To boldly go: part 3

Title: A come Andromeda

Year: 1971

Composer: Mario Migliardi

A come Andromeda tells a story about creating artificial life and it’s considered to be the first sci-fi TV series produced for Italian TV. It’s based on the British TV series from the 60s also called A for Andromeda. The Italian version includes a varied score by Mario Migliardi who isn’t that well-known film composer and quite unknown to me as well. This score is the only one I own from him and I haven’t listened to it for a while so it’s nice to hear how this very lengthy album holds up.

The album begins with the main title track that features the eerie voice of Edda dell’Orso accompanied by both electronic and acoustic guitars, pop comp and other choir members of I cantori moderni. The melody draws inspiration from Baroque progressions and strangely also from Spaghetti Western melodies and it perfectly accompanies that feeling fit for mad scientists and sterile research facilities. The chamber-sized ensemble allows all the delicate instrumental choices to shine through. Unfortunately the melody isn’t featured during the rest of the score. There’s a single version in track 23 which sounds very fresh after the preceding dissonance even though I really can’t hear any differences to the first version.

The album is roughly divided into two parts. The first one is the dissonant music perfectly describing all the scientific experiments going on. The music seems to blend both electronic and acoustic instruments into a mixture of ever-changing and surprising, musique concrète inspired moments of pure oddness or terror. Both the first two sequences titled A come Andromeda are perfect examples of this. The first one concentrates more on the weird instrumentation that sounds even comical with its use of the xylophone. The second one has earth-shattering, massive orchestral crescendos that certainly make the hairs on your back stand up. Seq. 4 includes strange electronic effects that are contrasted to a delicate harp performance for some reason. Seq.5 on the other hand begins with a massive church organ playing dissonant chords before turning back to tinkling electronics. Seq. 6 first sounds like it would turn into a brass band piece but it takes a 180 turn back to the most abrasive dissonance heard thus far.

However the effects intensify as we go further down the line: Seq. 7, Seq. 9 and Seq. 10 consist only of sound effects produced with pianos, electronics and occasional choral textures. Seq. 11 offers completely terrifying and otherworldly choral voices along with strange acoustic noises probably produced by piano strings. There’s also an atonal flute solo in Seq. 12 that could sound rather charming in a different setting but now it’s only accompanied by cold and sterile electronic textures. Atonal string writing of Seq. 14 and electronically manipulated choral voices of Seq. 15 move away from the constraints of traditional film scoring but are unfortunately too difficult to enjoy on their own. The last 2 tracks before the single versions quiet down to the bare minimum of tinkling electronics before the Ligeti like choir appears for the final sendoff.

The second part of the album consists of lounge music inspired cues though many of them offer some weirdness too. The first one is Seq. 3 which has bossa rhythms and a jazzy flute solo, but the accompanying strings just sound like they’re playing the wrong notes. The mixture is just so weird but intriguing at the same time that it makes me smile. La spiaggia di Durness is a moment of that romantic 70s fluffy string work with flute and harp flourishes among classical piano solos. It’s easily the most ‘normal’ sounding cue on the album but it suffers from not having a clear, hummable melody. At the end of ‘versione TV’ it turns into a fast jazz waltz for a moment that soon returns to the fluff that came before. It’s reprised in track 20 with a more atonal string intro. It also ends the whole album with its single version which is basically an extended treatment of the jazz waltz.

Another long track Seq. 8 opens with dissonant creeping around in empty hangars and corridors with ghostly choral voices and woodblocks which eventually turn into a laid-back party cue complete with groovy electric guitars and buzzing keyboard solos. The choir returns at the end of the cue with a strange juxtaposition of them singing in the distance, away from the band. There’s also another 70s party cue Seq. 13 that includes more keyboard solos but ends with strange metallic twanging sounds. There’s almost a sacred acapella choral piece in Seq. 16 that is like music of some alien civilization.

I can imagine that creating music this varied and unique must have been a fun task to do and in some of the tracks you can even sense the enthusiasm. The problem is that though I like challenging music, even I find some of the techniques used in this score too obnoxious and difficult. The length of the album doesn’t help either, there’s way too much of droning dissonance that really doesn’t develop into anything. Though the score is at times frustrating, I have to give credit for the unique soundscape Migliardi tried to create here even though he perhaps went too far in a few places.

