Title: La
lama nel corpo (The murder clinic)
Year: 1966
Composer: Francesco De Masi & Paolo Renosto
La lama nel corpo takes place in the 1800s in a secluded mental
institute where a stabber kills the sexy patients one by one. The music was
provided by Francesco De Masi whose fully orchestral score depicts the large
gothic corridors, dark corners and eerie atmosphere so vividly that you start
to look behind your shoulders for a masked killer on the loose. A fellow film composer
Paolo Renosto was brought in for some additional romantic material and a few
suspenseful passages.
Nel buio della notte introduces the score’s unifying
identity right from the get-go. A sinister major 6th interval starts
the score and serves as the backbone of the film’s main theme which follows
afterwards performed by a solo cello. This descending atonal melody is rarely
performed in this form rather it’s always variated in some form or another. It
leads to score’s another element, an electric bass guitar whose rhythmic plucks
probably depict the killer. What follows then is a series of suspenseful cues
of excellent 60s style orchestral horror music. Entrado nel misterio has all the essential elements: harpsichord,
bass clarinet, flute and an organ to create the atmosphere. The electric bass
guitar reappears in Passagio dell’ombra on
top of which a variation of the main theme is heard. The sequence later moves
to a faster chase-style music that ends with orchestral knife stabs à la Psycho. A dramatic string moment
interrupts Fred! Oh povero Fred which
then reprises the main theme.
Renosto’s
first attribution is called Shina, forse
tu which has harpsichord as the main suspense element ending with an
orchestral crescendo. The style of the track doesn’t differ from De Masi’s
contributions and eventually another variation of the main theme is also
provided. Both Robert nella grotta
and Giselle entra nella villa include
the fullest main theme performances since the opening cue. Slowly-rising
tension fills Scoperta del mostro which
concludes to another highly dramatic orchestral moment for an apparently
horrific discovery, while the cue’s opening is almost fully reprised in the
following Il ricatto di Giselle.
The first
real sigh of relief comes in Ricordo di
un’epoca felice, a romantic theme written by Renosto. It opens with a solo
violin playing the classically inspired melody which then changes to a Viennese
waltz and then to a bed of swirling strings and harp arpeggios with the main
melody playing on top. The whole cue is then reprised a second time which makes
it perhaps a bit taunting. De Masi also wrote a romantic theme for one of the
main characters also played by a solo violin. It’s introduced in Mary, solo con te and in tone it’s more
mournful and darker than its predecessor but not an inch less beautiful. After
a main theme reprise of Incubo di Mary that
same melody also ends the original album (and probably the film too) in a
powerful rendition for the full orchestra and victorious major finish.
The album
presentation also offers previously unreleased material that plays around with
the ideas presented within the first 15 cues. Notable inclusions are for example
Shina, forse tu (versione 2) which is
a short action moment for swirling strings, and a faster reprise of De Masi’s
romantic theme in Scoperta del mostro
(versione 2). A reprise of Renosto’s romantic theme in track 24 ends in
terror after a surprising orchestral surge. The rarely heard fast-paced action
music returns in Incubo di Mary (versione
3) followed by another schizophrenic action cue Shina, forse tu (versione 3) which both are excellent additions to
the original album programme. Unfortunately there is no satisfying conclusion
to the score, though the final Shina,
forse tu version is a fine suspense cue complete with orchestral stingers
and the plucking of electric bass and harps.
De Masi’s
score is perhaps a bit too long and repetitive to grant it the full five stars.
Nevertheless it offers some of the best music of the genre utilizing the full
potential of the orchestra with its insightful orchestrations. Renosto’s contributions
only make the listening experience better and altogether the score is a
suspenseful yet constantly melodic journey full of chills.
