The showing on October 28 where I accompanied the 1923 Hunchback of Notre Dame drew the biggest crowd I’ve had yet for a silent film, and I got lots of compliments afterward. With every movie, I try to improve my technique. The innovations for this show worked, as far as the audience and I were concerned.

There are many approaches to accompanying a movie. Some accompanists try to capture the sheer excitement, fear, and passion in each scene. My style is more introspective. I try to underscore what the characters are thinking and feeling. I go for excitement where it’s called for. In this movie, the siege of the cathedral, with Quasimodo conducting a one-man defense against a vast mob, called for thrilling music. But there are many scenes about what Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Phoebus, and other characters are experiencing. They call for more subtle music: contemplative passages, dynamic contrasts, and sudden accents and dissonances.

Loud music isn’t always the most powerful. When working on this movie, I kept in mind what you might call “the power of pianissimo.” Make the audience lean forward, breathe as quietly as they can, and wonder what’s about to happen. Then shift into something else, maybe a gradual crescendo, a broad melody, or a musical jump-scare to match one on the screen.

My next film at the Plaistow Library will be sometime in winter. I haven’t decided on a film yet. Maybe something with Douglas Fairbanks.

Here’s the movie, with a live recording from the library combined with an MP4 of the film.