Exotic flavours: part 1

Title: Slalom (Snow job)

Year: 1965

Composer: Ennio Morricone

It’s Christmastime and I’m launching a new review series concentrating on scores that feature certain exotic or ethnic qualities. I’m using the title quite loosely and the first score I’m reviewing is actually from a spy comedy film Slalom that oozes with wintery landscapes contrasted with hints of Middle Eastern influence. The score is once again by Maestro Morricone and while he didn’t break any new ground, the CD still is an enjoyable spin.

The album I have has the score divided into two long suites called Concertino per una spia. There’s also an expanded version of the score floating around where the cues are individual short ones. The album begins with a bang by presenting the main title cue that has certainly a spy film swing to it. The bouncy melody is first introduced with the whistling of Alessandro Alessandroni before switching to the twanging electric guitar. There’s also singing from I Cantori Moderni choir who provide both rhythmic repetition of the film’s title and childlike la-las. The landscape changes instantly to a stereotypical Egyptian marketplace setting introduced by an Arabic flute melody. However after that we get a clear plagiarized version of the James Bond theme complete with the 4 note bassline and even a guitar solo. The similarity to the original composition is striking and whether or not it was used as a comical method or not, I’m still quite annoyed by the result. Next opens a scene of 1960s romantic fluff for soft strings and flutes that continues into a dinner party sequence accompanied by a slow drum set beat. The dreamy atmosphere is disturbed by menacing percussion and string clusters. This texture has to be one of my favourite parts of the score. The suite ends with an instrumental version of the main title track, reprise of the previous party music added with staccato strings and more pop music orientated guitar solo.

Sestriere is clearly a Christmas song if Morricone ever wrote one. That atmosphere is made possible by the wordless humming of I Cantori Moderni and ringing sleigh bells. The track is cheesy as hell but it establishes the location and feeling perfectly. The middle part of the piece however includes added weirdness that Morricone tends to add into his compositions this time by changing the longer choral lines into rhythmically comical duba-dus. The second version doesn’t really differ from the first one except it omits the previously mentioned comical section. The last track on the album includes another look to the piece because it is an instrumental version which really shows how great the backing orchestral arrangement is. The single version of the main title track Slalom includes added choral voices to the cue’s first half and it doesn’t end with a bang but just fades away.

The second suite is a whopping 18 minutes in length and it begins with the annoying Bond theme that fortunately is short-lived. The cheesy, fluffy 60s flutes return again and after a short moment of suspense we get another jazzy lounge piece this time concentrating on the vibraphone and high-register piano playing. The brilliant suspense textures from the first track return for a short while before changing into a comical sneaking around cue that is followed by more romantic fluff. The party theme from the first suite returns once more, this time with a sleazy electric guitar solo and staccato organ interruptions. Then we’re transported back to the marketplace with a piece of snake charming music with an accelerating percussive rhythm. There’s also the score’s only attempt at action music with a moment of rambling pianos and percussion. The rest of the suite however fades back into the romantic fluff and finally reprises the second track’s Sestriere arrangement.

If it feels like I’m describing just various moments, that’s exactly what the score is: just a series of short moments put together without that much cohesion. Though I find the album representation fascinating, I really don’t think that the two suites work that well creating a feeling of a symphonic poem for instance. The score isn’t nevertheless without its merits: the orchestration is really exquisite and beautiful, some of the suspense moments are really well done and the cheesy moments really put you into a holiday mindset. A great little album to listen to around Christmastime.

