Instrumentation
3(I+II=picc+recorder.III=picc+afl).3(II=bob.III=ca).3(II=Ebcl.III=bcl).2.cbsn - 4.3(III=flhn).3.1 - timp -perc(3): 2 susp.cym/BD+cym/mil drum/glsp/vib/2 SD/xyl/TD/cup.cym/2 tamb/anvil/crot/tabor/sistrum/bell plate/ gong/mark chimes/tgl/finger.cym/siz.cym/tpl.bl/cast/2clay drums/ch.cym/3 cyms/tom-t/flexatone/darabuka/frame drum/t.bells/3 tam-t - banjo(=gtr) - pno(=cel) -organ(=pno+cel) - harp - strings (min 8.8.6.5.3)
Availability
Full score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Starring: Constance Talmadge, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron and Lillian Gish
Director: D.W. Griffith
Production Company: Wark Producing Corporation USA, 1916
Film Print: 35mm colour print reproducing the original tints and tones available from Photoplay Productions (outside N. America), 35mm print and DCP available from Cohen Film Collection (N America (Film Speed: 16-18 frames per second)
Recorded for video
D.W Griffith's revolutionary shooting and editing techniques, coupled with its epic plot, have made Intolerance one of the most extraordinary and influential films ever made. Four stories with a shared theme of intolerance are inter-cut: the destruction of Babylon, the massacre of the Huguenots, the crucifixion of Jesus and a contemporary (1915) story of social injustice involving the last-minute rescue of a boy from the gallows. The set of Belshazzar's Palace was one of the most spectacular ever seen on film. Davis draws on a large orchestra for the musical delineation of each narrative. The modern story mainly uses a small theatre orchestra, the Renaissance episode adds recorder and guitar, the biblical story has elements of Baroque style, and the music for Babylon is lush and exotic. All the episodes are underpinned by a chorale theme representing intolerance.