Nosferatu Music
The New Score
There have been dozens of scores for Nosferatu,in style ranging from romantic orchestral to gothic rock. Most of them sound pretty dated now. There have also been restorations of the original score - however there is some evidence that Murnau was less than pleased with the original score, or at least that when played with the film on its first release that the quality of performance was rather uneven, leaving us to guess at the effectiveness of it.
The guiding principle that I am using in creating the new score is that the film is really a story about the love of a shabby old man for a beautiful young woman with an idiotic husband. Taking this approach I’ve opted for a more romantic, rather than a horror feel to the music, and I think the results are more subtle, and more in keeping with the tone of the movie. I think the big mistake to make with music for his film is to give it a heavy handed horror treatment.
Follow the link below to download a QuickTime sound file of the first draft of the new opening theme music:
All materials © 2006 Phil Davison
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