RNCM Hosts Silent Horror Classic with
New Score by Charlie Barber
Liz Rowley
PR and Media Relations Officer
Royal Northern College of Music
124 Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9RD
Perfectly timed for Halloween, the RNCM is set to host a special screening of Jean Epstein’s
classic silent film The Fall of the House of Usher on Thursday 30 October accompanied by
a live performance of a new score by Charlie Barber.
Released in France in 1928, The Fall of the House of Usher is a silent horror masterpiece
that combines elements of several Edgar Allan Poe stories. It is recognised as Epstein’s best
known work and is defined by stirring imagery and haunting interiors.
T: 0161 907 5369
E: liz.rowley@rncm.ac.uk
W: www.rncm.ac.uk
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Charlie Barber's new score has been composed especially for an ensemble for 16
musicians, taking as its starting point Claude Debussy's uncompleted opera La Chute de la
Maison Usher, and adds further depth to the atmosphere of this cinematic tour de force.
Talking in 2012, ahead of the work’s première by the National Youth Orchestra of Great
Britain, Barber said: ‘The opera was never completed and I came across little musical
examples of it in a book, so fragments of his music form the basis for new musical material
in my new score. It’s completely unlike anything Debussy would have written as I just use a
handful of his notes but I thought it would be a nice way of writing. Hopefully he’s not
spinning in his grave – I hope he would have enjoyed it.’
The Fall of the House of Usher can be seen at the RNCM Theatre on Thursday 30
October at 8pm. Tickets cost £12 and concessions are available. To book call 0161
907 5555 or visit www.rncm.ac.uk/whatson
ENDS
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