Rating: ****1/2
Title: Lo
spettro (The ghost)
Year: 1963
Composer: Francesco De Masi
The story
of the score for Lo spettro is a
strange one. Apparently De Masi wrote the final score for the film in only 2
weeks before the film’s premiere. The original score was credited to Frank
Wallace, a pseudonym for Franco Mannino, whose score got rejected. Still in the
film the score was credited to Wallace, not to De Masi’s usual pseudonym of
Frank Mason. It’s a miracle that the score got a release despite all these
legal issues, but I’m glad it did. The haunting quality reminiscent of La lama nel corpo is perfect for a story
about a couple who decide to murder the wife’s former husband who later returns
to haunt them.
When the
album is played through it’s even hard to realize the score changed from La lama nel corpo to Lo spettro because the opening phrase of
Preludio ad un dramma is so similar
to the main theme of the preceding score. The orchestral crescendo then moves
to a quieter, melodic suspense moment Incubo
notturno that ends with dramatic woodwind and string chord progressions
with rattling percussion effects. Ansiosa
attesa includes some passages similar to John Barry’s suspense style, with
a slow rhythmic build-up that has the film’s main suspense motif playing on
top. It’s not as flashy music as in La
lama nel corpo, more psychological terror.
The true
star of this score and the whole album is the main romantic theme heard in Melanconia autunnale. It’s a fragile,
tear-jerkingly pretty tune that gets stuck in your head long after the album is
finished. Once again the orchestrations are sublime, including a backing music
box and very high string section. The first version is interrupted by the
suspense motif in the middle but fortunately we get a full version of the
melody for simple music box in La bambola
melodica. Luckily there’s a proper end to the score this time, called Tragedia nella notte which begins in a
suspenseful fashion but then moves to a full version of the music box melody
for the full orchestra which ends with dramatic minor chords and cymbal crashes.
Though Lo spettro is a short score, in some
ways, especially with its romantic theme, it surpasses the album’s main event. Casual
listeners won’t probably even realize that there are two scores on the disc
because of their similarities, yet Lo
spettro is more introspective of the two, playing more to the listener’s
emotions and psyche, not just underscoring what happens on the screen.
Rating: ****1/2
Tracklist:
“La lama
nel corpo”
1. Nel buio
della notte (02:53) *****
2. Entrando
nel misterio (01:09) *****
3. Passagio
dell'ombra (03:10) *****
4. Fred! Oh
povero Fred (02:52) ***
5. Robert,
cosa pensi? (01:40) ****
6. Shina, forse
tu (01:51) ****
7. Robet
nella grotta (01:44) *****
8. Giselle
entra nella villa (01:50) *****
9. Scoperta
del mostro (03:34) ****
10. Il
rigatto di Giselle (03:00) ****
11. Ricordo
di un'epoca felice (04:50) ****
12. Mary,
solo con te (02:33) *****
13. Lizabeth,
cosa hai fatto (01:18) ***
14. Incubo
di Mary (01:12) ****
15. Verso
la speranza (01:14) *****
16.
Lizabeth, cosa hai fatto (versione 2) (00:54) ****
17. Giselle
entra nella villa (versione 2) (01:16) *****
18. Shina,
forse tu (versione 2) (00:38) *****
19.
Scoperta del mostro (versione 2) (03:04) *****
20. Ricordo
di un'epoca felice (versione 2) (02:45) *****
21. Scoperta
del mostro (versione 3) (02:22) ****
22. Lizabeth,
cosa hai fatto (versione 3) (00:53) ****
23. Incudo
di Mary (versione 2) (00:23) ***
24. Ricordo
di un'epoca felice (versione 3) (01:18) *****
25. Incudo
di Mary (versione 3) (01:07) *****
26. Shina,
forse tu (versione 3) (00:59) *****
27.
Passagio dell'ombra (versione 2) (00:57) ****
28.
Scoperta del mostro (versione 4) (02:00) ****
29. Shina,
forse tu (versione 2) (02:02) ****
“Lo
spettro”
30.
Preludio ad un dramma (01:17) *****
31. Incubo
notturno (02:41) ****
32. Melanconia
autunnale (02:57) *****
33. Ansiosa
attesa (04:18) *****
34. La
bambola melodica (01:00) *****
35.
Risvolti del terrore (02:02) ****
36. Tragedia
nella notte (02:52) *****
No comments:
Post a Comment