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Open champion to bring silent Echoes to life

Brighouse & Rastrick will lead the musical accompaniment to the world premiere of an evocative film by composer Neil Brand at the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.

Yorkshire film
  The film brings together archive footage from over a century ago to the screen

The newly crowned British Open Champion Brighouse & Rastrick will be part of an exciting world premiere at the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival in Morecambe next month.

'Echoes of the North; Four Chapters in Time' is a silent film with an original brass band score written by acclaimed composer and musician Neil Brand.

Evocative

He has breathed musical life to accompany evocative film images, with the soundtrack performed by the band under orchestral conductor Ben Palmer.

'Echoes of the North' is made up of more than a hundred fragments of archive film to take audiences back to the early 20th century and its industries and rural life, wartimes and festivals, holidays, family excursions and huge, city-wide occasions.

Art forms

Speaking about the project, Neil Brand told 4BR: "If ever a marriage of two art forms was long overdue, it is this coming together of silent film and brass band music.

The wonderful, resonant images of people going about their lives, work, play and conflict in the first 30 years of the last century spring to life with the timeless beauty of the brass band sound, music that evolves and matches every contrasting mood for us today, just as it could have done when these scenes were shot."

Thrilled

He added: "I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to create scores for these images, and to work with one of the greatest bands in the world. This will be a very special event, the first of its kind!"

Trailer

A trailer for the film can be enjoyed at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS9G7q6nS7M

The Yorkshire Silent Film Festival is supported with National Lottery funding from Arts Council England, and Film Hub North on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.

If ever a marriage of two art forms was long overdue, it is this coming together of silent film and brass band musicComposer, Neil Brand

Further details

'Echoes of the North' is commissioned by No Dots with support from PRS Foundation's Open Fund for Organisations, and Arts Council England.

The premiere is supported by BFI Film Audience Network with National Lottery funding as part of the CURIOUS engagement fund. It is presented in Morecambe in association with More Music.

Echoes of the North; Four Chapters in Time
Sunday, 6th November (5.00pm)
Morecambe Winter Gardens

Tickets are on sale now at: www.ysff.co.uk

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David Hirst

MA, B.Ed (Hons), LTCL
Conductor, adjudicator and arranger


               

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