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As a culminating project for this year’s One Region, One Book initiative, senior Samantha Schwind composed a film score to accompany the 1902 silent film, A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune). The film, directed by French film pioneer Georges Melies, plays an important role in our selected book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Below is taken from an email interview with the composer, Schwind.

“For my senior project, I put together some music to accompany the silent film A Trip to the Moon for a “One Region, One Book” event. I took on this project because it allowed me to blend my passions for film and literature with my passion for jazz music.

A Trip to the Moon depicts the tale of a group of astronomers who plan a trip to the moon, encounter a pack of aliens on their journey, and then make a triumphant return home. After viewing the twelve-minute-long film online and taking notes, I divided it into three sections and spent some time deciding on appropriate songs to fit these scenes as a sort of mash-up soundtrack. My jazz group has a repertoire of a couple dozen songs, so I had some flexibility in choosing which tunes to include.

For the scene where the astronomers dream and scheme about their trip, I chose ‘Four’ by Miles Davis because of its fun, anticipatory feel. For the scene where the adventurers are exploring the moon, I chose a zany, fast-paced funk song called ‘Some Skunk Funk’ by Randy Brecker. For the scene featuring the celebratory parade upon their safe return home, I selected the cheerful ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)’ by Duke Ellington.

I presented the idea for this soundtrack project to my jazz group, and they agreed to help me. I explained the mash-up of songs and provided copies of the sheet music. We rehearsed in class a few times and then performed the piece alongside the no-longer-silent film at the book event on February 9th. To make sure that the songs were the appropriate length for each section of the film, we calculated who would solo and when, and exactly how long each solo would go on for. We snuck occasional glances at the screen to ensure that our music was still matching up with the story.

I was incredibly pleased with the outcome. The addition of music to the movie added a whole new dimension to the story. It emphasized the anticipation and the celebration of the tale, and the audience really reacted to it. It is a credit to Woodland’s superb music program that I had the freedom, the skills, and the tools to pull off such a project. This performance opportunity let me spread the joy of music a little bit further into the world, and that’s why I became a musician in the first place.”

Apparently, the music world took notice of Schwind’s musical masterwork. The French music duo, Air, released its own electronic soundtrack to the film earlier this year. Here is a sampling.