MRH: Were there unique differences in the way the group composed The Water Magician score compared to their work for VOWLS?

BH/V: Fundamentally the process of composing the score is similar to the way we work on VOWLS; we individually bring sketches to the group and then collectively work to expand and improve on them. This being such a long film though, we are improvising a lot more than we do for typical VOWLS sets. Also, we are working with Matt Shaw who sometimes performs with us as The Alpine Continuum and having an extra voice revitalizes our creative process and moves us in new directions.

  
MRH: The film (as is currently available in Japan on DVD) comes with a music score that’s a patchwork of themes and period music of the thirties, alternating between Japanese folk instrumentals and chamber versions of Western songs. Unique to the mix, however, is the Benshi track where an actress performs the film’s dialogue parts and narration. For most western audiences, the Benshi track may take some effort to get used to, but for composers, you had more than a straight dialogue track to work around: the actress’ voice is almost ongoing, and doesn’t provide you with specific visual cues.

How were you able to score and develop material around the Benshi track, or did you regard it as a free-form instrument around which you had to do perform?

Secondly, audiences who don’t speak or read Japanese may find the film initially tough because Mizoguchi’s editing style is quite brisk, there are title cards, and a narrator/performer. How did you compose the score to ensure there wasn’t a kind of sensory overload? Or was that a concern?

BH/V: Our basic rule for this composition, especially since there will be five of us performing, is less is more. Given that this is such a ‘chatty’ silent film due to fact that room was left in the editing for a Benshi to perform the dialogue our main objective is to have our soundtrack replace the Benshi. Our focus has been on enhancing the emotional content of the narrative using sound without compromising the film’s unique visual voice. To do this we are using repeating themes that work with the narrative and are stitched together with very quiet almost silent passages when there is a lot of dialogue on screen.

MRH: VOWLS is comprised of musicians who play a unique mix of ethnic, western, and electronic instruments, and that doesn’t make the music specific to one culture. Do you feel that asset is something which will make The Water Magician perhaps more accessible to contemporary audiences?

BH/V: Although we are fans of traditional Japanese music, and I even studied Nagauta shamisen in Tokyo for a few years, we have a very personal lexicon in VOWLS that has resulted from listening to and studying many different kinds of music from around the world. I think that this is definitely an asset and hopefully results in something unique and cohesive that will have appeal to any open-minded listener.