Rating: ***1/2

Tracklist:

1. Slalom (Concertino per una spia) parte 1a (13:35) ****

2. Sestriere (end title alternative version) parte 2a (02:14) ****

3. Sestriere (end title original movie version) (02:28) ***

4. Slalom (original single edit) (02:20) ****

5. Slalom (Concertino per una spia) parte 2a (18:29) ***

6. Sestriere (end title alternative version orchestra solo) (02:22) ****

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) ****

Maestro Morricone's "Bambini del mondo"

Title: Bambini del mondo

Year: 2015

Composer: Ennio Morricone

 

The album Bambini del mondo is one of the hardest to find in Maestro Morricone’s entire catalogue though it’s only a year old. The reason for that is the fact that it’s only sold at his concerts. Maestro had tried to publish it commercially but there was no interest for that from record labels so he published the album himself. I managed to find it at his Helsinki concert. The album consists of 6 classical works written for acapella children’s choir Coro di voci bianche dell’Arcum, and a few other instruments in some of the pieces. Maestro’s absolute music works are usually very challenging and contemporary in style which is also true with Bambini del mondo. However this collection of works from the 70s to the 21st century is far more listenable than the other compilation I own from him called Chamber music.

The first piece is the title track Bambini del mondo, which translates to Children of the world. The booklet actually has a page from the piece and it has different series of notes describing different nationalities, e.g. Senegal, China, Japan and Native American. The piece is at the same time alien and odd with folk music like progressions but at times it’s bordering sacred choral music. It seems that the different melodies are performed quite freely on top of each other some fading away temporarily and some appearing again from elsewhere. The overall soundscape is rather unique and actually quite pleasant. It reminds me a bit of Maestro’s work in the film Il sorriso del grande tentatore where a children’s choir was used a bit in a similar fashion. Sometimes the melodies collide with deliciously beautiful results but those moments float away as quickly as they appeared.

The following work Tre scioperi is far more challenging compared to the slow-moving nature of the opening. It has purely atonal harmonies that are quite brutal in their aggressive nature. The text for the piece was written by an author and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini who Morricone had worked with previously. The first part introduces a bass drum that is played by the Maestro and it provides a few hits that give the music almost a feeling of tribal worship. The second part slows down a bit and has few parts of the choir conversing with each other in a non-melodic manner. The third part has the choir finally singing in joint harmonies rather beautifully before the madness of the first two parts returns for a short while. The ending is actually a moment of celestial beauty with harmonies that start to resemble common chords elevated with a few hits from the bass drum.

Echi begins with an atonal cello solo performed by Livia De Romanis. The choir then comes in with short phrases that echo and resonate in the otherwise empty space. The cello and choir continue their dialogue throughout the work providing no apparent highs or lows which makes the track rather monotonous. Questo è un testo senza testo is a polyphonic work with harmonies once again bordering tonal and atonal writing. It also includes spoken parts for a section of the choir that sound a bit distracting compared to the overall feel of the work.

The other work with several parts is called Il silenzio, il gioco, la memoria. The first part starts with surprisingly beautiful slow-moving harmonies but as the piece progresses they become more and more atonal. It has a feel to some pieces by Ligeti and could fit rather well to Kubrick’s 2001. The second part Zum Beispiel introduces a bouncy melody that is repeated in a fugal fashion as other parts of the choir start their own developments of short repeated phrases on top the established base. Then comes a moment of weird swaying motion that actually sounds like there were some electronics at play but miraculously the effect is just achieved with the power of voices. The last part returns to the beginning’s harmonic base this time with more movement.

The last piece Arcate d’archi con bambini, the newest of the bunch from 2011 is the crowning achievement of the album. It’s the only one to include an orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra to be exact with a violin solo performed by Prisca Amori. The orchestra introduces slow romantic chords with hints of expressionistic sadness to them while the moving violin performs delicately like a birdsong giving the piece more emotional depth. The piece is actually a variation of Maestro’s Above the Clouds (Theme from Fat Man and Little Boy) with the voice of Edda dell’Orso replaced by the violin. The choir appears at the work’s middle point providing wordless la-las that once again come in and disappear seemingly independently of the other material. The whole piece has a feel of flying through the air with heavenly voices calling from beyond.

The album is a collectors’ item for sure and if you happen to find one at Maestro’s concert, I’d recommend you to consider purchasing it. As with any album consisting of Maestro’s classical works, this one should be approached with caution because the sound of children singing atonal harmonies may not be everyone’s favourite. However the first and the last piece and a few other highlights provide enough material to keep the listener at least intrigued by Maestro’s versatility if not completely entertained.