Rating: ***

Tracklist:

1. Tema di Andromeda (Titoli) (03:39) *****

2. A come Andromeda (02:48) ****

3. A come Andromeda (Seq. 2) (02:54) *****

4. A come Andromeda (Seq. 3) (01:24) *****

5. A come Andromeda (Seq. 4) (01:34) ****

6. A come Andromeda (Seq. 5) (02:05) ***

7. A come Andromeda (Seq. 6) (03:03) *

8. La spiaggia di Durness (versione TV) (05:59) ****

9. A come Andromeda (Seq. 7) (02:03) *

10. A come Andromeda (Seq. 8) (08:00) ****

11. A come Andromeda (Seq. 9) (01:07) **

12. A come Andromeda (Seq. 10) (01:28) *

13. A come Andromeda (Seq. 11) (03:28) ****

14. A come Andromeda (Seq. 12) (02:23) ****

15. A come Andromeda (Seq. 13) (03:28) ***

16. A come Andromeda (Seq. 14) (04:43) **

17. A come Andromeda (Seq. 15) (04:24) **

18. A come Andromeda (Seq. 16) (01:13) ****

19. A come Andromeda (Seq. 17) (01:36) **

20. La spiaggia di Durness (versione TV #2) (01:57) ****

21. A come Andromeda (Seq. 18) (03:04) **

22. A come Andromeda (Seq. 19) (03:06) ***

23. Tema di Andromeda (Mix Singolo Lato A) (03:39) *****

24. La spiaggia di Durness (Mix Singolo Lato B) (02:59) ****

To boldly go: part 2

Title: Mission to Mars

Year: 2000

Composer: Ennio Morricone

Maestro Morricone really isn’t well-known for writing music for space operas. So when it was announced that he would score Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars there was almost no previous clue how he would handle the dangers and awe of space travel. Nevertheless he did it in his unmistakable style mixing something new to his bag of old tricks, combining unusual instrumental choices to electronic applications and traditional melodic writing to moments of stark chromatic structures reminiscent of modern classical music. At the same time he experimented with what was the appropriate kind of music for sci-fi films by his controversial choices. Around the film’s release there was talk that Morricone’s score was one of the worst parts of the film. Trust me, the film had issues far greater than this score which by itself is a masterpiece and one of the most unique experiences in Maestro’s catalogue.

The backwards assembled album begins with the end title piece A heart beats in space which starts with exactly that: the sound effect of a beating heart in the emptiness. After the sweet prelude provided by the cor anglais, the music moves to a developmental section for strings, a distant choir and soft electric guitar which create a true feeling of weightlessness. Around the 3-minute mark we’re introduced to the nostalgic main theme of the film which is a stellar (sorry for the pun) melody that can only come from the pen of a true Maestro. The cue ends with a reprise of the opening atmosphere in a reversed order along with a bright Baroque style trumpet solo before cooling off back to the heartbeat. A surprisingly reflective opening to a space adventure film and a great one for sure.

In a way the album’s opening dictates how the rest of the album will be like. The tempo is usually slow, the melodies are given time to develop and flourish, and everything is oozing with the peace stemming from the depths of ageless space. A martian continues in similar vein and after the electric oboe has reprised the main theme, the writing becomes certainly more romantic and it’s easy to forget that you’re not actually listening to an impressionistic tone poem. During the cue’s latter half, the whole orchestra and choir are painting wondrous landscapes slowly rising towards A world which searches which provides fragments of the main theme once again. Between the most controversial tracks of the album the listener is treated with the peaceful A wife lost which is based on the cor anglais theme and has a bit dated synthetic sound that lessens its enjoyability slightly, and Ecstacy of Mars whose chromatic patterns, misty choir sound and another reprise of the cor anglais theme are emphasizing the astronauts’ unbelievable sights.

And now we get to the issue that is the electronic organ. You see, Towards the unknown is an 8-minute monster of a piece dominated by a chromatic rising and falling organ melody over a steadily beating bassline. The reviewers’ arguments were that an organ isn’t suitable for a space film (I wonder if they still feel like that after Hans Zimmer’s treatment of the instrument in Interstellar). But if I may ask, why wouldn’t it be suitable? I think that science fiction films are just a perfect opportunity to try something out of the box. Besides the organ sound has been modified to sound very sterile and alien (sorry again). For some listeners these might be the longest 8 minutes of their lives but for me they’re absolutely ingenious. Just that way of adding more and more instruments to the mix slowly creating tension and depth to the piece before resolving probably to the most gorgeous statement of the main theme on the whole album. The cue ends also with one of the most memorable single chords ever (at 7:36) that blurs the line between tonality and atonality beautifully. The other suspenseful tracks on the album, An unexpected surprise and And afterwards?, don’t unfortunately reach the same heights but the latter includes interesting Ligeti-inspired choral work but also annoying, restless electronic tingling which sounded already dated in the year 2000.

The two greatest epiphanies on the album are the 13-minute Sacrifice of a hero and the film’s finale Where? which cover the entire range of emotions of the human existence. The first one continues from where Towards the unknown left off. The bassline is soon taken over by ominous brass and woodwinds, a martial drum and Maestro’s 70s giallo trademark, the whispering and whistling choir. This development is followed by an almost 2-minute sustained note which accompanies the heroic brass. Finally it resolves to the most devastating moment on the album for woeful strings and flute solo that turns back to harsh atonality once more before the final patriotic sendoff. Where? on the other hand begins gloomily but soon we get the first fanfare that signals the closeness of salvation. After that the atmosphere slowly swells to the final climax that explodes in pure joy and hope. The whole orchestra and choir provide the last majestic rendition of the main theme in one of the Maestro’s most spectacular finale cues ever. The album ends with All the friends, a short and sweet postlude to the fallen astronauts.

