Contemporary music group Musiqa, in partnership with the Houston Cinema Arts Society, has commissioned composer Karim Al-Zand to create a new film score to a classic of the silent film era. Al-Zand, one of the founding artistic directors of Musiqa, will write a score to a silent film by German filmmaker Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981), a recently re-mastered print of her rare 1922 short animated film Aschenputtel (Cinderella). Al-Zand is known for wide-ranging lyrical works, from settings of classical Arabic poetry to scores for dance and pieces for young audiences. His works explore connections between music and other arts, and draw inspiration from diverse sources such as 19th century graphic art, fables of the world, folksong and jazz, making him an ideal partner in this project. Reiniger was a pioneer of animated film with her distinctive paper-cut silhouette style. Working within the broader context of the German Expressionism movement, her intricately cut silhouettes marked a milestone in the development of film animation. The Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) will oversee all details regarding the screening and presentation of the film. HCAS organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts.

This project will provide an exciting artistic opportunity for all participants. The unique style of Reiniger’s Cinderella is well suited to musical re-imaginings and retains a distinctly modern styling despite its age. The creation of a new score by a living composer attaches a vibrancy and freshness to an enchanting and often overlooked part of film history. Musiqa regularly collaborates with various Houston film organizations to present screenings of short films during Musiqa concerts. However, this collaboration is particularly notable as it marks the first time Musiqa will contribute the score to a film screening, resulting in a true collaborative project merging film and contemporary classical music.

More than a simple child’s fairy tale, Reiniger’s Cinderella is rooted in the original, and occasionally gruesome, tale by the Brothers Grimm. By addressing issues of oppression, longing and the constraints of social status, Cinderella evokes a range of emotions rooted in a much darker version of this fairy tale that will continue to resonate with modern audiences through this new presentation. Reiniger was known for the strong musical connections in her work. Her Dr. Dolittle had a score (now lost) by Paul Dessau, Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith. Cinderella features several on-screen musical allusions and references, and a colorful accompaniment promises to make vivid its cast of whimsical characters.

The commissioned musical work will be a 13-minute composition, scored for a large chamber ensemble of 10 players (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass) plus conductor. The piece will be performed live to the film screening, and the presentation will be preceded by an introduction to Reiniger and her distinctive silhouette technique, including excerpts from the short film The Art of Lotte Reiniger (1971).