Richard Strauss  

Vier Letzte Lieder,  "Im Abendrot" 

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2001 CD Gundula Janowitz 'The Singers' Wagner/Schubert/Strauss Decca

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2001 CD Gundula Janowitz 'The Singers' Wagner/Schubert/Strauss Decca

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DA CAMERA SINGERS Opus Opera VERDI Strauss DOUGLAS MOORE Handel DELIBES Mozart

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a German film from 1920, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, both of whom emerged from World War I strongly embittered against the wartime government.  The two writers used the powerful new medium of film to create an expressionist masterpiece, which became highly successful and is generally regarded as one of the first horror films.  It recounts the story of a mad fair performer and the sleepwalker who he sends to commit murders in the night.”

Hans Janowitz initially scripted the movie with Carl Mayer as a reflection of the power Authority has, with control over its subjects.  The film is regarded as one of the most influential films from the German Expressionist movement with its stylised, abstract and jagged sets and alongside the painted and stage lit sets. The use of both lighting in the films helped pursue the naturalistic portrayal of the performance and helped comment on the story, which was an essential element of Expressionist films and theatre.

As a silent film each element within the films whether it be the props, actors, music etc all work together to inform the audience of the story as this was the first era of cinema sound was not recorded with the action but music played live at the cinema instead.

 This was the first silent film I had saw and crossed with Expressionism I can say it was an experience and an eye opener to what a cinema experience was like back then compared to the technology today. It was interesting to see the use of painting on the sets with reference to the strokes of paint which seemed to be in any direction and also in comparison to the feminine world of Jane, curved, round soft shapes in relation to the rest of the jagged masculine world. The painted patterns on the set show the story and you can see this throughtout especially when Cesare manages to steal Jane away and we see a star planted on the floor where he will drop her. 

Caligari is a true expressionist film, using distorted sets, lighting effects and manner acting to illuminate the internal psychological states rather than linear narrative.

Agathe´s aria "Wie nahte mir der Schlummer...Leise, leise..." from "Der Freischütz" (Carl Maria von Weber)