Renowned musician and IU alumnus Dennis James made his yearly Halloween return to the IU Auditorium stage Oct. 17, honoring the author Edgar Allan Poe with a night of music.
The event, "Silent Films and Radio Drama," featured live radio reenactments, vintage silent films and James' performance on the 4,543-pipe IU Auditorium organ.
“It's fantastic to be back on campus,” James said during his performance, reflecting on his return.
Opening performance: “The Raven”
The night began with a short silent film called “Edgar Allen Poe” (deliberately misspelled), which dramatized the inspiration for Poe's famous poem “The Raven.” The film highlighted Poe's attempts to care for his ailing wife and gain respect for his literature. James' organ accompaniment provided a melancholy tone, emphasizing the personal struggles that inspired so much of Poe's poetry.
The audience sat quietly as the film depicted Poe's increasingly frantic attempts to sell his masterwork. Each note from James' organ brought the poet's agony to life, offering an intimate glimpse into the man behind the renowned words.
Live Radio Drama: “The Tell-Tale Heart”
The performance then transitioned to a live radio play adaptation of Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart,” based on a 1940s episode of “Inner Sanctum.” IU students from the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance performed the psychological thriller, which depicted a man's spiral into madness as he was plagued by the sound of a beating heart.
James' organ performance provided suspense to the live reenactment, with each note heightening the narrator's crumbling mind. The students' delivery of Poe's text, paired with live music, produced a vibrant and disturbing environment.
The Feature: “The Avenging Conscience”
“The Avenging Conscience,” a 1914 silent horror film directed by D.W. Griffith based on Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart” and the poem “Annabel Lee,” served as the evening's focus. James returned to play the organ for the film, using his live score to heighten the dramatic tension.
The film featured a young man who, after being forbidden by his domineering uncle to pursue a romantic relationship, murders him out of frustration. However, as in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the guilt of the crime quickly overcomes him, causing visions and psychosis. James' live performance skillfully paralleled the protagonist's mounting discomfort, with the organ music expressing both the horrific visuals onscreen and the character's psychological suffering.
As the film came to its climax, it was revealed that the awful events were all a dream. The softening of James' music conveyed the protagonist's relaxation, giving the audience a momentary break from the tension that had accumulated during the play.