Rating: ***1/2

Tracklist:

1. Bambini del mondo (09:50) *****

Tre scioperi

2. Primo sciopero (02:17) ***

3. Secondo sciopero (03:26) **

4. Terzo sciopero (05:00) ****

5. Echi (07:44) ***

6. Questo è un testo senza testo (04:08) ***

Il silenzio, il gioco, la memoria

7. Per J.C. (07:10) ***

8. Zum Beispiel (04:06) ****

9. Voce bianca (03:03) ***

10. Arcate d’archi con bambini (11:25) *****

CrimeWaves: part 2

Title: Il poliziotto della brigata criminale (Fear over the city)

Year: 1975

Composer: Ennio Morricone

A French crime thriller starring one of France’s biggest stars Jean-Paul Belmondo in his first role as a police officer. Morricone scored the film without any surprises but included many nods to his previous works even outside the Poliziotteschi genre.

The score begins with a heartbeat sound effect before the main theme is performed by two Morricone trademarks: whistling and harmonica. The theme has an underlying piano ostinato that is also a regular in Maestro’s writing for crime flicks. Most notably it has been used in Revolver (1973) and even in the absolute music work Varianti su un segnale di polizia. The main theme is the only connecting factor and parts of it are heard in almost every track. Even the following track Considerazioni su un omicidio has the B section of the theme reprised for screeching trumpets and clarinets though otherwise it is a nauseating (in a good way) piece for atonal string clusters that swirl around without any structure whatsoever. Sui tetti di Parigi provides snippets of the main theme among a few suspenseful shockers for brass. The ostinato is joined by the nauseating strings and a steady drum beat in Parigi segreta which give the track perfect uneasiness. The following two 4-minute cues evolve entirely around the piano ostinato and they both are great in building up anxiety with every added instrumental colour. Azione panoramica includes another Morricone favourite, the screeching trumpet that is played in an unusual way reminding me of a barking animal. Ostaggi on the other hand includes more improvisation for the piano and at the end has more orchestral backing than its predecessor. Finale reprises the whistling this time in a beaten up way.

This album includes a few pieces from other Morricone scores as well. Sospiri da una radio lontana is originally from Crescete e moltiplicatevi (1973) and it’s a cheesy piece of 70s sleaze complete with sighing vocal work including Edda dell’Orso once again. I haven’t seen Il poliziotto della brigata criminale but in my twisted mind I would imagine this piece would suit perfectly to a scene of a murderer going around killing women while this track was playing in the radio. The ‘lyrics’ of the track are nevertheless “Die, die, die…”. Just an idea for a musical joke but most likely it isn’t like that. All’angolo di una strada di periferia might not be originally from this film either because the longer version of the piece is included on the soundtrack of Storie di vita e malavita from the same year as this film. The reason I think it’s originally from that film is that the piano in this track has prepared sound which doesn’t appear elsewhere. The cue itself is a forgettable piece of dark suspense material. The only other moment of beauty on the album besides Sospiri… is Sosta vietata which is a lounge type dance piece that doesn’t really stand out that well either.

The score is by no means a Morricone classic but there’s a certain charm about it. However it’s very hard to enjoy because the bleak soundscape has no time for beautiful melodies. The inclusion of whistling and harmonica give the music an edge transforming it into a kind of urban Western score. The 30-minute presentation is a perfect length even though longer versions of the score float around as well.

