R E V I E W S, N E W S
Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid”
Accompanied by the Musical Talents of Jay Warren
Written By: Dominika Wlodarczyk
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017, Aurora University screened Charlie Chaplin’s, The Kid. This classic silent film follows an orphan boy and the man who adopts him, and takes him in as his sidekick. The film takes you through a series of several emotions. From happiness and comedy, to sadness and love, the film was truly spectacular. Chaplin plays the main character, a tramp, and does an outstanding job expressing the emotions without any sound. Chaplin’s Character finds an abandoned baby while taking a walk, and after several attempts of leaving the child behind, he ends up keeping him and raising the boy himself.
Although the film was titled as “silent,” the audience was given the opportunity to experience live music the entire time. Throughout the whole film, Jay Warren gave an amazing live performance playing the organ. His performance really brought the film to life. Warren has been playing the organ for about 40 years and has played in theaters all over the state. In his early career, Warren managed a theatre in Chicago for 20 years. The pieces that Warren played throughout the film were a compiled score of his music and Chaplin’s music. Warren believes that this (historically-correct silent film music) gives the audience a real feel of the 1920s, and he was right. It is extremely impressive when someone can look at what is on the screen and play the perfect music to go along.
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PIPORG - L
October 31, 2008
I just attended a virtuoso performance by Jay Warren at Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. Jay provided the accompaniment for the 1923 silent film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He did an absolutely spectacular job. His performance reminded me of the legendary Gaylord Carter...Gaylord said that an accompanist does his job well when you forget how hard they are working. Jay's performance was truly seamless with the action of the film. He received a well deserved standing ovation by the enthusiastic audience comprised of many students experiencing the art of silent film accompaniment for the very first time. Bravo Jay! Rockefeller Chapel is the home of the 4/108 Skinner currently being restored as part of a $2,000,000 organ renovation program.
A*** *******k - Chicago
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October 31, 2008
I just attended a virtuoso performance by Jay Warren at Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. Jay provided the accompaniment for the 1923 silent film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He did an absolutely spectacular job. His performance reminded me of the legendary Gaylord Carter...Gaylord said that an accompanist does his job well when you forget how hard they are working. Jay's performance was truly seamless with the action of the film. He received a well deserved standing ovation by the enthusiastic audience comprised of many students experiencing the art of silent film accompaniment for the very first time. Bravo Jay! Rockefeller Chapel is the home of the 4/108 Skinner currently being restored as part of a $2,000,000 organ renovation program.
A*** *******k - Chicago
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"The Adventures of Prince Achmed" (1926)
NEW CITY
May 18, 2010
The Sound of Silents: The dying art of live film accompaniment
Chicago Artists, News and Dish Add comments
Portage Theater
Last Thursday, Rosa Rio died in Florida at the age of 107, one of the last living theater organists from the silent film era. The theater organist provides the live score to silent films, giving characters depth, giving action life and giving a voice to the filmmakers who first brought us to the cinema. “The best compliment a theater organist can get is for someone to say I didn’t even notice it playing,” says Jay Warren, photoplay organist at the Portage Theater. When the accompaniment is one with the film, Warren says, he’s done his job like Rosa Rio and Gaylord Carter before him.
The organ at the Portage Theater is red and crescent-shaped, encased in a white wall three feet high with an opening for its player to the right. The 1927 Kimball Pipe Organ recently rescued by the Silent Film Society of Chicago from five years of silent storage is completely functional but still in the process of renovation. Theater organs were originally a economic imperative for 1920s silent film cinemas. “Instead of paying a twenty-five member orchestra,” Warren says, “you pay one organist to be the entire accompaniment.” Ironically, the restoration process for the Silent Film Society now is an expensive engineering feat of mixing digital samplings with the original organ pipes and rewiring the 80-year-old instrument. A self-proclaimed purist, Warren says he was skeptical of the idea of digital sound at first. “They had to prove to me digital would sound right. They did. I can’t even tell the difference.”
Warren is engulfed by the rows of keys and switches on his seat at the organ. When he provides the accompaniment for a film, he composes themes for the characters, the moods and the action on screen. His organ music will fit the era of the film, giving his Portage Theater audiences the original silent film experience. His Sunday matinee accompaniment to “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” leads a journey into an Arabian night through 1920s Germany. The silent film by German animator Lotte Reiniger is a feature-length silhouette animation, the first of its kind. Reiniger spent three years cutting and placing her character silhouettes for the 70,000 frames of the film.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The performance is the first time Warren will play along with the film—no rehearsals, no mock performances. He has watched it only twice and will rely on his memorized stock of musical themes to help the audience get lost in the shadows on screen. Warren himself watches the screen along with the rest of the audience while playing its song. He occasionally glances down at keys but never loses sight of Prince Achmed. When the Prince is soaring in the sky on a magic horse from the African sorcerer, Warren’s melody is light and tranquil. Then Prince Achmed fights the Chinese emperor, serpents, demons and the evil sorcerer, to an agonizing collection of sound, and he gets the girl—Princess Pari Banou—to the delight of the rapturous organ.
