rules the day. The right instrument matters, too—a vintage Yamaha spinet or his own digital keyboard, each adding a different color to the cinematic canvas. Whether meticulously prepared or boldly improvised, the music transforms silent cinema into a living, breathing experience—proof that sometimes, the loudest stories are told without a single word.
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