(Call) Aniki | Volume 5 Number 1 (January 2018)

This thematic section of Aniki: Portuguese Journal of the Moving Image will welcome any contributions that address the wide range of music and sound practices in silent cinema, from a variety of perspectives and in different geographical contexts. Aniki will consider proposals on the following topics, among others:

• Music and sound practices in the silent film era;
• The importance of musical and sound accompaniment in the rediscovery and reinterpretation of silent cinema;
• The deployment of contemporary aesthetic forms (avant-garde, experimental, minimalist, jazz, techno, pop music, etc.) in the accompaniment of silent cinema;
• Performance contexts, apparatuses and forms in the musical accompaniment of silent films;
• Composers, conductors, orchestras and instrumental ensembles specializing in the accompaniment of silent cinema;
• Silent cinema and practices of music improvisation;
• The cataloguing, editing and reconstruction of original music scores and cue-sheets;
• Practices of selection and compilation of pre-existing musical accompaniment of silent films;
• The creation of libraries, manuals and anthologies devoted to the accompaniment of silent film;
• Sound effects and sound design in silent cinema;
• Silent cinema and mechanical sound reproduction technology (gramophones, mechanical pianos);
• Spoken word in silent cinema (conferences, film narration by actors);
• Silent cinema and songs;
• Silent cinema and dance music;
• Silent cinema and opera;
• Relations between music and narrative in silent cinema;
• Critical reception of the musical accompaniment of silent films;
• Music and sound in the specialist film press;
• The use of musical concepts and terminology in discourses on silent cinema (rhythm, harmony, symphony, counterpoint);
• The representation of listening or performing situations in silent films;
• Singers and musicians as silent film actors;
• The organization of the work of musicians in cinema theatres prior to the transition to sound;
• The use of musical sources in the restoration process of silent films.

To access the full call, with all the relevant information, download this document (PDF) or check the journal's website.