Rating: ***1/2

Tracklist:

1. Paura sulla città (04:16) ****

2. Considerazioni su un omicidio (03:17) ****

3. Sui tetti di Parigi (01:48) **

4. Sospiri da una radio lontana (06:00) *****

5. Parigi segreta (02:19) ****

6. Azione panoramica (04:14) *****

7. Ostaggi (04:33) ****

8. Paura sulla città (Finale) (01:45) ***

9. Sosta vietata (02:25) ****

10. Manichini (01:20) ***

11. All'angolo di una strada di periferia (02:45) **

Need for drama: part 1

Title: Giovinezza giovinezza (Youth march)

Year: 1969

Composer: Piero Piccioni

One other Italian film music Maestro yet to be introduced on this site is Piero Piccioni, who as many other composers of his era started as a jazz musician before turning to film music. His main instruments were piano and organ which are featured heavily on his scores. Also his jazz roots are clearly heard in many of his works but the orchestral writing on the other hand usually leans towards the impressionism of the 20^th century. His score to a drama film Giovinezza giovinezza about student movement in fascist Italy combines beautifully both styles.

The main theme is heard straight at the beginning in Titoli which is a simple, misty rising and falling melody played with a surprising instrumental choice, namely the Russian balalaika. The underlying orchestral support on the other hand is very impressionistic which elevates the melody into something more interesting than its first impression gives away. The melody was reprised and developed further in Piccioni’s score to Le altre the same year. Ricordi lontani reprises the main theme in a nostalgic fashion. There’s an underwater quality about the music as many of the tracks have so much echo, sounding like they were recorded in a huge space e.g. in a cathedral of some sort. My favourite examples of this are probably Circostanze che dividono and Ideali which are just dreamy in their floating serenity, though latter provides the first glimpse to the lurking danger. The main theme forms basis to Giulio, Mariuccia e Giordano with a faster pace and more desperate atmosphere than before. However my absolute favourite version has to be Tema conduttore blues which transforms the main theme into a steamy jazz club number complete with vibraphone flourishes. The last versions of the main theme Un futuro senza futuro, Tre amici non si incontreranno mai più and Finale provide a nostalgic look back to the innocence of the album’s beginning that feels now rather distant after the uneasiness of some of the album’s middle tracks.

There’s also another theme heard first at the beginning of the 7-minute introverted slightly out-of-tune solo Come in un sogno for an instrument resembling a harpsichord which has such impressionistic harmonies that it actually sounds a bit menacing and even atonal at times which gives it an eerie quality. The melody moves towards a long developmental section that variates the main theme in a very strange harmonic language that is surprisingly appealing. Again the piano has a wonderful echo that just seems to radiate out of the otherwise empty space. The track’s two reprises are for a solo piano and are even more introverted in nature. Eeriness intensifies with Amore segreto where the balalaikas and strings form a threatening layer for the main theme to appear once again. The second theme returns in Breve incontro, Tre anime in pena and Tre destini which provide couple of atmospheric moments of danger amid the more traditionally beautiful pieces.

The album also includes an abundance of source cues typical of the era. Musica da bello Latina is a Latin-flavoured dance piece with bossa nova rhythms and jazzy trumpet flourishes, however it gets a bit repetitive during its 5-minute duration. There’s also a period waltz suitable for a ballroom scene, Musica da bello valzer which is again lovely but not that memorable eventually. Musica cabaret is actually a completely mad piece featuring weird harmonies and barking brass instruments which is just a blast with its insanity. More traditional cabaret pieces are actually the two Musica jazz cues and Radio blues with their trumpet and clarinet solos over sleazy piano, banjo strumming and drum set backing. There are also two clearly more ‘rural’ tracks providing source music from the surrounding area rather than dance halls: Momento popolare is an solo accordion piece with a strange rhythm (or deliberately played incorrectly) whereas Il fronte Grego is a folk song sung possibly in Greek (I’m not familiar with the language so I can’t really tell).

The score is an introverted piece of music that floats around in emptiness even during the more suspenseful moments. Even the source cues fit rather well into the mix with their intimate chamber or jazz club sized ensembles. Though the main theme can get repetitive after a while and its simplicity may annoy some listeners, there still is wonderful orchestral bliss to discover in this score if given a chance. It’s not a classic for sure but I’m grateful Beat Records took a risk once again and let us hear this rare gem from a time long gone.

