Andrew Earle Simpson

The Girl from the Marsh Croft [Tösen från Stormyrtorpet] (silent film music)

Instrumentation	piano
Duration	80'
Film Date/Studio	1917, Sweden
Director/Actors	Victor Sjöström, dir./Greta Almroth, Lars Hanson
Movements	N/A
Premiere	12/16/06, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Performers	Andrew Simpson, pno
Commissioned by	National Gallery of Art
Recording	N/A
Publication	Composer
Performance History	12/06, National Gallery of Art
mp3 sample

Film synopsis and musical notes

A sentimental tale about the love between a farm girl, in disgrace for having a child out of wedlock, and Gudmund, a wealthy young man (Lars Hanson), this film (filmed in Sweden) points up class differences and mocks the false piety of "respectable" people.  Gudmund believes himself to be responsible for a murder committed while he was drunk in town, and puts of his marriage to a girl of similar high station, the magistrate's daughter.  Shunned by the church-going citizens of the village, the girl yet performs a selfless act which would benefit her rival, Gudmund's fiancee. 

The young actress Greta Almroth plays her character, the girl, with great pathos and passion: her performance gives a depth and humanity to her personage which could easily have been subsumed in sentimentality.  Lars Hanson, destined to have a long and productive career under Sjöström's direction, is vigorous and youthful in this Swedish-period film. 

The many shots of the Swedish countryside lend a sweep and flow to the film; the music also reflects that scope and power.