Theory and Practice in Erdmann/Becce/Brav’s Allgemeines Handbuch der Film-Musik (1927)

Abstract

The Allgemeines Handbuch der Film-Musik (1927) undeniably constitutes an epoch-making landmark in film scoring. Besides representing a chronologically specific stage in the evolution of musical theory as applied to silent film, it displays a number of groundbreaking features, which set it largely apart from the coeval musical production both under theoretical and practical respects. Starting from an analysis of the illustrative table contained in the Handbuch, the present article aims at reconstructing the development of the theoretical foundations on the basis of which its authors elaborated a complete methodology, which could be applied to the creation of stylistically elaborated accompanying music.