Rating: ****

Tracklist:

1. Giovinezza giovinezza (Titoli) (03:05) *****

2. Giovinezza giovinezza (Musica da ballo latina) (05:18) ****

3. Giovinezza giovinezza (Ricordi lontani) (01:22) *****

4. Giovinezza giovinezza (Musica da ballo valzer) (02:21) ***

5. Giovinezza giovinezza (Circostanze che dividono) (02:13) *****

6. Giovinezza giovinezza (Come in un sogno) (07:19) ****

7. Giovinezza giovinezza (Giulio, Mariuccia e Giordano) (02:49) ****

8. Giovinezza giovinezza (Musica cabaret) (01:19) ****

9. Giovinezza giovinezza (Ideali) (01:43) *****

10. Giovinezza giovinezza (Musica jazz) (02:00) ****

11. Giovinezza giovinezza (Amore segreto) (01:38) ****

12. Giovinezza giovinezza (Momento popolare) (01:02) ***

13. Giovinezza giovinezza (Breve incontro) (01:47) ***

14. Giovinezza giovinezza (Musica jazz) (01:21) *****

15. Giovinezza giovinezza (Tre anime in pena) (02:08) ****

16. Giovinezza giovinezza (Radio blues) (02:08) ****

17. Giovinezza giovinezza (Come in un sogno) (02:25) ****

18. Giovinezza giovinezza (Il fronte Greco) (01:15) **

19. Giovinezza giovinezza (Tre destini) (01:18) ***

20. Giovinezza giovinezza (Tema conduttore blues) (02:40) *****

21. Giovinezza giovinezza (Un futuro senza futuro) (01:38) *****

22. Giovinezza giovinezza (Come in un sogno) (01:16) *****

23. Giovinezza giovinezza (Pensando ai giorni felici) (01:06) ****

24. Giovinezza giovinezza (Tre amici non si incontreranno mai più) (01:18) ****

25. Giovinezza giovinezza (Tema conduttore blues) (03:50) ****

26. Giovinezza giovinezza (Finale) (02:20) ****

Maestro Morricone's "The 60 years of music tour" in Helsinki

Pretty soon as I discovered Maestro Ennio Morricone’s music with his score to Il clan dei Siciliani I also found out that he was doing massive concert tours around Europe. Since I live in Finland I never thought I could actually see Maestro perform live. The outskirts of Europe aren’t a popular place to visit for international superstars and when Maestro turned 80, I already thought that his days might be numbered.

However in the autumn of 2015 I was absolutely dumbfounded when it was announced that Maestro would come to perform a concert in Helsinki during his The 60 years of music tour. This would not only be his first time in Finland but the only concert held in the Nordic countries as well. I immediately ordered a ticket because the date of March 2016 would perfectly be around my Easter holidays. Unfortunately only a few weeks before the concert was due, the devastating news arrived: Maestro had to cancel his concert due to back problems. I realized that my opportunity to see this living legend live had vanished into thin air. Or so I thought.

During the spring of 2016 it was announced that a new date for the concert was scheduled for 30^th of November. I was first skeptical whether I could attend or not because of the strict nature of my studies. However I decided to hold on to my original tickets. During the autumn I followed all the announcements about the concert with anxiety because of the previous cancellation. It was only after I saw that he had performed in Stockholm 2 days prior when I realized that my ultimate dream could actually come true.

In the morning of 30^th of November I finally stepped onto a train to Helsinki and started the 4-hour journey. The landscape was all covered in a fresh snow layer like the nature itself was celebrating the Maestro’s arrival to Finland. The venue for the concert was Hartwall Arena, more famous for its usage in ice hockey. When I arrived there, I was surprised to see no outside adverts about the concert. Some lesser Finnish artists and stand up comedians had their banners though… After standing in line for 30 minutes I got in and visited the souvenir store like any other tourist. I bought the new compilation album 60 years of music with a DVD and the totally obscure Morricone record that he produced himself and which is only sold during his concerts called Bambini del mondo. The programme was designed in a book form and was a nice memory from the concert to take home with. I had a seat at the floor level relatively near the orchestra. The whole arena was teeming and breathing like before a sporting event and almost every one of the 10000 seats was taken.