When the adventure ends and the patrons applaud, Warren ascends on his organ seat to the height of the screen. The organ and organist cast a shadow on the screen from the 35MM projector and the musician’s silhouette is now silent on the big screen. He takes a bow, and the organ’s hydraulics take him back down. (Andrew Rhoades)
- See more at: http://newcityfilm.com/2010/05/18/the-sound-of-silents-the-dying-art-of-live-film-accompaniment/#more-4613
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May 18, 2010
The Sound of Silents: The dying art of live film accompaniment
Chicago Artists, News and Dish Add comments
Portage Theater
Last Thursday, Rosa Rio died in Florida at the age of 107, one of the last living theater organists from the silent film era. The theater organist provides the live score to silent films, giving characters depth, giving action life and giving a voice to the filmmakers who first brought us to the cinema. “The best compliment a theater organist can get is for someone to say I didn’t even notice it playing,” says Jay Warren, photoplay organist at the Portage Theater. When the accompaniment is one with the film, Warren says, he’s done his job like Rosa Rio and Gaylord Carter before him.
The organ at the Portage Theater is red and crescent-shaped, encased in a white wall three feet high with an opening for its player to the right. The 1927 Kimball Pipe Organ recently rescued by the Silent Film Society of Chicago from five years of silent storage is completely functional but still in the process of renovation. Theater organs were originally a economic imperative for 1920s silent film cinemas. “Instead of paying a twenty-five member orchestra,” Warren says, “you pay one organist to be the entire accompaniment.” Ironically, the restoration process for the Silent Film Society now is an expensive engineering feat of mixing digital samplings with the original organ pipes and rewiring the 80-year-old instrument. A self-proclaimed purist, Warren says he was skeptical of the idea of digital sound at first. “They had to prove to me digital would sound right. They did. I can’t even tell the difference.”
Warren is engulfed by the rows of keys and switches on his seat at the organ. When he provides the accompaniment for a film, he composes themes for the characters, the moods and the action on screen. His organ music will fit the era of the film, giving his Portage Theater audiences the original silent film experience. His Sunday matinee accompaniment to “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” leads a journey into an Arabian night through 1920s Germany. The silent film by German animator Lotte Reiniger is a feature-length silhouette animation, the first of its kind. Reiniger spent three years cutting and placing her character silhouettes for the 70,000 frames of the film.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The performance is the first time Warren will play along with the film—no rehearsals, no mock performances. He has watched it only twice and will rely on his memorized stock of musical themes to help the audience get lost in the shadows on screen. Warren himself watches the screen along with the rest of the audience while playing its song. He occasionally glances down at keys but never loses sight of Prince Achmed. When the Prince is soaring in the sky on a magic horse from the African sorcerer, Warren’s melody is light and tranquil. Then Prince Achmed fights the Chinese emperor, serpents, demons and the evil sorcerer, to an agonizing collection of sound, and he gets the girl—Princess Pari Banou—to the delight of the rapturous organ.
When the adventure ends and the patrons applaud, Warren ascends on his organ seat to the height of the screen. The organ and organist cast a shadow on the screen from the 35MM projector and the musician’s silhouette is now silent on the big screen. He takes a bow, and the organ’s hydraulics take him back down. (Andrew Rhoades)
- See more at: http://newcityfilm.com/2010/05/18/the-sound-of-silents-the-dying-art-of-live-film-accompaniment/#more-4613
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CHICAGOIST
Portage + Caligari + Organ + Theremin = One Good Tuesday Night
In his "Great Movies" essay on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Roger Ebert writes of the sets used by Director Robert Wiene:
"The stylized sets, obviously two-dimensional, must have been a lot less expensive than realistic sets and locations, but I doubt that's why (Wiene) wanted them. He is making a film of delusions and deceptive appearances, about madmen and murder, and his characters exist at right angles to reality. None of them can quite be believed, nor can they believe one another." Ninety years after its release, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is regarded as one of the first horror films to reach a wide audience, one of the most well-known silent movies of all time, and a benchmark of early German expressionism. Tomorrow night's screening of the film isn't the first time the Silent Film Society of Chicago has featured it in a program. What makes this screening stand out is the score being performed by Jay Warren and theremin accompaniment from Professor J. Pierce.
