Long before the invention of cinema, music has always served multiple functions: religious, entertainment, dance, accompaniment for events such as celebrations or fireworks, and, of course, in the theater. Nevertheless, do these so-called functional musics hold less value than those termed “pure music”, intended solely for concert performance? Many concert works are now forgotten, while others, composed for specific events, have remained staples of the classical repertoire: the cantatas of J.S. Bach, or Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music by Handel, to name just a few.
Numerous examples can be found in the history of 20th-century music: for instance, Boléro by Maurice Ravel, Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, and Messe pour le temps Présent by Pierre Henry and Michel Colombier are all ballet music. Alexander Nevsky and Lieutenant Kijé, two masterpieces by Sergei Prokofiev, were created for cinema. This shows that while the intended purpose may be forgotten, the work itself endures.
Today, a young audience made up of collectors, researchers, DJs, and musicology students is interested in the lesser-known and often unconventional past of production music. The beautifully illustrated book by Jonny Trunk, “The Music Library” (FUEL Publishing 2005), is an excellent introduction to the graphic and sonic aesthetics of vinyl records released by production music publishers from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Read more: Before Cinema