The performers started to flow onto the stage starting with the Finnish choir Grex Musicus Choir followed by Czech National Symphony Orchestra that has been Maestro’s collaborator for years already. However when the Maestro came to the stage the whole audience already gave him a standing ovation of a good 2 minutes without him even conducting a single note. Then the lights went out, everyone went silent and the first delicate harp notes appeared…

The evening’s programme was as follows:

A homage to Giuseppe Tornatore

·         The legend of 1900 (from The legend of 1900)

·         Tarantella (from Baarìa)

Scattered sheets

·         Chi mai (from Maddalena)

·         H2S (from H2S)

·         Metti, una sera a cena (from Metti, una sera a cena)

·         Croce d’amore (from Metti, una sera a cena)

·         Cinema Paradiso (from Cinema Paradiso)

·         Tema d’amore (from Cinema Paradiso)

A homage to Mauro Bolognini

·         Per le antiche scale (from Per le antiche scale)

·         Irene-Dominique (from L’eredità Ferramonti)

The modernity of the myth in Sergio Leone’s cinema

·         The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Main theme (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

·         Jill’s Theme (from Once upon a time in the West)

·         Sean, Sean (from A fistful of dynamite)

·         The ecstasy of gold (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

• Soprano Susanna Rigacci

Intermission

The hateful eight

·         Stage coach to Red Rock

·         Bestiality

3 adagi

·         Deborah’s theme (from Once upon a time in America)

·         Addio Monti (from I promessi sposi)

·         Vatel’s theme (from Vatel)

The red tent

·         Do dreams go on

·         They’re alive (SOS)

·         Others who will follow us

The mission

·         Gabriel’s oboe

·         Falls

·         On earth as it is in heaven

Encore 1: Abolisson (from Queimada)

Encore 2: The ecstasy of gold (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

Encore 3: On earth as it is in heaven (from The mission)

The concert began marvelously with Maestro’s epic love song to the sea. After the aforementioned harp solo, some fragments of madness started to lure in in a form of jazzy snippets. The orchestral performance of those snippets though was a bit rushed and not that precise but fortunately this was the only time when some orchestral mishaps happened during the night. When the magnificent main theme reached its climax I was holding back tears because the wave of sound was just so immense. This happened many times at the beginning of the concert and only during the performance of Tema d’amore from Cinema Paradiso I finally shed a tear of joy because I wasn’t prepared that they would have performed this moving piece. I felt emotional even during the martial Tarantella because the orchestra and even the stone-faced Maestro seemed to have so much fun with it.

After that homage we got a collection of miscellaneous pieces from obscure films starting with Chi mai. As I wrote in my review of Maddalena’s score, it truly is a piece of beauty. The atmosphere was pretty laid-back with sleazy bass playing. However that atmosphere was broken by a cheerful classically inspired H2S which was among the concert’s very best performances. All the nuances from different instruments were performed so effortlessly. The sleazy bass and electric guitar returned accompanying the cheesy, bouncy melody of Metti, una sera a cena. It was only during this cue, when Maestro loosened his metronome-like precision and had some swing with his conducting. Elsewhere he seemed very concentrated on the sheet music, but when he gave the players personal direction during a cue, the audience got to witness a moment of warm glance and mutual respect. The second piece from Metti… brings images of an urban cityscape to mind. However this performance was even more menacing and provided the only moment of unease of the first half. The piano player was set free and improvised the simple melodic core wildly. The section concluded with two pieces from Cinema Paradiso which were oh so beautiful and serene. I bet there was no dry eye in the audience after Tema d’amore had finished. Another homage consisting of 2 pieces arrived next. Per le antiche scale was an intimate duet for a solo flute and piano but Irene-Dominique was so massive in its arrangement that it was pleasing though the melody isn’t really that original among Maestro’s other works.

