London Month of the Dead - The Fall of the House of Usher

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (La Chute de la Maison Usher - 1928) An Evening of Silent Horror with Live Music Accompaniment Featuring Stephen Horne & Elizabeth-Jane Baldry on Friday the 27th October 2023 at 7:30 pm Join us on the eve of your Halloween weekend for a classic silent horror of the silver screen with live music accompaniment. A black and white French short film based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe short-story, describing the mysterious fate of Madeline, the wife of Roderick Usher, the last of an aristocratic family line. The film was directed by Jean Epstein, with the screenplay co-written by future Surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Critic Troy Howarth called it "one of the most renowned of experimental silent films" noting “the rapid cutting, fetishistic closeups and generally dreamy ambience bring the movie closer to the realm of filmic poetry than anything else”. It was a favourite movie of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The live musical accompaniment will be provided by the exceptionally talented Stephen Horne on piano and Elizabeth-Jane Baldry on harp. Together, they will sweep you into a realm of cinematic magic. Tickets £15 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to the King's Chaplaincy Trust. Please click here to purchase. Stephen Horne has long been internationally considered one of the leading silent film accompanists. A house pianist at London’s BFI Southbank for over thirty years, he has played at all the major UK venues and recorded music for scores of films. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly performs internationally and in recent years his accompaniments have met with acclaim at film festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. In 2011 and 2012, he was commissioned to compose ensemble scores for the London Film Festival Archive Galas of 'The First Born' and 'The Manxman'. And every year since 2014, he has won in one or more categories in the annual Silent London poll. Elizabeth-Jane Baldry is an award-winning harpist and composer who has created harp scores for many silent films in the UK, Europe, and America. Her compositions have been used by ITV, the BBC, and by Irish, Japanese, Danish and Canadian film, radio and television. In her spare time, she is creating a magical ten acre woodland in a hidden valley within the Dartmoor National Park, growing trees and keeping bees. “She can draw more tone colours out of the instrument than any other harpist living in the world today” - David Watkins, Professor of Harp, Guildhall School of Music.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
(La Chute de la Maison Usher - 1928)
An Evening of Silent Horror with Live Music Accompaniment
Featuring Stephen Horne & Elizabeth-Jane Baldry
on Friday the 27th October 2023 at 7:30 pm

Join us on the eve of your Halloween weekend for a classic silent horror of the silver screen with live music accompaniment.

A black and white French short film based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe short-story, describing the mysterious fate of Madeline, the wife of Roderick Usher, the last of an aristocratic family line. The film was directed by Jean Epstein, with the screenplay co-written by future Surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Critic Troy Howarth called it "one of the most renowned of experimental silent films" noting “the rapid cutting, fetishistic closeups and generally dreamy ambience bring the movie closer to the realm of filmic poetry than anything else”. It was a favourite movie of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.

The live musical accompaniment will be provided by the exceptionally talented Stephen Horne on piano and Elizabeth-Jane Baldry on harp. Together, they will sweep you into a realm of cinematic magic.

Tickets £15 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to the King's Chaplaincy Trust. Please click here to purchase.

Stephen Horne has long been internationally considered one of the leading silent film accompanists. A house pianist at London’s BFI Southbank for over thirty years, he has played at all the major UK venues and recorded music for scores of films. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly performs internationally and in recent years his accompaniments have met with acclaim at film festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. In 2011 and 2012, he was commissioned to compose ensemble scores for the London Film Festival Archive Galas of 'The First Born' and 'The Manxman'. And every year since 2014, he has won in one or more categories in the annual Silent London poll.

Elizabeth-Jane Baldry is an award-winning harpist and composer who has created harp scores for many silent films in the UK, Europe, and America. Her compositions have been used by ITV, the BBC, and by Irish, Japanese, Danish and Canadian film, radio and television. In her spare time, she is creating a magical ten acre woodland in a hidden valley within the Dartmoor National Park, growing trees and keeping bees.
“She can draw more tone colours out of the instrument than any other harpist living in the world today” - David Watkins, Professor of Harp, Guildhall School of Music.