A Kiss for Cinderella (1925) The Importance of Historical Accuracy in Reconstructing Scores to Silent Films Based on the Mirskey Collection

Abstract

Abstract Collections of silent film music constitute valuable sources for historical research on the musical practice in the silent film era. The musical prints preserved in the Mirskey Collection were previously used by the author to reconstruct a score for the movie A Kiss for Cinderella (1925, dir. Herbert Brenon). This article describes the historical context considered during the reconstruction and discusses the workflow applied by Nek Mirskey (Bronisław Mirski) as a musical director of movie theatres. A comparative analysis of sheet music from the Mirskey Collection accompanied by handwritten notes, original cue sheet compiled by James Bradford for the Paramount Pictures, and a digitised copy of the film, have led to conclusions that are applicable not only to Mirskey's methods of compiling scores, but also to the more general rules for the development of musical accompaniments to silent films in the 1920s.