Meeting with Jean-François Zygel Before the Closing Film Concert of Sound of Silent Festival in Chartres

Each festival has its closing ceremony. This Sunday evening, the silent film festival, Sound of silent, ended with a film concert by Jean-François Zygel at the Chartres cinema.
The pianist set an unknown film to music, The Woman and the Puppetmade in 1929 by Jacques de Baroncelli.

premium “Fortunately there are crazy people like you and me to continue the fight”: meeting with the honorary president of Sound of silent, in Chartres

But before this final bouquet, a little earlier in the afternoon, the famous pianist detailed, in front of fifty people gathered in the large room of the Children of Paradise, his delicate approach to the music of silent films.

“The silent is an art of the future”

From the outset, the composer reveals his visceral attachment to this art in its own right, which he defends with passion. “The silent is an art of the future”, he asserts. Before multiplying the examples. “It keeps evolving. Even now, he is not frozen. Each performance of a silent film is a new experience, since each time a different accompanying music is offered. Nothing goes out of fashion faster than fashion, and the mute is still there”.

Sound of silent silent film festival: soul atmosphere at the Chartres cinema, this Thursday evening

With great erudition, the instrumentalist expressed his fascination for these pioneering years of the Seventh Art, “which are in no way primitive. It was all there from the start.

“Appointment is made” for next year

With his piano as an accomplice, Jean-François Zygel weaves a coherent story and brings a distant era to life, trying to grasp all of its complexities. He takes the opportunity to affirm a few facts, sometimes neglected by the passage of time. “The mute has always been accompanied by music. At the very beginning, the musicians improvise, without taking into account what is happening on the screen”.

We were at the opening film-concert of the Sound of silent festival in Chartres: the story of an amazing evening

But things are changing very quickly. Little by little, the techniques change and the music ends up matching the images. But how far? This is one of the many themes tackled by the creator of the very popular The music lesson.

premium Kyle Eastwood, patron of the Chartres silent film festival: “It’s an honor to come for this first edition”

“There are several schools. Some think melodies should emphasize emotion. So when a scene is sad, so is the music. Others think on the contrary that it should not be added.
So, what attitude to adopt? To this, Jean-François Zygel replies… that there is no answer. “Actually, it really depends on the work. Some adaptations can be retrofitted. For others, it doesn’t work. In art, there are no rules…

Remi Bonnet