It was time for the finale of the first half with a suite of Sergio Leone’s film themes. Susanna Rigacci walked to the stage in a red dress and the audience managed to make her smile with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’s beginning when someone from the audience whistled the famous wolf-call over the pulsating opening line. This was also the first showpiece for the 50 member choir and they succeeded. I especially enjoyed the choir’s sopranos who sounded very fresh and young which worked perfectly during the concert’s latter half. Maestro showed that ageing hadn’t slowed him down because during many pieces the tempos were much faster than in the originals, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly being no exception. Rigacci however sounded a bit flat at the beginning of Jill’s Theme but got much better during Sean, Sean and even playful during the massive ending The ecstasy of gold which received another standing ovation of several minutes.

The second half began with Maestro’s Oscar winning score to The hateful eight. It was by far the most challenging section during the whole concert. The reptile like quality of the sneaky main theme was brilliantly achieved by the bassoons and tuba. Once again the tempo was faster and got actually rather exhilarating at the end, but Bestiality (originally written for John Carpenter’s The Thing) brought the madness to new heights. I think that the lowest bowed instruments in this piece weren’t so audible due to mixing and that’s why the piece lacked some of its punch but it gave me goosebumps nevertheless. The craziness was balanced with 3 adagi which was programme-wise the only mishap of the concert. I’ve never understood the praise of Deborah’s theme. It’s a nice little melody but nothing more and even though the performance was emotional, it never highlighted the actual piece in any way. The other two cues chosen were already done much better during the first half’s romantic material. However at the end I think we needed some time to breath after the shock caused by The hateful eight and Maestro’s solution was passable.

For me the highlight of the concert was the suite from The red tent because it was something I didn’t know what to expect of since I had heard a recording of a live performance of pretty much every other piece. Besides the main theme of that film is a forgotten gem of a melody. That main theme was introduced in a massive arrangement with a soft choral backing. However the serene quality was broken by They’re alive (SOS) which includes the Morse code rambling and almost aleatoric dissonance where the instruments were played seemingly independent of each other. Simply thrilling stuff! The section concluded however with another dreamlike main theme reprise for the choir and solo viola. The piece continued without pauses straight to the last section, The mission, which is surely a crowd pleaser and a regular end to a Morricone concert. The performance of Gabriel’s oboe was rather understated in a good way. The oboist wasn’t forcing the emotion but rather just letting the melody speak for itself. Also Falls was performed similarly: there was a certain serenity floating around the arena and orchestra which made the piece breathe. The rousing finale however turned a bit into a cacophony of melodic brilliance and due to the immense sound barrier I couldn’t really tell if the choir was only singing long lines and missed the rhythmic section completely. The audience seemed to love it though and Morricone gave three encores and the last standing ovation took probably 10 minutes altogether. He even seemed a bit astonished and when he began the last reprise of On earth as it is in heaven, he accidentally started to conduct a wrong piece. However when Finns are allowed to be around alcohol (the arena has bars you see) they unfortunately can become a bit shouty. This partly drunken yelling was apparent before the last 2 encores and at least to me was disrespectful to the artist.

Overall the concert was a night to remember, a once-of-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of the last film music legends still alive and surprisingly well. Though Maestro had aged significantly from when we saw him at the Oscars nearly a year ago, there still was an internal fire and passion to present his music to a new audience. A sign of great artistry in my opinion was also that he didn’t address the audience or give any speeches. He just lets his music do the talking. And since this is his last tour, we hope to hear that talking if possible for many more years where it suits best: accompanying a film. Thank you Maestro Morricone for giving Finland a chance! Grazie mille!

WTF (Weird tho' fabulous): part 1

Title: Maddalena

Year: 1971

Composer: Ennio Morricone

This new series will include music of the obscure works that really can’t be categorized to any specific genre. 1971 was the greatest year in Morricone’s whole career and though many of the works of that year are among the composer’s very best, his score to Maddalena might be the crowning achievement. The film itself is a dramatic art film written and directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz and there is almost no information available of the entire project online. What is mentioned though is the presence of Morricone’s score which is praised heavily. However most of it is highly experimental and should be approached with caution.

