The Circus
(1928, music restored in 2003)
© Roy Export Company S.A.S. All Rights Reserved.
Directed by: C. Chaplin
Writing credits: C. Chaplin
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Allan Garcia, Harry Crocker, Henry Bergman
Genre: comedy
Country: U.S.
Running time: 71 mins
Instrumentation List
Music composed by Charles Chaplin (1968)
Musical associate: Eric James
Restored for live performance by Timothy Brock (2003)Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Alto sax I (dbl. clarinet I)
Alto sax II (dbl. clarinet II)
Tenor sax (dbl. clarinet III)
Bassoon
Horn
2 Trumpets
2 Trombones
Percussion (2 players)
Guitar (dbl Mandolin)
Piano
Strings: 8. 6. 6. 4. 2 (min: 6. 4. 4. 2. 1)
List of Percussion: Timpani, Snare drum, Bass drum, Large cymbals, Suspended cymbal, Choke cymbal, Wood Blocks, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Vibraphone
“This performance in the Zurich Tonhalle was nothing less than sensational. All the sentimental, ominous and dance-like melodies were full of freshness and brilliant colouring, giving this 64-year-old silent movie a fascinating vitality. Conductor Timothy Brock danced around on the stage as if he were part of the film itself, conjuring out of the reinforced ZCO a totally unexpected sound.”
Written during Chaplin’s late musical period in 1968, Chaplin shows us his unique gift for capturing a particular elemental sound. In these pages one can almost smell the sawdust and grease-paint. The rousing set of circus-band numbers, intertwined with poignant reflections of the hardships that circus life bears, is commandeered in unabashed and fun way.
Written during Chaplin’s late musical period in 1968, Chaplin shows us his unique gift for capturing a particular elemental sound. In these pages one can almost smell the sawdust and grease-paint. The rousing set of circus-band numbers, intertwined with poignant reflections of the hardships that circus life bears, is commandeered in unabashed and fun way.
There are subtle but distinct differences in the way he approached each circus act. For the girl acrobat the music is always lively march while the clowns perform their gags to squatty soft-shoe numbers. In the climatic scene, the tramp performs his high-wire act to a light waltz, incognizant of the fact that he is in perilous danger. Each of these “public” scenes carry a certain amount of counterbalance with the backstage drama that is unfolding between the characters, and therefore Chaplin composed music that incorporated all of these elements in its structure.
The score is generally light, compared to his earlier scores, however one of Chaplin’s most moving musical passages comes at the very end, as the solo ‘cello enters to bring on a very lonely orchestral exhale, when the tramp is alone yet again, while the circus pulls up its stakes, and moves on.
I carried out the restoration of the score over 6 months in 2002-03, working with the original manuscripts from the Chaplin archives in Montreux. The score calls for Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, 2 Clarinets, Bass-clarinet, 2 Alto Saxophones, Tenor Saxophone, Bassoon, Horn, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, 2 Percussionists, Guitar, Mandolin, Piano and Strings.
