BELLOWS FALLS — Stone Church Arts is pleased to host a showing of two short silent films, with original music performed live, starting at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 8 at the Chapel at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St., in Bellows Falls.
Charlie Chaplin’s comedy “The Immigrant” (1917) will open the program, followed by “Assunta Spina,” a haunting 1915 silent film featuring Italian silent film star Francesca Bertini. Both films feature new music by award-winning composer John T. La Barbera, performed live by the composer on guitar, and August Watters on mandolin.
Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 for seniors. Information and tickets are available in person at Village Square Booksellers on the Square in Bellows Falls, by phone at (802) 460-0110, online at www.stonechurcharts.org and at the door.
Chaplin’s brilliant film “The Immigrant,” which contains elements of satire, irony, and romance as well as cinematic poetry, endures in the 21st century as a comic masterpiece. Its social satire and commentary seem as fresh and relevant today as 100 years ago.
Based on Salvatore Di Giacomo’s play, “Assunta Spina,” was filmed on location in Naples in 1914. It features the queen of Italian silent screen Francesca Bertini, who is credited with directing the film together with her co-star, Gustavo Serena. It is an operatic tale of love and sacrifice in working-class turn-of-the-century Naples and can be considered to be one of the first films of Italian Neorealism.
For the score, arranged for mandolin and guitar, LaBarbera creates an intimate atmosphere by keeping an accompaniment of emotions found in the melodic themes of the characters in a leitmotif style to highlight the melodramatic and picturesque style of the film. As the film captures glimpses of life on the streets of Naples, references to popular traditional music can be seen in the background shots. From dancing the polka accompanied by serenading musicians to pastoral shepherds playing bagpipes for Christmas, he presents a glimpse into this period by using the rhythms of tarantella, polka, tango, waltzes, and pastoral serenades, to enhance the realism surrounding the circumstances of Assunta’s tragic and passionate story.
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