Music of the NFB – Part 1
Music of the N.F.B. (Musiques de l’O.N.F.) pays homage to the innovative minds that made films and composed music at the National Film Board of Canada between 1952 and 1971. Released in 1977, this double album of experimental electronic music is a perfect example of the NFB’s early explorations of sound-image relationships.
As the liner notes indicate, “this album offers an unusual opportunity to discover the ‘sound dimensions’ of the National Film Board of Canada.”
10 compositions, 10 films, 6 filmmakers and 7 composers.
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RYTHMETIC 1956, 08 min 40 s
Film and music by Norman McLaren
“This rhythmic study, scratched directly on the film, is like sculpture done with a magnifying glass. The characteristics of the marks ‘carved’ by the stylus in the emulsion – breadth, shape, angle, number and spacing – control the fluctuations of light and determine rhythm and timbre.” This is music to play along to.
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GIVE ME A HAND / LA COURTE ÉCHELLE 1965, 06 min 45 s
Film by Jacques Giraldeau and music by Gabriel Charpentier
The music for Give Me a Hand combines improvisational and structural approaches in ways that make the unfolding of tension inevitable. In this piece, Charpentier builds a framework within which sounds compete for dominance leaving the two protagonists of the film with the responsibility to provide some sort of resolution for this “parable in pantomime”.
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CHRISTMAS CRACKER / CAPRICE DE NOËL 1963, 08 min 59 s
Film by Gerald Potterton and music by Maurice Blackburn
Only half of the music for this short film appears on Music of the NFB. The first segment consists of a rather peculiar rendition of Jingle Bells. But the rest of the soundtrack is a truly fantastic collage of library music.
CDR reissue available through Mimaroglu Music Sales.
Published: 03.23.10
Category: All Posts, Cinema, Soundtracks, Vinyl
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