Sunrise

Caldera Records is proud to present the new score for the motion picture Sunrise from 1927, directed by F.W. Murnau, featuring music by Joe Kraemer, commissioned by the Dallas Chamber Symphony.

Featuring enormous stylized sets in order to create an idealized view of the world, Sunrise tells the story of three characters with no real names given. The Man and The Wife had been living happily on their farm until the appearance of The Woman From The City, who seduced the husband prior to the beginning of the story. In order to get rid of the farm that is tying The Man to country life, The Woman From The City convinces him to get rid of The Wife by staging a boating accident. When The Man realizes he is unable to commit the deed, The Wife flees to the City. He follows her and they rediscover their love for each other in the exotic world of the City.

In 2016, Joe Kraemer got the chance to prove himself as a masterful composer for silent film when he was commissioned by the Dallas Chamber Orchestra to write an original score for Murnau's masterpiece. In terms of the overall picture, Kraemer shares his inspirations: "I created themes for each of the major characters and concepts in the film, and then used those themes to carry out the plot of the film. It is a highly programmatic composition. I was influenced by composers like Copland, Gershwin, and Strauss. Additionally, I had just finished a three-week stay in Austria when I began writing the score, and I was very influenced by the culture I experienced in the wonderful town of Baden."

The score had its world premiere, live-to-picture, in Dallas in October 2016, where it was conducted by Richard McKay. It had a second performance in August 2017 in Baden, Austria, where Kraemer himself conducted it live-to-picture with members of the Synchron Symphony Orchestra. A few weeks after the live performance, the orchestra reconvened at the Synchron Stage in Vienna to record selections from the score for this CD release. The 26th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet-text by Gergely Hubai, an exclusive audio commentary by the composer, and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was produced by Stephan Eicke and John Elborg.