Smith's Onion (A Burlesque on a Burlesque)
May 27, 2020, 02:03 PM
Piece baed on Charlie Chaplin poster by Daniel Olson.
"By the time I became aware of the Smithsonian Treasures project, there were not many items available, but having previously worked with themes or elements from Chaplin, the poster for his 1915 film “A Burlesque on Carmen” seemed a good candidate. On the other hand, the image did not provide any obvious cues for a sound project. Moreover, it is a Chaplin film I had not seen, nor am I very knowledgeable about opera—so maybe not such an obvious choice after all!
"A little research revealed a some interesting and peculiar details, the first being that the poster shows Chaplin’s famous Tramp character, who does not appear in the film! Neither does the actor Ben Turpin, despite his name appearing on the poster. Chaplin’s film, his last of fourteen made with Essanay Studios, was originally released as a 31 minute “two-reeler”. Without Chaplin’s consent, the studio released a longer (four-reel) version, incorporating outtakes and new scenes, leading to a legal battle that lasted until 1922. Film historian Ted Okuda suggests that “A Burlesque on Carmen” is Chaplin’s best AND worst film with Essanay Studios (short version vs. long version).
"Chaplin’s film built on the popularity of Cecil B. De Mille’s 1915 film “Carmen”, inspired by but not actually based on the opera by George Bizet. Due to copyright restrictions on the opera’s libretto, DeMille’s asked his brother William to write a scenario based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée. The soundtrack, by Hugo Riesenfeld, was commissioned for the premiere and was based on the music from the opera, arranged for DeMille’s film. Chaplin’s film is a parody of DeMille’s, following the narrative structure and substantially recreating many design elements. Two DVD re-issues of Chaplin’s film use music adapted from Riesenfeld’s score, one by Robert Israel (1999) and a other by Timothy Brock (2013).
"To make “Smith’s Onion (A Burlesque on a Burlesque)” I began with the soundtrack, to the Chaplin film, which was subjected to a procedure I have used variously over the years. The audio file is broken into four parts of roughly equivalent length (determined by selecting obvious edit points). Each of these sound files is then slowed digitally to the required duration—twenty minutes being the project’s requirements, the sounds are playing at 26%, 31%, 44%, and 55% of original speed—then asembled together as a multi-channel file. The dissonance due to the arbitrary speeds adds an additional strangeness to the melancholy air which results from the slow playback speeds. For additional texture, field recordings from Seville, the setting of Carmen, were added. A collage of sounds of church bells, birds, fountains, a religious procession, organ music, and a cathedral tour, were also were slowed (64% original speed) to fit the twenty minute duration."
Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items from the Smithsonian Museums’ collections - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/smithsonian
"By the time I became aware of the Smithsonian Treasures project, there were not many items available, but having previously worked with themes or elements from Chaplin, the poster for his 1915 film “A Burlesque on Carmen” seemed a good candidate. On the other hand, the image did not provide any obvious cues for a sound project. Moreover, it is a Chaplin film I had not seen, nor am I very knowledgeable about opera—so maybe not such an obvious choice after all!
"A little research revealed a some interesting and peculiar details, the first being that the poster shows Chaplin’s famous Tramp character, who does not appear in the film! Neither does the actor Ben Turpin, despite his name appearing on the poster. Chaplin’s film, his last of fourteen made with Essanay Studios, was originally released as a 31 minute “two-reeler”. Without Chaplin’s consent, the studio released a longer (four-reel) version, incorporating outtakes and new scenes, leading to a legal battle that lasted until 1922. Film historian Ted Okuda suggests that “A Burlesque on Carmen” is Chaplin’s best AND worst film with Essanay Studios (short version vs. long version).
"Chaplin’s film built on the popularity of Cecil B. De Mille’s 1915 film “Carmen”, inspired by but not actually based on the opera by George Bizet. Due to copyright restrictions on the opera’s libretto, DeMille’s asked his brother William to write a scenario based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée. The soundtrack, by Hugo Riesenfeld, was commissioned for the premiere and was based on the music from the opera, arranged for DeMille’s film. Chaplin’s film is a parody of DeMille’s, following the narrative structure and substantially recreating many design elements. Two DVD re-issues of Chaplin’s film use music adapted from Riesenfeld’s score, one by Robert Israel (1999) and a other by Timothy Brock (2013).
"To make “Smith’s Onion (A Burlesque on a Burlesque)” I began with the soundtrack, to the Chaplin film, which was subjected to a procedure I have used variously over the years. The audio file is broken into four parts of roughly equivalent length (determined by selecting obvious edit points). Each of these sound files is then slowed digitally to the required duration—twenty minutes being the project’s requirements, the sounds are playing at 26%, 31%, 44%, and 55% of original speed—then asembled together as a multi-channel file. The dissonance due to the arbitrary speeds adds an additional strangeness to the melancholy air which results from the slow playback speeds. For additional texture, field recordings from Seville, the setting of Carmen, were added. A collage of sounds of church bells, birds, fountains, a religious procession, organ music, and a cathedral tour, were also were slowed (64% original speed) to fit the twenty minute duration."
Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items from the Smithsonian Museums’ collections - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/smithsonian