Jerry The Troublesome Tyke
Conducting live to picture as part of Swansea Festival of Arts.
Jerry The Tyke is the star of 40 or so films Sid Griffiths created with cameraman Bert Bilby between 1925 & 1927 (they heyday of the 'Silent Movie') in Cardiff and, later, in London, for the fortnightly 'Pathe Pictorials'.
The reason these films are available to us now is thanks to the late Welsh film historian Dave Berry, who discovered these long lost films in the Pathe archives, and saved them for posterity. To celebrate their re-discovery, I was commissioned by the BBC to score 12 of the films in collaboration with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Whilst researching the music of animated films of the 20's I noticed the influenced of Jazz, and improvisation in the use of live scores, unlike the more 'operatic' music of the 'live action' counterparts. I therefore chose a traditional orchestral musical idiom to suggest the 'pit orchestra' of early silent cinema, but infused it with ragtime rhythms, and jazz inflections, piano led, but with the clarinet as Jerry's main musical 'voice'. The instrument's character and agility suits Jerry's naughtiness & reflects the music of the time, I very much had the opening phrase of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue in mind!
In the way that the composer Carl Stalling always used a 'theme' to introduce the Warner Brothers 'Loony Tunes' cartoons, I have also introduce a 'Jerry Theme' that appears now and again to underline his personality and character.
Honesty Is the Best Policy.
A Bird In The Hand.