Enjott Schneider

As a composer of numerous film scores for TV and cinema (for Jo Baier, Joseph Vilsmaier and Margarethe von Trotta, amongst others) and as a professor of film music, Enjott Schneider is thoroughly familiar with the genre. He became widely known for his music for Joseph Vilsmaier's film Schlafes Bruder: The story culminates in an organ competition in which the natural genius Elias Alder (endowed with supernatural hearing by God and the Devil) hypnotizes the audience with demonic organ sounds, the Toccata. The quotation from the chorale 'Komm o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder‘ (from J. S. Bach's Kreuzstab-Kantate BWV 56) indicates that Elias will commit suicide after this brilliant concert. Enjott Schneider also wrote background music for several fascinating silhouette films by Lotte Reiniger, the ingenious pioneer of the animated film.

Enjott Schneider about Film Music:

Film music is art, because it is – like all music – able to express awareness in its own unique, sensuous way.

Authentic music – and also film music – is an integral expression of man and as a consequence it stimulates man on both a mental and physical level. More than other art forms, it gets through to people on all levels of their brain.

The sensuous access to the world is a pre- or unconscious access. Herein the special amenity of music exists, especially that of film music. Below the cortical alertness it enters the hearing man and brings him its message.

In order for film music to really take part in the creation of the consciousness of a society and its time, a composer has to accomplish the ambitious work of subjective penetration of tonal material.

… the music of the future is music to pictures. Music educators know that about 90 percent of all music people hear today is always heard in context with pictures, whether in cinema, video clips or TV…

Film is still related to the entertainment sector, so it is not considered an art form by intellectuals and the film score is accordingly not noticed or supported and can’t develop an historic, self reflective culture.

A director should know: the more he engages with the international language of music the more international his films will be. Through music a film gets a universal, emotional understanding.

• Enjott Schneider - Profile