Title: La
corrispondenza (Corrispondence)
Year: 2016
Composer: Ennio Morricone
A year has
passed again and for many it’s the time for “The Best of…” lists. Well Maestro
Morricone’s latest film score to Giuseppe Tornatore’s critically panned La corrispondenza was recorded in 2015
after the Oscar-winning score to The
hateful eight but the film and album were released in January of 2016. This
score therefore would be eligible for my best film scores of 2016 list and
would definitely end up in there though it’s not a fully golden effort by Maestro’s
standards. It’s still a refreshing effort of old European film music tradition
among some of the poor excuses for film music we got during the year. In
addition there are some choices that are rather unique to Maestro’s soundscape
still after 60 years of film scoring.
The album
begins with two long pieces that cover over 20 minutes of music and introduce
the instrumental choices and overall mood of the album but don’t offer any
thematic threads that would be revisited later. La casa sul lago begins with a piano solo played by a Morricone
regular Gilda Buttà which is joined
by soft strings that provide few accents here and there while the piano wanders
on in the echoing space. The melody that is played is more for creating colour
than any hummable theme. This gives the composition a free-flowing atmosphere
and the feeling of impressionistic beauty. The similar approach applies to Una stella, milliardi di stele as well
but the minimalism is taken even further. Morricone had a trend of writing long
constantly repeating cues in 2015 (especially both of the main themes from The hateful eight and the opening to En mai…) and this cue is this score’s
version of that. It starts with a simple, slow phrase for the piano that
altogether lasts about 1 minute 10 seconds before it’s repeated. With every
repeat some other instrument comes in building layers upon layers of sound. The
majority of the cue features soft electric guitar chords and synthesizers
before a countermelody for electric guitar solo is added around 5-minute mark.
The overall effect is rather hypnotic and beautiful and perfect background
music for relaxation. I could understand though why some people would label it
as boring.
The album
provides a mixture of different styles of music that result in a series of
individual pieces that aren’t really tied with a unified theme. Improvvisazione in sol is one of the
album’s surprises. It features a slowly-paced, complicated electric guitar solo
and synth pads not that far from artists like Pink Floyd. Though electric guitar has been featured in many Morricone
scores, I think it has never been utilized this way. The track begins with the
first version of the main theme before it turns to darker waters transforming
the piece into an improvisatory piece of new-age rock’n’roll that is
surprisingly soothing. Stuntgirl
offers the album’s only moment of action for the desperate string section,
strumming electric guitar and low-rumbling piano which are rather exciting. The
peace is restored in Due camera in hotel
which is a classic Morricone string adagio that provides a melody that
unfortunately isn’t heard elsewhere but it’s just so painfully beautiful and
romantic you almost want to cry. Yet another style is featured in Una storia nella storia which is a piece
of two separate lines played on the piano creating a fugue clearly inspired by
Baroque composers. The effect might be suitable e.g. for a scene in an art
gallery but on the album it sounds rather bland. The style is reprised in Invenzione breve in minor key and it’s
certainly an improvement.
The recording of Una luce spenta
This far
there really hasn’t been a strong main thematic thread except for a short
appearance in track 3. There is one though and what a theme it is! Otherworldly
tease version of the theme starts the title track La corrispondenza before it turns into a pretty piano solo. Dramatic
strings introduce a variation of the main theme in L’infinito spazio but once again it’s overshadowed by other
material, namely mournful light drama. The theme gets its greatest moment in Una luce spenta that begins with a solo
piano before guitar and strings come in and finally make way to the full
version of the theme. I haven’t been this moved by a Morricone theme since his
score to Sorstalanság from 2005. The
piece is just pure beauty written on sheet music. I’m especially moved by
resolution to minor iii chord in the cadence IV / vi / ii / ii / iii (B minor
in G major composition). After the first version of the theme we get a truly
beautiful duet for piano and solo violin before the theme repeats. Easily the
best track on the album and one of most beautiful moments in 2016’s film music.
There are
two other returning ideas as well. Il
ritorno di una stella introduces the first one again with a guitar solo before
an absolutely sublime orchestral swell that is intensified with synthesizers. The melody is reprised in Calco that
features also a similar classical moment to track 7 though this time the other
melody is actually the main theme in disguise. The second one is a wandering
piano melody that really reminds me of another Morricone melody but I really
can’t name which one. It’s heard in Parabola
astratta and Il cane simpatico
latter of which also has a reprise of the main theme for space-like
synthesizers. The last thematic reprise comes in Disperata chitarra that reprises the new-agey rock’n’roll playing
over steady, sorrowful string chords before giving the main theme a sendoff
that feels rather incomplete and hazy but in keeping with the impressionistic
style heard in the first two tracks thus bringing the album to a full
circle.
At first I
wasn’t that impressed with La
corrispondenza, however over time I learned to embrace its slow-moving and
leisurely atmosphere. Also realizing how many disguises the main theme gets was
an eye-opening reminder of Maestro’s talent. There are almost no dissonance Morricone
is known for which makes the album easy to recommend to those who are afraid of
that. This time the experimentation with rock music might be a turnoff to some
but there should be enough soothing melodies and moods to please a great number
of listeners.
Rating: ****1/2
Tracklist:
1. La casa
sul lago (07:15) *****
2. Una
stella, miliardi di stelle (13:27) *****
3.
Improvvisazione in sol (04:16) *****
4.
Stuntgirl (02:25) *****
5. Due
camere in hotel (03:04) *****
6. La
corrispondenza (02:28) ****
7. Una
storia nella storia (05:14) ***
8. Il
ritorno di una stella (01:29) *****
9.
L'infinito spazio (03:35) ****
10. Una
luce spenta (06:04) *****
11.
Parabola astratta (02:10) ****
12. Calco
(02:33) *****
13. Veloce
corsa (02:26) ***
14. Il cane
simpatico (01:55) ****
15.
Invenzione breve (01:20) ****
16.
Disperata chitarra (05:33) *****
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