Warren and Pierce have previously teamed up on scores for 1924's Aelita: Queen of Mars and the Fritz Lang epic Metropolis. The organ Warren will be playing for this screening is a vintage 1927 pipe organ with 1,241 pipes that made its Portage Theater debut at last year's Silent Summer Film Fesitval. The restoration, however, is not complete; sound effects traps and other pipework are being reinstalled as funds allow.
The Silent Film Sciety of Chicago presents The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at 7:45 p.m. tomorrow night at the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Admission is $7 in advance, $8 at the door. Purchase tickets online at the SFSC website.
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2010 11:20 AM
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"The stylized sets, obviously two-dimensional, must have been a lot less expensive than realistic sets and locations, but I doubt that's why (Wiene) wanted them. He is making a film of delusions and deceptive appearances, about madmen and murder, and his characters exist at right angles to reality. None of them can quite be believed, nor can they believe one another." Ninety years after its release, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is regarded as one of the first horror films to reach a wide audience, one of the most well-known silent movies of all time, and a benchmark of early German expressionism. Tomorrow night's screening of the film isn't the first time the Silent Film Society of Chicago has featured it in a program. What makes this screening stand out is the score being performed by Jay Warren and theremin accompaniment from Professor J. Pierce.
Warren and Pierce have previously teamed up on scores for 1924's Aelita: Queen of Mars and the Fritz Lang epic Metropolis. The organ Warren will be playing for this screening is a vintage 1927 pipe organ with 1,241 pipes that made its Portage Theater debut at last year's Silent Summer Film Fesitval. The restoration, however, is not complete; sound effects traps and other pipework are being reinstalled as funds allow.
The Silent Film Sciety of Chicago presents The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at 7:45 p.m. tomorrow night at the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Admission is $7 in advance, $8 at the door. Purchase tickets online at the SFSC website.
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2010 11:20 AM
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EXAMINER.COM
Silent Films still alive at the Portage Theater
August 24, 2012
Over the last 5 years, The Portage Theater has served as a major element to the Arts life line in Chicago as well as hosting events that would bring global recognition to the independently operated theater. This includes being the home to The Silent Film Society of Chicago, a non profit group that hosts several events throughout the year at The Portage Theater including The Silent Summer Film Festival. The Festival runs 6 Fridays through the summer and features archived and restored 35mm and 16mm prints from the 1920's and includes live theater organ accompaniment by various organists including the amazing and breath taking talent of Jay Warren and one film during the festival includes the Monte Alto Motion Picture Orchestra giving the audience a motion picture experience you CANNOT experience anywhere else.
The Silent Film Society of Chicago, in my opinion has brought silent films to the level of pop culture and has introduced silent films to an audience of more than film students and senior citizens.
As I attended the screening of Fritz Lang's "The Spiders" (one of the inspirations to the Indiana Jones franchise) I saw an audience of close to 1,000 people all come together, an audience of young, middle aged, and senior citizens. I talked with other movie goers in the line to the concession stand about The Dark Knight Rises as we all embarked into a beautiful auditorium and were transformed back into the 1920's and our eyes were drawn to the massive silver screen with a spot light shining on the most beautiful Theater Organ imaginable.
2 hours later, I was brought out of the world of adventure and extremely fast paced action to the thunderous standing ovation given to an image of Fritz Lang that appeared on the screen as the massive golden curtains closed in what seemed like a virtual bow by the Director after the THE END card. Jay Warren, who had accompanied the film for the last 2 hours with only a short 10 minute intermission received a even louder ovation and was flooded with several dozen patrons all trying to catch a glimpse of the organ and shake the hand of the organist who brought the film we just witnessed to life in a way that no one else has experienced.
Tonight (Friday, August 24th 2012) marks the final night of the Silent Summer Film Festival 2012 season with a spectacular grand finale by Joan Crawford in "Our Dancing Daughters" directed by Harry Beaumont from 1928 with live organ accompaniment by Jay Warren on the Portage Theater grand cinema organ. There will also be pre-show music at 7:30pm with the Rajiv Halim Sextet and jazz vocalist Linda Collins.
If you go: Tickets are $12 at the Box Office, the movie starts promptly at 8:15pm and the pre-show entertainment starts at 7:30pm. I suggest arriving at 7:30pm if you plan to get concessions which include beer and mixed drinks/wine as the line gets long closer to show time.
