Mont Alto lets music do the talking

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September 24, 2015 - 12:00 AM

Music does the “talking” in a silent film. A blaring trumpet is as effective as a scream; or a slow-playing violin can woo a lover. Whatever the message, it can be conveyed with music.
It’s a special art form, playing music to silent movies, and nobody does it better than the Mont Alto Orchestra, based in the Denver area. Since 1998, the orchestra has performed for the Buster Keaton Celebration, with a few absences over the years. Still, that’s a commendable track record for an orchestra that plays all over the world. And it speaks volumes to the reputation the Keaton Celebration has garnered over its 22 years.
This year, the orchestra will play for two showings, the Saturday afternoon production of “The Oyster Princess,” (estimated show time is 3:40), and for the evening’s main production, “Battling Butler,” which should show around 8 p.m. Both films will be shown in the main auditorium of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and are free to the public.
The orchestra consists of five members, led by Rodney Sauer, who plays the piano and compiles the musical scores. The “mini-orchestra,” as Sauer calls it, also includes a violin, clarinet, trumpet and cello.
The orchestra’s repertoire includes hundreds of scores of music adapted for the silent movies produced during primarily the 1920s.
In an exchange of emails with Sauer earlier this week, he said, “We collect music that was published in the 1920s for silent film accompaniment. We create the scores, but we don’t actually write the music. This is how orchestras made silent film scores back in the 1920s, since they didn’t really have time to write new music for each film.”
Of all the movies the orchestra has played for, including those starring Rudolph Valentino, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton is a favorite, Sauer said.
“His movies are so entertaining and audiences love them,” Sauer said. “‘Battling Butler’ is only shown rarely, but it has some great scenes and great comedy.”

MONT Alto performs for five to seven festivals a year, Sauer said. Several are in the Colorado area, including the popular Telluride Film Festival, as well as in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and elsewhere.
Each of the musicians has esteemed careers not only through their endeavors with Mont Alto but also as individual performers and teachers.
 

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