Title: Don
Giovanni in Sicilia
Year: 1977
Composer: Bruno Nicolai
Originally
a film in 1967 then made into a three-part TV miniseries 10 years later. Bruno
Nicolai was associated with both the projects, as he conducted the first score
by Armando Trovajoli and composed the music for the TV series. Otherwise there
is no musical connection between the projects. Nicolai took inspiration from
the locale and created a score that might just sound nonchalantly light and
breezy at first but reveals some depth during further listens.
The score
begins by introducing the two primary themes which both are built in a same
way: they have a melancholic beginning usually played by solo instruments
whereas B section brings the romantic flavour of Sicilia sometimes even
featuring lovely string arrangements. In
Sicilia has the unmistakable sound of Alessandro Alessandroni’s high
whistling introducing the A section melody before the romantic B section
appears. As the cue goes on the romance is amped up with modulation and summery
accordion and theatre organ. A counterpart to the opening is A letto which is the melody the score
most returns to. It starts with just the accordion and guitar and this time the
B section has only minimal arrangement for mandolin and underlying tango
rhythms from the accordion. The following Le
sorelle goes even more restrained with its instrumentation before it turns
into a short lively tango piece.
The two
main themes feature heavily in many of the album’s cues. The first one has
probably its best version in Don Procopio
where the whistling is replaced by a melancholic solo accordion which is seriously
moving in its simplicity. A surprising variation is heard in track 13 where the
melody is heard over martial drums and serious string section and later joined
by military trumpet calls. Alessandroni’s whistling returns in track 24 in a
more restrained fashion. The album’s ending cue on the other hand features a
moving oboe solo and offers a summery closure with romantic accordions. The
second theme isn’t as interesting but there are some clever variations like in
track 6 which has an overdramatic accompanying piano performance or Don Giovanni where the dramatic tango
version is made grander by an appearance of the strings. The odd comical opening
to tracks 19 and 25 reminds me of some crime flicks of the time.
Besides the
two themes there are other source music inspired cues as well. Mediterranea’s spooky beginning has odd sproings
made with Jew’s harp over an organ line before the mood changes completely to a
happy dance perfect for a summery beach stroll but the oddness still continues
underneath with more sproings. The reprise of the dance melody in track 14 is
just incredibly fun with soothing string countermelodies that it creates easily
one of the album’s best tracks. Marranzanu
is a piece for just solo Jew’s harps which aren’t the most melodic of
instruments hence creating a moment of fleeting annoyance. There’s also a short
piece of Medieval-sounding theatre music in Teatrino
which unfortunately gets rather repetitive eventually. A piece called La giostra aka ‘merry-go-round’ starts
strangely with rather dark atmospheres that cleverly introduce a melody that
turns into an actual cheery merry-go-round tune during the cue’s latter half. Inverno a Milano has a feeling of the primary
themes with its construction but this time the melancholy isn’t released into a
gorgeous major key B section rather the sorrowful intensity continues through
the whole cue. The following wedding organ of Sposalizio is a surprising change of pace but nevertheless
beautiful in its own right. A straight-up ballroom tango for a violin-piano duo
called Ninetta is passionate and
dramatic but unfortunately doesn’t reach a proper climax. Luna di Cibali on the other hand brings a moment of pure impressionistic
beauty with a guitar solo over jazzy organ harmonies.
As you can
see from my review the score to Don
Giovanni in Sicilia is a mish-mash of styles inspired mostly by popular
music and having a few nods to classical composers as well. The repetition of A letto/Le sorelle theme can be a bit
tiring but it doesn’t really bother me that much eventually. Though it’s great
Kronos Records decided to release this much music by Nicolai, the album is
rather hard to enjoy with one sitting and would need some trimming to be fully
immersed in.
Rating: ****
Tracklist:
1. In
Sicilia (03:33) *****
2. A letto
(02:50) ****
3. Le sorelle
(02:50) ****
4. Mediterranea
(03:22) *****
5. Don
Procopio (04:33) *****
6. Le sorelle
(02:54) ****
7. Le sorelle (02:45) ***
8. Marranzanu (01:32) **
9. Teatrino (02:08) **
10. La giostra (02:16) ****
11. Dal meridione
(01:55) ****
12. Don
Giovanni (03:30) ****
13. Le sorelle
(03:36) *****
14. Mediterranea
(02:06) *****
15. Don
Procopio (02:49) *****
16. La giostra
(02:11) ***
17. Inverno
a Milano (02:48) *****
18. Sposalizio (02:02) ****
19. Le sorelle (01:47) ****
20. La parigina (01:37) ****
21. Ninetta (02:30) ****
22. Le sorelle (02:50) ***
23. Luna di Cibali (03:03) *****
24. In Sicilia (02:33) *****
25. Le sorelle (02:01) ****
26. La giostra
(02:56) ***
27. A casa
mia (03:33) *****
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