The Tell-Tale Heart

A chamber-ensemble rescoring of the 1928 silent Poe adaptation — pulse, fever, dread.

First composed in 2010 and revised in 2025, the score accompanies Charles F. Klein’s 1928 silent adaptation of Poe. Whitney’s programme note identifies two recurring ideas: a chord associated with the old man’s eye and a waltz for the narrator.

Back to film Call sheet

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Overview

Film · score · recording

Short overview

The 2025 score calls for flute, oboe/English horn, clarinet, electric guitar, violin, cello, double bass, vibraphone, auxiliary percussion, and piano. The performance notes ask players to memorize key points of synchronization with the film.

Poe is a recurring subject in Whitney's catalog — see also The Fall of the House of Usher (2008, chamber ensemble). The 2026 Pinch Records release makes The Tell-Tale Heart available as a recorded work beyond live-to-image performance.

Format

Chamber ensemble, to silent film

Source

1928 silent adaptation of Poe (1843)

Composed

2010

Release

Pinch Records · 2026

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Media · notes

Film · score · recording

The Tell-Tale Heart — alternate cover art, 1928 print tie-in

PLATE AARCHIVAL PRINT

The image leads, the ensemble keeps time.NOTE

The composer’s note describes a quick 5/8 passage following the murder, representing a heartbeat that gradually slows.

The Tell-Tale Heart — second alternate cover art

PLATE BRELEASE

Pinch Records · 2026.LP

Sixteen years after the score was written, the recording arrives — available now beyond the live-to-image performance.

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Credits · notes

Credits

Composer · Whitney George
Ensemble · chamber ensemble
Source film · 1928 silent adaptation of E.A. Poe
Label · Pinch Records

Notes

Composed · 2010; revised 2025
Released · 2026
Companion work · The Fall of the House of Usher (2008)