Title: Les
cauchemars naissent la nuit (Nightmares come at night)
Year: 1970
Composer: Bruno Nicolai
Bruno
Nicolai was a long-time collaborator with Ennio Morricone conducting the
orchestra and performing the organ on many of his scores. However he was a film
composer as well and a frequent composer choice of the master of B films, Jesús
Franco, whose biography also includes the erotic thriller Les cauchemars naissent la nuit. With the score Nicolai leads the listener
into the world of nightmares, romance, sleaze and fear.
The
beginning track Tra sogno e vita is
assembled like an overture which introduces snippets of the material the score
consists of. There’s the atonal string theme later developed in other similarly
titled tracks, exotic percussion and excerpts of the dance music before the
weird prepared piano playing and finally some romantic material amid a
suspenseful string cluster. What a great summarization and opening!
Le streghe sounds rather pleasant at first but the
harmonies and the saxophone solo seem a bit off all the time which may have
something to do with the slight atonality of the music. The reprise gets even
dreamier and rather romantic despite its strange harmonies. The actual main
theme Tra sogno e vita is similarly structured.
It doesn’t go into the craziest expressionistic atonality but finds a fine line
where it is combined with tonality with some really unsettling results: it
keeps the listener on the edge when he simultaneously tries to decipher if you
heard the chord correctly or not. The piece itself revolves around slow moving
string lines over a steadily beating bass rhythm. It’s easily recognizable on
the album but not hummable by any means. The third reprise is more subtle and
it’s one of the few times I’ve heard atonal music this moving in its
melancholic nature. The finale has also an expressive viola solo developed on
top of the previous versions. Nevertheless the most moving and romantic
material is presented in Amori which
is the only time the score allows the heart-wrenchingly beautiful Nicolai
harmonies to shine through in an incredible composition dominated by the piano
and warm organ layering.
Climax on the other hand is the first really
challenging piece for possibly prepared or out-of-tune piano which rambles
around for 6 whole minutes having barely any recognizable structure. It’s a
rather fun piece to be honest because the sound is so unique but perhaps a bit
too long. The same goes with Giostra
which is a tedious merry-go-round tune that also seems to a bit out of tune but
that just adds to the charm of it. Lo
specchio is a suspenseful, subtle track with quiet twinkling effects and
dark guitars.
The score
has several long source music cues that are also filled with weird harmonies
and that’s why they rise above the usual treatment these kind of scenes might
get. Infrarosso is the first one and
it just oozes with sleaze provided by the swaying jazz waltz groove and
saxophone solo. Cocktail is by far
the most entertaining source cue. It begins with a cheesy introduction for a
strumming Spanish guitar that soon starts to accompany the funky electric
guitar solo as the pace speeds up. This score overall is very different from
Nicolai’s regular style but the keyboard moments in this track are clearly his
style. The following track Verde
selvaggio isn’t far behind though, as it also features the Spanish guitar
this time with bongos and congas providing the rhythm and also the sleazy
saxophone and the crazy piano of Climax
making an appearance.
For me
Nicolai was almost always known for his strong melodies even in his suspenseful
writing (sometimes even outshining Maestro Morricone’s melodic abilities).
However this sounds quite distant from his previous works. Here the blurred
line between atonality and tonality is eminent in every aspect of the score,
even the party music, which elevates the score above some of its peers. The
instrumentation and orchestration are both exquisite and they provide a
spectrum of different colours. Highly recommended but an occasionally difficult
listen.
Rating: ****
Tracklist:
1. Tra
sogno e vita (01:52) *****
2. Le streghe
(02:40) ****
3. Tra
sogno e vita (04:25) ****
4. Climax
(06:44) ***
5. Tempio
(01:23) ****
6. Climax
(01:14) ****
7. Giostra
(06:21) ***
8. Tra
sogno e vita (04:26) *****
9. Infrarosso
(07:57) ****
10. Lo specchio
(03:53) ***
11. Cocktail
(05:11) *****
12. Verde selvaggio
(04:55) *****
13. Le streghe
(03:39) *****
14. Amori
(03:39) *****
15. Tra
sogno e vita (01:08) ****
16. Lo specchio
(03:14) ***
17. Le streghe
#2 (02:37) ****
18. Tra
sogno e vita (04:05) *****
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