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By Nicole Seiferth

On Halloween night, the sound of the Trinity organ filled the dark church. The organist played in the eerie light of the ornate candelabras, casting his unique spell over the rapt audience filling the pews.

Oh, yes. And there was also a movie playing.

The silent classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame captivated the moviegoers at Trinity, just as it did 83 years ago when it was first released. But no one has ever seen – or heard – this film in quite the way it was seen and heard at Trinity on Halloween. Renowned organist Cameron Carpenter played a live score to accompany the movie, drawing on organ masterpieces, his own compositions and a few other surprising sources to create the mood for each moment of the 97-minute film.

To prepare for the film, Carpenter viewed short sections of the film repeatedly, memorizing and making lists of scene changes – and strategizing what he should play. He chose Jongen’s Toccata from Symphonie Concertante for the final climactic seven minutes. When the dashing Phoebus decided to take advantage of the lovestruck Esmeralda, particularly observant audience members might have realized Carpenter was playing Burt Bacharach’s Alfie.

He composed and planned prior to the live event, but according to Carpenter, “65 per cent of what [the audience] heard was essentially improvised.”

“I used those tools in the moment, so – as Owen Burdick said – the ‘connective tissue’ was extemporaneous, the ‘skeleton’ was extremely well planned.”

“The organ playing was phenomenal,” said audience member Luke Fodor. “Cameron Carpenter supplied the voice for the silent movie. His playing just made the images feel as if they were in the church with me.”

“It was a huge challenge,” Carpenter said. “It was only possible with that organ. It’s the most impressive organ I’ve ever played on. That kind of spontaneity is only possible on the most responsive of organs.”