Film Music—What's in a Name?

THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC Volume 1, Number 1, Pages 1-18 ISSN 1087-7142 Copyright © 2002 The International Film Music Society, Inc. EDITORIAL Film Music—What’s in a Name? WILLIAM H. ROSAR Picture music—a new art form—is coming into its own. George Antheil, Modern Music (1937) Prolegomena to the encouraged within the academic not realize that. No doubt this is Study of Film Music: community, the study of film to a greater or lesser extent true of Terminology music has become a burgeoning most interdisciplinary fields, espe- multidisciplinary if not trans- cially in their early stages.2 disciplinary endeavor. The reader, if not the writer, is Twenty years ago musicologist Today writers utilize not only thus faced with the prospect of Martin Marks identified the prin- the concepts and technical vocabu- learning something of those con- cipal disciplinary challenge to the laries of music and film making, cepts and vocabularies in order to scholarly study of film music when but variously terms and concepts understand the diverse perspec- he wrote: “Because film communi- from musicology, film theory, tives on film music today, as there cates (at least potentially) through media and communication studies, is no lingua franca. Though there a conjunction of visual and audi- cultural studies, comparative are now explicit references to “film tory signals, research into film literature, literary criticism, criti- music studies,” the study of music music requires an understanding cal theory, philosophy, semiotics, in films remains less a coherent of not one but two non-verbal psychology, cognitive science, soci- field than a rapidly growing com- systems of communication, as well ology, feminist theory, gender munity of writers in various as the problematical jargons with studies, and marketing research— disciplines, with almost as many which we attempt to describe each and that is probably not an interests as there are writers. The of them in speech. In this age of exhaustive list of all the disci- disciplinary plurality and diversity specialized studies, few scholars plines and areas represented. With of interests poses a challenge to have been able to master more the resulting profusion of techni- finding common ground, let alone than half of the subject.”1 Now cal language there is the potential a common domain of discourse. twenty years later, in a time when for a veritable Babel. Like different Exemplifying this state of the value of cross-disciplinary and languages, two disciplines may, for affairs is the fact that the term film interdisciplinary studies has been instance, have different terms for music itself has come to have two recognized and, to some extent the same thing, and writers may definitions that are incommensur- able.3 If writers cannot agree on the meaning of film music as a term we obviously face a fundamental problem in defining the field to 1Martin Marks, “Film Music: The Material, incommensurability, see Dudley Shapere, s.v. Literature and Present State of Research,” Journal “Incommensurability,” Routledge Encyclopedia of which the term applies. Therefore of the University Film and Video Association 34 Philosophy (1998). Originating in the philoso- one of the goals of The Journal of (1982): 4. phy of science, incommensurability has also 2Cf. Claire McInerney, “An Interdisciplinary been seen as relevant to problems in aesthet- Film Music will be to foster a ser- Perspective of Classificatory Structures,” www. ics. See Oscar Kenshur, “The Rhetoric of viceable parlance for the study of scils.rutgers.edu/~clairemc/classify.html. Incommensurability,” The Journal of Aesthetics 3For a discussion of the philosophical notion of and Art Criticism 42 (1984): 375-81. film music. 2 THE JOURNAL OF FILM MUSIC Film Music and its and use in the English language, Britain in 1936, it was the stan- Synonyms as well as its relationship to sev- dard text on the subject in English eral synonyms and associated for many years. London, a German As a first step towards this terms. Not surprisingly the history expatriate, wrote the book in goal then, let us examine film music of film music as a term reflects German while living in France, but as a term, taking a lesson from virtually the whole history of film it was translated for publication.10 linguistic philosophy as to the itself. Consulting Steven Wescott’s Prior to that articles he had value of defining terms so as to Comprehensive Bibliography of Music published in German used the avoid the pitfall philosophers call for Film and Television (published in unhyphenated form Filmmusik.11 verbal disputes (also known as 1985) it is interesting to find that In 1941 the first magazine semantic or definitional disputes), in while film music was already in the devoted to film music commenced this instance, confusion and argu- English language by 1940 it does publication in America under the ments arising out using different not appear in the titles of American title Film Music Notes.12 No doubt meanings of the same word. As publications much before that.6 providing as it did a unique and the philosopher Garth Kemerling It seems likely that film music enduring forum in which to pub- notes, “Needless controversy is is an English cognate modeled on lish serious writing on the subject, sometimes produced and perpet- the German Film-Musik or it served at the same time to re- uated by an unacknowledged Filmmusik.7 Though the German inforce the use of the term film ambiguity in the application of key term was in use before 1920, the music by scholarly writers rather terms.” 