The vintage animation and narrative text of Winsor McKay’s The Sinking of the Lusitania will spellbind you; while Skully’s vivid orchestration will stimulate your senses bringing the story to life.
Skully has packed this soundtrack with his clever sound effects and expressive music such as the click of an old fashioned reel to reel movie projector, the ship’s duty watch bells, the intimidating sonar pings of the immoral submarine, rousing percussion and perfectly placed piano medleys that speak volumes.
Stimulating layers of percussion introduce the busy pace of the animators creating the 25,000 dramatic frames which made up the first record of the Sinking of the Lusitania.
Music intensifies with what could be a piano portrayal of Morse code when the narrative addresses the warnings issued by the German Embassy in New York {don’t miss the Statue of Liberty.}
A chilling rush of air sets up the eerie images of the villainous German submarine U-39 lurking in the nearby sea.
The music takes breathtaking pause just before the first torpedo hits Lusitania.
The movingly sombre piano melody could swell your chest with disappointment as the narrative frames identify some of the more prominent victims.
Skully’s music erupts in anger; while the narrative attempts to put a diverse spin on the obituaries, quoting an observation from the smiling Charles Frohman: ”Death is but a beautiful adventure”.
The layers of passionate piano and deep bass music elaborate the sense of desperation the passengers must have been experiencing as they struggled to the lifeboats.
Then, a baritone piano and bass cello articulate the horror of the second and fatal torpedo which caused the definitive destruction and massive loss of lives.
The profoundness of the catastrophe can be deeply felt here as Skully constructs his expressive annotations in a crescendo of music.
A weeping probing piano medley at 8:04 brought me a heavy heart as images of “The babe who clung to his mother’s breast [7:37]...” pierced my mind.
The fade to silence and stark white at the end of this video afford the viewer a contemplative moment to grasp what has just been a most shattering experience.
Winsor McCay 1906
Compton Family
http://youtu.be/T1tQ1_i2IQU