Michael Napolitano
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August 24, 2012
Over the last 5 years, The Portage Theater has served as a major element to the Arts life line in Chicago as well as hosting events that would bring global recognition to the independently operated theater. This includes being the home to The Silent Film Society of Chicago, a non profit group that hosts several events throughout the year at The Portage Theater including The Silent Summer Film Festival. The Festival runs 6 Fridays through the summer and features archived and restored 35mm and 16mm prints from the 1920's and includes live theater organ accompaniment by various organists including the amazing and breath taking talent of Jay Warren and one film during the festival includes the Monte Alto Motion Picture Orchestra giving the audience a motion picture experience you CANNOT experience anywhere else.
The Silent Film Society of Chicago, in my opinion has brought silent films to the level of pop culture and has introduced silent films to an audience of more than film students and senior citizens.
As I attended the screening of Fritz Lang's "The Spiders" (one of the inspirations to the Indiana Jones franchise) I saw an audience of close to 1,000 people all come together, an audience of young, middle aged, and senior citizens. I talked with other movie goers in the line to the concession stand about The Dark Knight Rises as we all embarked into a beautiful auditorium and were transformed back into the 1920's and our eyes were drawn to the massive silver screen with a spot light shining on the most beautiful Theater Organ imaginable.
2 hours later, I was brought out of the world of adventure and extremely fast paced action to the thunderous standing ovation given to an image of Fritz Lang that appeared on the screen as the massive golden curtains closed in what seemed like a virtual bow by the Director after the THE END card. Jay Warren, who had accompanied the film for the last 2 hours with only a short 10 minute intermission received a even louder ovation and was flooded with several dozen patrons all trying to catch a glimpse of the organ and shake the hand of the organist who brought the film we just witnessed to life in a way that no one else has experienced.
Tonight (Friday, August 24th 2012) marks the final night of the Silent Summer Film Festival 2012 season with a spectacular grand finale by Joan Crawford in "Our Dancing Daughters" directed by Harry Beaumont from 1928 with live organ accompaniment by Jay Warren on the Portage Theater grand cinema organ. There will also be pre-show music at 7:30pm with the Rajiv Halim Sextet and jazz vocalist Linda Collins.
If you go: Tickets are $12 at the Box Office, the movie starts promptly at 8:15pm and the pre-show entertainment starts at 7:30pm. I suggest arriving at 7:30pm if you plan to get concessions which include beer and mixed drinks/wine as the line gets long closer to show time.
Michael Napolitano
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PARK RIDGE CLASSIC FILM SERIES
10 Reasons You Should See The Thief of Bagdad:
3. Jay Warren of the Silent Film Society of Chicago will be performing a live organ accompaniment. There are a number of ways you can see this film with home viewing. The worst injustice is to watch it on youtube or off your iPad. But even if you had the largest screen in your home theatre refuge– you still wouldn’t have Jay Warren performing in it– unless of course he makes house calls and you have a Wurlitzer in the parlor. This is a one-night only performance at the Pickwick. An opportunity to see it with a large audience and with one of Chicago’s best musicians! And you won’t see Jay coming into our lobby with pages and pages of sheet music tucked under his jacket– no, this is all from memory, and considering what an epic The Thief of Bagdad is, that is no small feat!
November 11, 2013 Matthew C. Hoffman
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10 Reasons You Should See The Thief of Bagdad:
3. Jay Warren of the Silent Film Society of Chicago will be performing a live organ accompaniment. There are a number of ways you can see this film with home viewing. The worst injustice is to watch it on youtube or off your iPad. But even if you had the largest screen in your home theatre refuge– you still wouldn’t have Jay Warren performing in it– unless of course he makes house calls and you have a Wurlitzer in the parlor. This is a one-night only performance at the Pickwick. An opportunity to see it with a large audience and with one of Chicago’s best musicians! And you won’t see Jay coming into our lobby with pages and pages of sheet music tucked under his jacket– no, this is all from memory, and considering what an epic The Thief of Bagdad is, that is no small feat!
November 11, 2013 Matthew C. Hoffman
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FAN TWEET
"Jay Warren is my new hero. Live organ accompaniment to THIEF OF BAGDAD at the Pickwick. 2.5 hours of wow."
November 20, 2013 @ m*********n
"Jay Warren is my new hero. Live organ accompaniment to THIEF OF BAGDAD at the Pickwick. 2.5 hours of wow."
November 20, 2013 @ m*********n