Title: Drammi
gotici (Gothic dramas)
Year: 1977
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Drammi gotici is a rare TV miniseries of 4 episodes that has since faded into obscurity. There’s almost no information found about the series
but it includes all the good stuff for Halloween like vampires, witches and
madmen, and hence is a great way to end my horror reviews for this year. The
series managed to get a high class score by Maestro Morricone that is once
again a dissonant and demanding listen with only a few moments of serene beauty
that is still shrouded in darkness.
Each new
episode opens with a ‘main title’ of sorts, an atonal string and choral cluster
chord. It’s a nice little distinguishing feature nevertheless that brings some
cohesion to the album. The opening Kaiserstrasse
continues with a short moment of a carnival tune that is buried under a dose of
strings and giggling choir members. La
strada della follia introduces a melody that begins similarly to Morricone’s
Ecstasy of gold but is a different
piece altogether. It features innocent childlike voices that disappear as the
piece progresses and leave only the accompanying harp notes playing in the
empty space. The follow-up Follia nella
strada is largely built around the same atonal chord style as the main
title but this time it’s only performed by the strings. There’s also a moment
for distorted church bells that lead to the full version of the carnival tune
which is my single favourite moment on the album. By itself it would be
extremely moving but considering the surrounding soundscape it becomes creepy. After
a moment of dissonance Morricone introduces another beautiful piece Fuori della realtà this time for solo
musicbox and occasional choral voices. Pioggia
is actually a reused track from Morricone’s 1971 score to Veruschka and it features menacing tinkling instruments that
surprisingly are featured also during some of the album’s later cues as well.
The second
episode consists of very ‘Italian’ sounding tracks relying heavily on mandolin
and guitar. They too have a dark twist to them because the melodies are
completely atonal. The style is introduced right after the main title in Ma non è un vampiro with playful woodwinds,
solo mandolin and ‘gipsy’ inspired violin solo. Suoni dissociati and E’una vampira
develop the style to more dissonant and eerie direction even though the
instrumental choices remain the same. Everything comes together in Il vampiro where the melodies get their
simplest arrangements for only a few instruments. The odd piece out is Città ferita which begins with atonal
acapella voices creating clusters that remind me of classical works of György
Ligeti. Slowly instruments are added to the structure but the overall sound
still remains otherworldly and alien.
The main title
introduces the third episode in La casa
delle streghe followed by some unsettling moments for viola solo and strings.
The viola playing culminates in track 17 that is dedicated to Morricone’s longtime
collaborator Dino Asciolla who performs the viola also in this score. The track
is mostly very difficult to listen to and the solo viola and its atonal melodies
can get quite irritating after a while and with the duration of 5.5 minutes the
cue can be quite unbearable. Viole nella
nebbia combines the viola solos to the tinkling material from Pioggia and even the atonal chords from
the first episode to distant ghostly voices. Those voices are also included in
the best suspense track Tra sospiri e
lamenti where they’re accompanied only by the viola and echoing harp notes.
Diario di un pazzo is the title of the last episode ad it’s
summed almost entirely into a massive 11-minute track that begins with the main
title and continues from there onward with strange sound design that can’t
really be considered as music. It consists of the previously heard giggling
choir members but this time there are all kinds of different laughter, whispers
and moans of madmen and women. Some of the laughing has also been slowed down which
is just so discomforting. There are also the’ bubble’ effect heard on many
other Morricone horror soundtracks. The track includes also a sample of the
following track Phantavox which is
like a broken cabaret band complete with whistling and percussion that sounds
like kitchen utensils. The ending cue is a passionate little piece for romantic
solo violin and piano which is a surprising conclusion and a great sendoff
after all the madness.
Drammi gotici is a constantly surprising effort that
balances different styles of film music and experiments with atonality in a
fresh and original way. However, it’s not a perfect score by any means and if
you want to have a more conventional horror score to listen to this Halloween,
don’t pick this one up. For the fans of Morricone’s experimental works though
it’s a rewarding listen with a lot to discover.
Rating: ***1/2
Tracklist:
1. Kaiserstrasse
(02:40) ****
2. La
strada della follia (03:21) *****
3. Follia nella strada (08:02) ****
4. Fuori dalla realtà (03:54) *****
5. Pioggia (03:40) ***
6. Ma non è un vampiro (02:41) *****
7. Città ferita (06:08) ****
8. Suoni dissociati (02:55) ****
9. E'una vampira (02:24) ****
10. Il vampiro (06:26) ***
11. La casa delle streghe (02:41) ***
12. Viole nella nebbia (05:49) ****
13. Tra sospiri e lamenti (03:12) *****
14. Ricordo
di Dino Asciolla (05:29) ***
15. Diario
di un pazzo (11:44) **
16. Phantavox
(02:54) ****
17. Elegia
per violino e pianoforte (02:02) *****
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