Mission to Mars is a score that divides the film music community: you either hate or love it. As you can probably tell, I’m part of that latter group. It’s rare to hear a space adventure film score this daring. Maestro Morricone treats it almost like a classical symphonic work, like a literal ‘space opera’ without the vocal parts. It’s easily in my top 10 Morricone scores of all time and probably his greatest achievement in the new millennium.

Rating: *****

Tracklist:

1. A heart beats in space (07:58) *****

2. A martian (06:06) *****

3. A world which searches (02:58) *****

4. And afterwards? (06:33) ****

5. A wife lost (03:27) *****

6. Towards the unknown (08:15) *****

7. Ecstasy of Mars (02:57) *****

8. Sacrifice of a hero (13:20) *****

9. Where? (05:32) *****

10. An unexpected surprise (02:33) ***

11. All the friends (02:39) *****

To boldly go: part 1

Title: Ecce homo – I sopravvissuti

Year: 1969

Composer: Ennio Morricone

This new series will feature score reviews from science fiction films. Let’s get everything started with an obscure post-apocalyptic film Ecce homo – I sopravvissuti. There’s almost no information about the production but it only lists 5 actors who play the last survivors of a nuclear war which destroyed humanity. Every track is called Venuta dal mare which translates to ‘Coming from the sea’ and the CD booklet has pictures of barren seashores. Maestro Morricone’s score reflects those perfectly. However the score is once again easier to admire due to its technical achievements rather than enjoyability.

The score's opening phrase

The score is written for a small chamber ensemble of six performers: Edda dell’Orso in vocals, Nicola Samale on flute, Dino Asciolla on viola, Anna Palomba on harp, Franco Giordano on percussions and Franco Goldani on vibes and marimba. The main title cue begins with a brilliantly haunting, eerie solo voice singing in the emptiness before being joined by an African kalimba and finally the rest of the instruments. It introduces immediately the four pitches on which everything is based: A-C-C#-D. Every single track is just a series of permutations of those four notes. Only during the more improvisatory moments can there be other pitches for instance in sliding glissandi but otherwise this is all we get. It’s quite astonishing how Morricone can keep the interest up even with this little to work with. It might have something to do with the fact that those notes don’t really form common chords and for instance there’s a constant battle between a minor or major third with C-C#.

There’s not that much I can really comment on. The score is rather slow moving, but occasionally there are moments of sheer brutality. After the title track, II begins with a nautical harp which to me sounds like something gliding over a still nocturnal bay. III has the first short obscure ‘chase’ moment where the flute starts to sound almost animalistic and Edda’s voice on the other hand comes more to the forefront. The percussion usually sounds like shards of glass clattering together or then like someone shaking a match box (for instance in track VII). IX develops the material heard in the title track but at the end it begins to move towards a more threatening atmosphere which culminates in XI and XII. The first one has a steady stabbing rhythm and the animalistic flute makes its return. The latter transforms Edda’s voice into aggressive moans which are layered on top of each other similarly to the flutes, which creates a sort of Edda ‘trio’ and flute ‘duo’. The steady chase rhythm is also prominent during the cue’s whole duration. Before the pretty uneventful Finale, the album’s cleanest writing is represented in XV. The last track on the album is a concert suite of the best the film versions have to offer. It’s actually a surprisingly cohesive piece of music which in my opinion could be performed in some chamber music festival.

The score of Ecce homo is a rather difficult one to recommend. The concert suite is included on many other albums and for those who might be keen on discovering this score, it would be the best way to start in my opinion. Though the concept of the score sounds quite unbearable on paper, I’ve always found something truly captivating about it. This is Morricone’s Planet of the apes and it experiments with the techniques used in contemporary classical music writing. You just have to give the maestro credit for creating an experience that sounds this alien and unique.

Rating: **1/2

Tracklist:

1. Venuta dal mare (main titles) (02:09) ***

2. Venuta dal mare (II) (01:59) ***

3. Venuta dal mare (III) (02:27) ***

4. Venuta dal mare (IV) (01:19) **

5. Venuta dal mare (V) (01:08) ***

6. Venuta dal mare (VI) (01:57) *

7. Venuta dal mare (VII) (01:24) ***

8. Venuta dal mare (VIII) (01:15) *

9. Venuta dal mare (IX) (02:04) ***

10. Venuta dal mare (X) (01:35) **

11. Venuta dal mare (XI) (02:07) **

12. Venuta dal mare (XII) (04:02) ****

13. Venuta dal mare (XIII) (02:13) **

14. Venuta dal mare (XIV) (01:15) **

15. Venuta dal mare (XV) (03:16) ***

16. Venuta dal mare (finale) (04:20) **

17. Venuta dal mare (concert suite version) (14:33) ****