4 A verbal dispute can be corresponding term in American than its synonyms. prevented or eliminated by agree- usage from the same period was ing on the definition of a term. moving picture or motion picture mu- One way of reaching agreement is sic, or, more commonly just picture Film Music as a Musical to start with a lexical definition that music, with movie music, cinema mu- Style or Technique simply reports how a term is al- sic and screen music being later ready used and accepted, rather synonyms.8 Film music as such may The music or musical practice than how it could or should be have entered the English language that was known during the silent used. (Such definitions are thus by way of Britain, initially in hy- era (roughly 1895-1928) as film also often called customary or phenated form as film-music.9 The music was the live music per- reportive definitions.)5 title of Kurt London’s influential formed to accompany theatrical Though lexicological research monograph Film Music: A Summary silent films. Though there was has apparently not been done on of the Characteristic features of its much interest in having original the combination of the words film History, Aesthetics, Technique; and music specially composed for si- and music resulting in the attribu- Possible Developments may have lent films, due to time constraints tive noun film music, it is nonethe- been partly responsible for the relatively little music was actually 13 less possible to discern from the unhyphenated film music coming written for individual films. In- literature something of its origins into English usage. Published in stead, silent films were mainly 4Garth Kemerling, “Definition and Meaning,” synonymously: motion picture music, screen ed., Behind the Screen (London, Barker, 1938), Philosophy Pages. <www.philosophypages.com> music, and movie music, but not film music. 138-4. 5Peter A. Angeles, Dictionary of Philosophy (New “Action on the Frontiers of American Composi- 10Kurt London, Film Music: A Summary of the York: Harper & Row, 1981), 57-8. tion,” Music Publishers Journal 2, no. 1 (1944): 7, Characteristic features of its History, Aesthetics, 6Steven D. Wescott, A Comprehensive Bibliography 47. Technique; and Possible Developments, trans. Eric S. of Music for Film and Television. (Detroit: Informa- 9British composer Walter Leigh used “film- Bensinger (London: Faber & Faber, 1936). tion Coordinators, 1985). music” as a term in an article he wrote, “The Biographical information about London is given 7Other terms were also used in German, e.g., Musician and the Film,” Cinema Quarterly 3, no. 2 on the dust jacket. Kinomusik, the English cognate of which is cinema (1934): 70-4. Though the title of an article by his 11For example, see Kurt London, “Gedanken zum music. British colleague Arthur Benjamin is “Film Problem der Filmmusik,” Allgemeine Musikzeitung 8Cf. Oscar Levant, “Movie Music,” Town and Music,” The Musical Times 78 (1937): 595-7, 51 (1924): 60-2. For references to other German Country, December 1939, 90-1, 130-3. Levant, Benjamin uses “film-music” in the text. Holly- articles by London, see Wescott, ibid., 43, 183, who composed music in Hollywood during the wood film composer Herbert Stothart 259, and 315. 1930s, uses the terms “picture music” and contributed a chapter entitled “Film Music” to 12By 1958 when the magazine ceased publication “movie music,” but not film music. In a short an anthology published in England. However after 17 years it was called Film and TV Music. essay film composer Franz Waxman used in the Stothart does not use the term film music in the 13For an early plea for original music in silent space of three paragraphs three of these terms text, but instead, picture music. Stephen Watts, films, see Mne. Pilar-Morin, “Silent Drama EDITORIAL 3 accompanied by existing music characteristics possessed by a compilation. There arose a borrowed from other musical thing, one is unique and hierarchi- new style, which absorbed all genres along with a large repertory cally superior in that it states (a) the earlier individuality of of music specially composed for the most important characteristic the single pieces in favour of use in silent films, so-called of the thing, and/or (b) that char- a new collective character.

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