Geoff Smith
Encyclopedia
Geoff Smith is a musical performer and composer from Brighton
, England
. He was previously a member of the group Attacco Decente
. He was a pupil at Varndean College
from 1974.
Smith is considered to be one of the world's leading players of the hammered dulcimer
. In performance, he plays three custom-built prototype dulcimers sequentially - diatonic, chromatic and a microtonal model featuring 'fluid tuning
', i.e. such that individual notes may be tuned at (by) precise microtonal intervals.
Smith has also designed a revolutionary new addition to the piano - the microtonal tuning mechanism. This innovation enables the use of fluid tuning
on the piano. Therefore, a diversity of bespoke tuning layouts can be explored and created separately for each composition, in contrast to the instrument being creatively limited to 'fixed tuning' and therefore the culturally predominant western chromatic octave
.
Smith's compositions include music for film and dance. His first major solo work was a new soundtrack to Robert Wiene
's classic German silent expressionist film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. He has performed this soundtrack as a live accompaniment to the film on many occasions. His next project was a new soundtrack to FW Murnau's film Faust
, followed by a new soundtrack to Benjamin Christensen
's 1922 silent film Häxan
. Smith's soundtrack was included on a DVD of Häxan released in 2007 by Tartan Films
.
Smith's next film music project was a new score for the oldest surviving animated feature film, Lotte Reiniger
's The Adventures of Prince Achmed
(1926). Smith premiered the score in 2008.
Smith has also composed music (Salome) for the Japanese dancer Shakti.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was previously a member of the group Attacco Decente
Attacco Decente
Attacco Decente were a musical group from Brighton, England, active from 1984 to 1996.The band was notable for using unusual acoustic instruments such as hammered dulcimers, Appalachian dulcimers, and tongue drums alongside more conventional instruments such as acoustic guitar and acoustic bass...
. He was a pupil at Varndean College
Varndean College
Varndean College is a sixth form college located in Brighton & Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults.-History:The college was founded in 1884 in York Place, Brighton as a boys' Secondary School and moved to its current site overlooking the city and the sea in 1932, later...
from 1974.
Smith is considered to be one of the world's leading players of the hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
. In performance, he plays three custom-built prototype dulcimers sequentially - diatonic, chromatic and a microtonal model featuring 'fluid tuning
Fluid tuning
Fluid tuning is a tuning system for the piano and hammered dulcimer. It was developed by Geoff Smith, a composer and musician from Brighton, England....
', i.e. such that individual notes may be tuned at (by) precise microtonal intervals.
Smith has also designed a revolutionary new addition to the piano - the microtonal tuning mechanism. This innovation enables the use of fluid tuning
Fluid tuning
Fluid tuning is a tuning system for the piano and hammered dulcimer. It was developed by Geoff Smith, a composer and musician from Brighton, England....
on the piano. Therefore, a diversity of bespoke tuning layouts can be explored and created separately for each composition, in contrast to the instrument being creatively limited to 'fixed tuning' and therefore the culturally predominant western chromatic octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
.
Smith's compositions include music for film and dance. His first major solo work was a new soundtrack to Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene was an important film director of the German silent cinema.Robert Wiene was born in Breslau, as the elder son of the successful theatre actor Carl Wiene. His younger brother Conrad also became an actor, but Robert Wiene at first studied law at the University of Berlin. In 1908 he also...
's classic German silent expressionist film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. He has performed this soundtrack as a live accompaniment to the film on many occasions. His next project was a new soundtrack to FW Murnau's film Faust
Faust (1926 film)
Faust is a silent film produced in 1926 by UFA, directed by F.W. Murnau, starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt...
, followed by a new soundtrack to Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor both in film and on the stage. As a director he is most well known for the 1922 film Häxan and as an actor, he is best known for his performance in the film Michael , in which he plays Claude Zoret, the jilted lover of the...
's 1922 silent film Häxan
Häxan
Häxan is a 1922 Swedish/Danish silent horror film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen...
. Smith's soundtrack was included on a DVD of Häxan released in 2007 by Tartan Films
Tartan Films
Palisades Tartan is a US and UK film distribution company, founded by US-based Palisades Media Group to take over the film library of Tartan Films after it folded in Summer 2008.-History:...
.
Smith's next film music project was a new score for the oldest surviving animated feature film, Lotte Reiniger
Lotte Reiniger
Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger was a German silhouette animator and film director.- Early life :Lotte Reiniger was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg, German Empire, on June 2, 1899...
's The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a 1926 German animated fairytale film by Lotte Reiniger. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film; two earlier ones were made in Argentina by Quirino Cristiani, but they are considered lost...
(1926). Smith premiered the score in 2008.
Smith has also composed music (Salome) for the Japanese dancer Shakti.
Discography
- Ferocious Tenderness (Animato, CD)
- Salome (Animato, CD)
- The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (Animato, CD)