Capitol Theatre (New York, NY) collection of silent film music, 1879-1940
Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Capitol Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of published scores, mostly for piano, of music to accompany the showing of silent films. Includes some manuscript parts of music arranged for chamber ensembles.
- Extent:
- 15.5 linear feet (31 boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English, French, German, Italian, Hungarian, and Swedish.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Capitol Theatre (New York, NY) Collection of Silent Film Music (Collection PASC-M 87). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of published scores, mostly for piano, of music to accompany the showing of silent films. Also included are manuscript parts of music arranged for chamber ensembles. There is a small amount of material from the early sound era.
The collection principally consists of music intended for performance as film accompaniment – mostly the piano parts of larger orchestrations – but it also includes music used for other aspects of the theater's varied programming. There are also manuscripts of compositions and arrangements by Rapeé, Axt, and others. The collection retains the organization of the Capitol's music library, in which selections were grouped either by genre or by what Rapeé called "moods," using the following categories: Appassionato; Bacchanale; Ballet; Barcarolle; Berceuse; Caprice; Characteristic; Children; Concert; Descriptive; Dramatic; Emotional; Festival; Galop; Gavotte; Grotesque; Gruesome; Humorous; Hunting; Intermezzo; Lullaby; Maestoso; March 6/8; March Concert; March Funeral; March Processional; Mazurka; Medley Overtures; Minuet; Movimento; Mysterioso; Nautical; Nocturne; Operatic; Oriental; Overture; Pathetic/Pathetique; Pastoral; Polonaise; Pulsating; Rags; Romance; Rube; Schottische; Selections; Serenades; Southern; Storm; Suites; Symphony; Valse Concert; Valse Lento; Valse Popular.
- Biographical / historical:
-
When the Capitol Theatre opened at Broadway and 51st Street in Manhattan, on October 24, 1919, it was touted as the "World's Largest and Most Beautiful Theatre," and with 5300 seats it maintained that claim for several years to come. Managed by Major Edward Bowes, the Capitol was one of the premier "picture palaces" of its era, and the luxurious theater played host not just to movies, but also to elaborate stage revues and musical performances which complemented the films and ensured the Capitol's distinction among its rivals. In addition to an Estey organ constructed for the theater, an orchestra of 71 musicians – a number that would rise over the years – was employed.
In June of 1920, having established himself as New York's leading theater manager at the Rivoli and the Rialto, Samuel "Roxy" Rothapfel took over the artistic direction of the Capitol, where he worked with some of the era's most distinguished theatrical musicians. In September of 1920, Hungarian-born conductor Erno Rapeé became music director of the Capitol, where he remained until 1923. Rapeé's subsequent books – Motion Picture Moods for Pianists and Organists (1924) and Encyclopedia of Music for Pictures (1925) – reflect the musical principals he developed at the Capitol and remain among the most important documents of silent film accompaniment practice in this period.
Rapeé's successor, William Axt, had been assistant conductor at the Capitol since 1921; upon Rapeé's departure in 1923, Axt took charge of the theater's music in partnership with David Mendoza. All of these musicians were responsible not only for selecting and conducting music, but also often for orchestrating, arranging, and composing pieces. The published Capitol Photoplay Series, comprising music written for the theater, includes dozens of Axt's compositions, but Axt and Mendoza's best known achievement is their full-length score for Don Juan (1926), which was the first feature film to be screened (though not at the Capitol) in synchronization with the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. Also associated with the Capitol's music department was Eugene Ormandy – first as a section violinist, and from 1926 as associate music director.
In 1927, Rothapfel left the Capitol to manage the new and slightly larger Manhattan theater which was named after him – the Roxy – where he was joined once again by Rapeé. But the Capitol remained in business for over 40 more years, making the transition to sound and later to wide-screen Cinerama, and continuing for much of that time to keep alive the mixed format of motion pictures and live entertainment. The theater was demolished following a final gala stage show on September 16, 1968.
- Processing information:
-
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff (four boxes), 2010 and Doug Johnson (twenty-seven boxes), 2024.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Work Titles: A's
- Series 2. Work Titles: B's
- Series 3. Work Titles: C's
- Series 4. Work Titles: D's
- Series 5. Work Titles: E's
- Series 6. Work Titles: F's
- Series 7. Work Titles: G's
- Series 8. Work Titles: H's
- Series 9. Work Titles: I's
- Series 10. Work Titles: J's
- Series 11. Work Titles: K's
- Series 12. Work Titles: L's
- Series 13. Work Titles: M's
- Series 14. Work Titles: N's
- Series 15. Work Titles: O's
- Series 16. Work Titles: P's
- Series 17. Work Titles: Q's
- Series 18. Work Titles: R's
- Series 19. Work Titles: S's
- Series 20. Work Titles: T's
- Series 21. Work Titles: U's
- Series 22. Work Titles: V's
- Series 23. Work Titles: W's
- Series 24. Work Titles: X
- Series 25. Work Titles: Y's
- Series 26. Work Titles: Z's
- Series 27. Works: Compilations
- Series 28. Work Titles: Unidentified
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Silent film music.
Motion picture music.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Capitol Theatre (New York, NY) Collection of Silent Film Music (Collection PASC-M 87). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
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A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988