“Nosferatu”, this horror classic which continues to inspire composers – rts.ch

“Nosferatu”, the expressionist German cinema classic directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau in 1922, is none other than a thinly disguised adaptation of the novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker published in 1897. This alternative version of the famous vampire novel, which almost disappeared for legal reasons, was the subject of a remake by Werner Herzog in the 1970s and returns today for the third time in the cinemas thanks to American filmmaker Robert Eggers.

A film that inspires composers

The original music for Murnau's film is by Hans Erdmann. Long thought lost, it was reconstituted in the 1980s. This score will not be the only one to accompany screenings of “Nosferatu”, because like any good classic of silent cinema, Murnau's film inspires musicians over time.

This is the case of James Bernard, British composer and horror film specialist, to whom we owe the best musical pages of Hammer, a production studio which, in the 1960s and 1970s, lined up successes ( “Dracula”, “The Mummy” or even “Frankenstein's Creature”). In the 1990s, James Bernard was invited to compose the new score for Murnau's “Nosferatu”. An opportunity to revisit the orchestral model that made the Hammer famous.

In the 1970s, a first remake of “Nosferatu” by German filmmaker Werner Herzog was released. In the costume of Count Orlock, actor Klaus Kinski gives a landmark performance. For the music, the director called on the group Popol Vuh. The musical atmosphere is different and opens up to modernity. The orchestra is abandoned in favor of vocals and electronics.

A horror and tragic love film

“Nosferatu” spans the ages and continues to inspire artists who wish to translate into music the incarnation of absolute evil. At the end of the year, it is Robert Eggers who comes to explore the cinematic territory haunted by Count Orlock. A modern version on which the filmmaker has been working for almost ten years and for which he hired composer Robin Carolan. The challenge for the two men: to make “Nosferatu” a film of horror, but also of tragic love.

Within this new score crossed by dissonant orchestral effects, Robin Carolan lets out some heartbreaking lyrical flights evoking the terrible fate of the character of Ellen Hutter, delivered to the mercy of Count Orlock.

Another new musical version

This modern and revisited version of this cinema classic is expected in theaters on December 25. At the same time, another master of musical horror, Christopher Young, tackled the “Nosferatu” myth by writing a new score for Murnau's original film. The American film score composer, who has built a good part of his career in fantasy cinema, therefore decides to offer his own musical vision with organ and orchestra.

An adventure that Christopher Young leads in Switzerland, with the help of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. A true ode to horror cinema, this new score pays perfect homage to the English subtitle of Murnau's title: “Nosferatu, a symphony of horror”. An album released in November by Warner Classics which joins the many other creations inspired by this cult character of horror cinema.

Radio Subject: Pascal Knoerr

Adaptation web: ld

“Nosferatu” by Robert Eggers, with Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. To be seen in French-speaking cinemas from December 25, 2024.

“Nosferatu, a symphony of horror” by Christopher Young, with Saya Hashino, Frank Strobel and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (Warner Classics). Published in November 2024.