The album opens with a piece called Come Maddalena which could actually be my personal favourite cue by the Maestro. It combines ingeniously moods from popular, religious and classical music. The track begins with a long introduction by the jazzy percussion playing of Vincenzo Restuccia that is joined by the church organ of Bruno Nicolai. Soon the soothing voice of Edda dell’Orso is added to the mix and we’re introduced to a bouncy counter melody sung by a children’s choir. The film’s actual main theme is introduced around 3.5-minute mark first by the organ and Edda’s soprano solo before expanding to the whole choir and string section. The melody is heartbreakingly beautiful and fragile and it reminds me of Maestro’s previous work in spaghetti westerns. The album ends with a disco version from 1978 which actually is a positive surprise because the added percussion and bass don’t really transform the piece into a danceable tune but rather elevate the material into greater heights by building intensity as the piece progresses. The piece has to have some significance to its creator as well because Maestro Morricone has performed it live in many of his concerts.

And no matter how impressive the opening track is, it’s still isn’t the piece that causes Maddalena’s overall attraction. That prize goes to Chi mai which was later popularized by reappearing in a French film Le professionnel also scored by Morricone, or as the main title theme to a British TV series The life and times of David Lloyd George or in a French dog food commercial. But seriously, it’s a magnificent piece which provides much needed sweetness among the trippy psychedelic cues. The cue comprises of a meandering, breezy string melody that is light as a feather accompanied by a light pop beat. The B section revolves around romantic and passionate harpsichord. The album provides tons of different versions of the theme from a more rhythmically accurate original single version to the film’s main star Lisa Gastoni’s love songs sung in Italian, French and English.

One reason for Chi mai's success.

Just before sailing to uncharted territories we’re greeted by the dreamlike Una donna da ricordare which has the flute and children’s choir variating the main theme and its counter melody softly. But the big one has to be Pazzia in cielo in which all the nightmares are unleashed. It’s almost a 10-minute psychedelic mixture of wild percussion, aggressively condemning church organ and the mantra-like variation of the Dies irae melody and cluster chords provided by the choir. The ending includes a majestic organ version of the main theme that rises above all the surrounding chaos. Intermezzo per pianoforte is a short solo piano interlude which adds to the oppressive atmosphere with its techniques popularized by the composers of the contemporary era. Erotico mistico has recalls to Maestro’s work in giallo films when the orgasmic sighing of Edda dell’Orso makes an appearance. In the reprise of that track they become even more pronounced and the chaotic atmosphere cools down significantly into a hazy wet dream. What makes the atmosphere even more disturbing though is hearing the children’s choir singing the counter melody amid the sexual moaning but luckily the main theme lingers in the background for some atonement.

Describing the music of Maddalena might sound very cryptic due to its unique nature. The 10-minute trippy cues that dominate the album’s middle part provide challenging, at times spiritual, at times infernal musical landscapes. However amid all the chaos there’s something that penetrates the listener’s very soul. Not to mention the awesome main theme and counter melody that are the glue that keeps the chaotic cues from falling apart. To put it shortly, Maddalena is like a hypnotic dream that balances on the thin line between nightmares and light naps, and it proves how originality can be applied into a film score with guts and controlled madness.

Rating: *****

Tracklist:

1. Come Maddalena (09:11) *****

2. Chi mai (03:33) *****

3. Una donna da ricordare (04:17) *****

4. Chi mai (versione italiana) (03:23) *****

5. Pazzia in cielo (09:47) *****

6. Maddalena (intermezzo per pianoforte) (02:47) ***

7. Chi mai (versione singolo) (03:26) *****

8. Erotico Mistico (09:47) *****

9. Chi mai (versione francese) (03:24) ****

10. Pazzia in cielo (#2) (09:46) *****

11. Erotico Mistico (#2) (08:18) *****

12. Chi mai (versione inglese) (03:26) ****

13. Come Maddalena (versione 12" maxi Disco 78) (06:37) *****

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) *****