Max Wants a Divorce: Restoring the Music of Silent Movies
Musical Themes in "Max Wants a Divorce"
Scene from Max Wants a Divorce.
Chicago History Museum, iCHI 31035.
After selecting Max Wants a Divorce as their film, Don Meyer and Sydnie Bivens researched historical movie music at the Balaban and Katz Archive at Chicago's Harold Washington Library. They found a wealth of short tunes, called "photoplay music," to represent the many moods found in a movie. This music came in collections featuring short segments for different types of scenes: romantic, spooky, fast-paced, suspicious, etc.
Meyer and Bivens combed through the twenty-odd minutes of Max Wants a Divorce, selecting fifteen musical themes to use with the film. Meyer then arranged the short segments into a score, adding appropriate transitions between scenes as necessary. He also orchestrated the music for a small chamber orchestra consisting of strings, piano, percussion, and woodwinds and brass as available.
Each of the clips below highlights a different theme found in the film. Thumbnails below the video clips take you to the cover of the sheet music and/or the sheet music itself.
1. "Original Hesitation Waltz," by McNair Ilgenfritz
Scene featuring "Original Hesitation Waltz" by McNair Ilgenfritz (Sheet Music, 1914). [View in Omeka]
2. "Comedy Scene," featuring music from the Sam Fox Moving Picture Music, Vol. 3
Scene featuring "Comedy Scene" by J. S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 3, 1914). [View in Omeka]
3. "Hurry (for Struggles)," by J. S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Hurry (for Struggles) by J.S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 1, 1913). [View in Omeka]
4. "Dramatic Andante (Pathetic or Romantic)," by Ernst Luz
Scene featuring "Dramatic Andante (Pathetic or Romantic)" by Ernst Luz (A.B.C. Dramatic Set No. 15, Photoplay Music Co., 1916). [View in Omeka]
5. "Intermezzo—Trot," by Ernst Luz
Scene featuring "Intermezzo--Trot" by Ernst Luz (A.B.C. Dramatic Set No. 15, Photoplay Music Co., 1916). [View in Omeka]
6. La Seduccion (Enchantment)
Scene featuring "La Seduccion (Enchantment)" by Henri Clique (Frank Root & Co., 1916). [View in Omeka]
7. Moving Picture Medley: "Lively," by J.S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Moving Picture Medley: Lively" (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 3, 1914). [View in Omeka]
8. "Oriental Music," by J.S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Oriental Music" by J.S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 1, 1913). [View in Omeka]
9. "Mexican or Spanish Music," by J.S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Mexican or Spanish Music," by J.S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 1, 1913). [View in Omeka]
10. "Detective Scene (In Search of a Clue)," by J.S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Detective Scene (In Search of a Clue)," by J.S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 3, 1914). [View in Omeka]
11. "Reception Music," by J.S. Zamecnik
Scene featuring "Reception Music," by J.S. Zamecnik (Sam Fox Moving Picture Music Vol. 3, 1914). [View in Omeka]
12. "Waltz of the Flowers," from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
Scene featuring "Waltz of the Flowers," from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (1892). [View in Omeka]
13. From "Funeral March of a Marionette," by Charles Gounod
Scene featuring music from "Funeral March of a Marionette," by Charles Gounod (1872). [View in Omeka]
14. “Sweet Mystery of Life” from Naughty Marietta by Victor Herbert
Scene featuring "Sweet Mystery of Life" from the operetta Naughty Marietta, composed by Victor Herbert (Witmark, 1911). [View in Omeka]
15. "Maple Leaf Rag," by Scott Joplin
Scene featuring "Maple Leaf Rag," by Scott Joplin (1899). [View in Omeka]