The Cabinet of Dr Caligari Silent Film

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) Silent Film with live improvised organ accompaniment by David Bednall

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a seminal German Expressionist horror film directed by Robert Wiene. It follows Francis, who recounts how the sinister Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders in a town, utilizing jarring, twisted sets to mirror a distorted, nightmarish reality and a twist ending.

David Bednall is published by Choral Music Publishing, Oxford University Press, Boosey and Hawkes, Faber, and Novello. He is Choral Director of Clifton Cathedral, Musical Director of Bristol Bach Choir, Bristol Chamber Choir and Chew Valley Choral Society, alongside an extensive freelance career. He was previously Organ Scholar at The Queen’s College, Oxford, and then at Gloucester Cathedral, Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral, Sub Organist at Bristol Cathedral and has improvised on live radio, and performed extensively in the UK and abroad, including at Notre-Dame de Paris – and even was stunt organist on Dr Who! His compositions are widely performed, recorded, and broadcast on BBC Radio and Classic FM. David’s St Mark Passion was commissioned for the BBC Singers in 2025.