Voicing the Cinema by James Buhler; Hannah Lewis

Author:James Buhler; Hannah Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780252051869
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2020-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Vocal Support: Constructing Composers’ Voices, on and off the Screen

Felix and Mickey’s fictional compositions had to be written by real-life musicians. One irony of the Four Daughters production is that the sole credited composer, Max Steiner, wrote neither. Felix’s piece—which is only heard in part during scenes of Felix and Mickey at the piano—was written by Heinz Roemheld, a prolific film composer who later assisted Steiner on Gone with the Wind (1939).13 Roemheld’s stylistic direction came from the script. One draft describes Dietz as “a composer of music of the Gershwin type. Possessor of a personality that makes it perfectly feasible that all four sisters should fall in love with him.”14 Roemheld provided a 44-measure piano piece aptly titled “Rhapsody.”15 A swooning legato line opens the work and is highly reminiscent of the so-called “love theme” from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, both of which feature a plunging downward leap of an octave. (See Examples 8.1 and 8.2.) Roemheld also incorporates blue notes, colorful harmonic substitutions, and swung rhythms in the accompaniment to make the work redolent of Gershwin’s jazz gestures in his symphonic works. Although Roemheld wrote a contrasting scherzolike section for Felix’s “Rhapsody,” it is not used in the film. The opening idea, however, plays throughout the film’s main titles. When the sequel films reused this theme in their main title sequences, the melody became the calling card of the Four Daughters series.

Mickey’s “middle” was composed by pianist Max Rabinowitsch.16 Hailed by critic Isabel Morse Jones as an “accompanying genius” who “adds distinction to the music life of Los Angeles,” Rabinowitsch had played in recitals with singer Fyodor Chaliapin, violinist Nathan Milstein, and actress Doris Kenyon.17 He also regularly performed in studio orchestras for films. For Four Daughters, Rabinowitsch helped train the actors to mimic performances on musical instruments and arranged music recordings for on-set playback during production.18 Rabinowitsch playfully dedicated Mickey’s “middle” to “Hula Boy Max Steiner,” who, in a rare departure from his workaholic regime, had indulged in a vacation to Hawaii.19 In his annotated copy of the script, Rabinowitsch evinces pride for his contribution to the film’s original music. At the moment in the script where Rabinowitsch planned to have Mickey play the piece that captures Ann’s interest, Rabinowitsch writes in the margin “He starts to play my composition.”20 Rabinowitsch’s opus is only 21 measures long and offers two varied repetitions of a six-measure idea. The spirit of Gershwin may be detected in this theme as well. There are again resemblances to the love theme from Rhapsody in Blue (including a shared key), although Rabinowitsch’s model is appropriately the “middle” of that theme.21 Not surprisingly, Rabinowitsch’s full piece sounds incomplete. (See Examples 8.3 and 8.4.)

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