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GERMAN FILM SCORES FROM THE SILENT ERA
Gottfried Huppertz. Metropolis, op. 29: Musik zum Fritz-LangStummfilm von 1925/26. Bearbeitung zum Film von Berndt Heller für Orchester. Erstausgabe mit einer Einleitung von Friedemann Beyer und Berndt Heller. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2006. [Introd. in Ger., p. iii-vii; score, p. 1-394. ISMN M-013-51150-1, pub. no. 51150. euro149.]
Wolfgang Zeller. Musik zum Lotte Reiniger-Stummfilm Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed für kleines Orchester bearbeitet von Jens Schubbe. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2008. [Score, p. 1-73 (1. Akt), 1-121 (2. Akt), 1-99 (3. Akt), 1-126 (4. Akt), 1-64 (5. Akt). ISMN M-013-51216-4 (score), M013-83024-4 (parts), pub. no. 51216. euro84.]
Edmund Meisel. Berlin, Die Sinfonie der Großstadt: Musik zum Ruttmann-Stummfilm. Bearbeitung für 16 Instrumente, auf der Basis des Klavierauszuges der Original-Musik Edmund Meiseis [von] Mark-Andreas Schlingensiepen. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2009. [List of percussion requirements, inside front cover; score, p. 1/1-1/97 (I. Akt), II/1-II/67 (II. Akt), III/1-III/108 (III. Akt), IV/l-IV/146 (IV. Akt), V/l-V/108 (V. Akt). ISMN M-013-51242-3, pub. no. 51242. euro149.]
Eduard Künneke. Musik zum Lubitsch-Stummfilm Das Weib des Pharao, op. 15, für Salonorchester. Bearbeitung zur Filmfassung 2011 von Frank Strobel. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2011. [Instrumentation, 1 p.; score, p. 1390. ISMN M-013-51286-7 (score), M-013-30339-2 (parts), pub. no. 51286. euro149.]
It is always a problem for teachers of music history to deal with music for which no published score exists. Although this problem arises less frequently when teaching the Western canon, when teaching film music, it is simply the normal state of things. Within the subfield of German silent-film music, a series of scores published by Ries & Erler represents a significant step toward addressing this problem. Under consideration here are Eduard Künneke's score for Ernst Lubitsch's Das Weib des Pharao (usually translated as The Loves of the Pharaoh, 1922); Wolfgang Zeller's score for Lotte Reiniger's Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed {The Adventures of Prince Achmed, 1926); Gottfried Huppertz's score for Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927); and Edmund Meisel's score for Walter Ruttman's Berlin: Die Symphonie der Großstadt (1927). These recent publications-all from 2006-2011-belong to a well-established and, it is hoped, ongoing project that includes numerous other films (twenty-one at present), which are listed, with some descriptive notes, at http://www.stummfilmmusik .com/filmmusik/ (accessed 15 May 2013).
All four films are historically important, and...