Jozef van Wissem

Directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (German: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is often seen as the birth of German expressionism in film and counts as one of the most influential and oldest horror movies of all time.

The story is about Dr. Caligari, a hypnotist that uses sleepwalker Cesare to commit murders in the fictional village of Holstenwall. The film is praised for its expressionist, twisted decors with crooked edges and painted shadows, that evoke an atmosphere of claustrophobia and nightmarish visions. The main part of the movie takes place as a flashback and it is working towards a twist ending, in which it turns out the narrator is an unreliable witness.

The new soundtrack that Van Wissem is going to play during the silent movie classic, is described as a slow build-up, starting off with subdued lute and eventually ending in intense layers of sound and experimental passages. His contribution to “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” emphasizes his reputation as an innovative lute player that manages to transform classical instrumentation into a contemporary, cinematic way. The result is a mesmerizing soundtrack that enhances the expressionist atmosphere of the film. Van Wissem is known for his unique, hypnotizing lute playing that he combines with electronic effects, drones, electric guitar and sometimes even spoken word and sound collages. These all add up to a mystical, minimalist and often dark atmosphere.

“It’s like a part of my body”, Jozef van Wissem said about the relationship he has with his chosen instrument, the lute. “The complexity of it is what keeps me going, because you can always find something new.”