To truly enjoy an art form, it’s important to understand its history and roots, to see where it came from in order to appreciate where it is now.
On Jan. 24 and 25, the musicians with the Glacier Symphony will offer a look into the very storied past of filmmaking, when the symphony performs the score during the silent film from 1920, “The Mark of Zorro.”
The Jan. 24 show will be at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m., and the Jan. 25 show will be in Kalispell at the Flathead High School Performance Hall at 3 p.m.
The music comes from composer Rick Friend, whose love of silent films began when he was a teenager, when he and some friends borrowed “The General,” a 1926 Buster Keaton film, from the library.
Friend heard the music accompanying the film, and realized he could play it on the piano.
“I thought, ‘This is my niche, I’m going to do this,’” Friend said.
Years later, Friend played piano for the Toronto Film Society’s silent film series, and then for the orchestra in Ontario during a showing of “The Phantom of the Opera.”
Since then, he’s composed accompanying music for multiple silent films, including the vampire classic, “Nosferatu.” His work is an homage to an era when cinematography and acting were the most important aspects of a film, not the special effects or overwhelming sounds.
“It’s a different concept, because you’re watching the movie, and without hearing the sound,” Friend said. “It requires more concentration. It’s like the days of radio: your imagination was active.”
Being engaged with the film and the score in such a way amplifies the viewers’ experiences with the movie, he said, and live interaction brings about a new perspective.
GSC conductor John Zoltek said he lined up the film showing for just this reason, and because Friend’s composition includes interesting segue ways while keeping up with the emotion on screen.
“One of the reasons why I liked his particular composition is because he works his own original music into it, and sometimes traditional music,” Zoltek said.
That traditional music includes pieces from Brahms, as well as Spanish pianist and composer Isaac Albeniz.
“From my perspective it has really interesting interactive pieces between piano and orchestra and the film,” Zoltek said. “It really brings out the emotional content of the silent films, and it’s pretty cool that way and really brings it to life.”
The Mark of Zorro stars Douglas Fairbanks as a seemingly idiotic man who is actually the courageous hero Zorro, who seeks to protect the vulnerable and oppressed.
Friend said he was inspired by Zorro’s true courage in the face of danger, and that the character seems to have no fear as he confronts the evils of the world. There are also scenes of almost-naive romance between Zorro and the lovely Lolita Pulido, played by Marguerite De La Motte.
The Jan. 24 and 25 shows will be a good opportunity for potential audience members who have never ventured to a symphony show, Zoltek said, as well as those who haven’t experienced a silent movie on the big screen.
While the film shows onscreen, the symphony, along with Friend on the piano, will sit on stage, with low lights and full sound.
“The atmosphere will be very cool,” Zoltek said. “It’s a good way for folks to come in and see what the symphony does.”
It’s also a good way to take a peek at the roots of filmmaking.
“It’s really kind of a look back at the way drama was represented in films in the early stage of that art form,” he said. “It’s more than just entertainment, it’s a look back to the origins of filmmaking.”
Friend also expressed a desire to show the audience a look at the beginnings of film, with beautiful black-and-white compositions from small cameras unburdened by sound equipment.
“I’ve been playing this for a long time,” Friend said. “People go for the first time, and they are amazed.”
For ticketing information for “The Mark of Zorro,” visit www.gscmusic.org or call 406-407-7000.