Hauschka / Vampyr

Cinemix
Live music: Hauschka (Germany)
Film: Vampyr, Carl T. Dreyer (Germany, 1931)

Hauschka is the alias of German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann. His work is based on the exploration of the “prepared piano”, a concept idea by John Cage who tried to remove the preconception that the piano is just an instrument waiting for the intervention of the virtuoso performer.

Bertelmann plays with the instrument, introducing objects into the mechanism producing unusual, vivid and lively compositions.

Vampyr, la bruja vampiro

Original title: Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Grey / Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer / Country: Germany / Year: 1931 / Duraction: 68 min

Synopsis: A young traveller takes refuge in a strange castle, he begins to see odd visions and discovers a woman unconscious from an attack by a vampire disguised as a witch.

Vampyr is the first film with sound by Carl Theodor Dreyer; a film that’s style has influenced a great many horror movies since its release. The great maestro Dreyer moves through France and Germany with a unique film that falls somewhere between talkies and silent cinema.

A classic movie that recreates a dream world, full of ghosts and shadows, that hold you more by the strength of the images than by its terrifying story. German expressionism at its best.