Year 13 Film Studies Musical Masterclass

The Y13 Film Studies class was lucky enough to receive a musical masterclass this month, from resident Bernard Hermann specialist, Mr Cornish. Hermann is studied as part of our work on Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo (1958) - he was Hitchcock's composer across his oeuvre. Mr Cornish took us through the score for Vertigo whilst sitting at the piano, which meant we got a real-time explanation of a range of Hermann's techniques, including "The Hitchcock Chord", the leitmotif, his uses of ostinato, and links to Wagner's masterpiece Tristan und Isolde. It was an absolutely fascinating hour, and we're all extremely grateful to Mr Cornish for sharing his expertise and enthusiasm. What a great end to our Hollywood studies!