Title: La
cripta e l’incubo (Crypt of the vampire)
Year: 1964
Composer: Carlo Savina
A black-and-white
horror film starring Christopher Lee as a count who lives in a gloomy gothic
castle. Though that might sound like a recipe for a horror classic, this time
that wasn’t the case. The score for the film was provided by Carlo Savina whose
mainly quiet music borders on sound effects but luckily has some romantic
interludes to break up the dark atmosphere.
The first 4
cues introduce the palette of sounds which Savina builds the score on: harp,
small string section, buzzing organ, musical saw, solo woodwinds, harpsichord
and a varied percussion section that sometimes sounds like someone creeping
around in the dark and sometimes like a thunderstorm. There are no clear motifs
or thematic development rather the score seems just to underscore the actions
happening on screen whether it is a crescendo for a horrific discovery or quiet
murmurs for exploring the dark corridors.
Though most
of the score is built this way, there are some exceptions to the rule. For
instance, there is some twisted, mischievous or even humorous material. This is
introduced first in Cena al castello which
includes the clichéd solo harpsichord, which isn’t used in a Baroque manner but
in a more playful and bouncy fashion. Attesa
grottesca has similar effect this time introducing almost a childlike tune
with a hint of Dies irae to it, simultaneously
having suspenseful strings playing underneath.
Surprisingly
there is also some expressive romantic material introduced in Tema d’amore. Another melodic, though
more introspective theme is heard in Il
ritratto di Sheena by a solo violin. Both of these themes are performed in Estasi e tormento starting with the love
theme and then moving to a more sinister string variation of the second theme
which eventually resolves into an orchestral stringer. Non-thematic though
lovely flute work on top of bed of harps starts Calma interrotta which once again turns sour at the end. Attimo romantico is another full version
of the love theme that is just achingly beautiful. The two themes are combined
cleverly in Il mistero del ritratto
where a flute starts with the love theme’s rising intervals that then comes
down as the second theme. The rest of the track does a good job combining the
themes with mild suspense writing and eventually with the comedic music of
track 9. A victorious final version of the love theme also ends the whole score
into a glorious major chord.
As for the
numerous other suspense and horror cues, there isn’t much to describe. It’s
more about mood than melodies. Tetra
prigione has percussion that sounds like someone being escorted to the
gallows whereas Mente folle is another
death march with a steady organ pulse that’s just slowed down so that it’s
completely unrecognizable. L’incubo della
cripta has some of the most effective horror stringers with added faster
harpsichord notation bouncing among the strings. However after the two themes
are introduced, some snippets of them start to appear within the suspenseful
cues, which is a clever move by the composer. For instance a faster version of
the second theme turned into a classic horror stinger ends both Laura è Sheena? and Il presagio in a dramatic fashion. The final moments of suspense
are packed into two 6-minute cues first of which builds quietly during its
whole duration towards a horrific conclusion that unfortunately never arrives.
It’s unnerving and effective scoring nevertheless. Psichedelico macabro on the other hand is mostly organ variations of
the secondary theme with pretty abstract harmonies that are interrupted with
percussion hits and stringers from time to time.
The album
is a pretty uneven experience. Though there are moments of sheer brilliance
both in the romantic and the suspenseful material, there is also way too much dull
space where it feels that barely anything happens. Therefore it’s a quite hard to
give it a higher rating. If you’re familiar with Savina’s suspense writing you
might get something more out of it than the casual listener. For them I recommend
checking out some better ones by him before this one.
Rating: ***
Tracklist:
1. La maledizione di Karlstein (Titoli) (01:49) ****
2. La
cripta e l'incubo (Ombre nel buio) (01:09) ***
3. Angoscia
(01:45) **
4. Presenze
maligne (02:09) **
5. Cena al castello
(00:46) ****
6. La
cripta e l'incubo (Perversione) (03:02) **
7. La
cripta e l'incubo (Tetra prigione) (01:55) *
8. Tema
d'amore (01:29) *****
9. La
cripta e l'incubo (Attesa grottesca) (00:58) ****
10. Il
ritratto di Sheena (01:01) ****
11. Estasi
e tormento (02:48) ****
12. La
cripta e l'incubo (Atmosfera di morte) (01:07) **
13. Calma
interrotta (01:12) ****
14. La
cripta e l'incubo (Attimo romantico) (01:23) *****
15. La
cripta e l'incubo (Mente folle) (04:05) ***
16. L'incubo
della cripta (01:38) ****
17. Il
mistero del ritratto (01:49) ****
18. Laura è
Sheena? (01:40) ****
19. La
cripta e l'incubo (Corridoio oscuro) (05:58) ***
20. Laura
posseduta (01:30) ***
21. Il
presagio (01:23) ****
22. La
cripta e l'incubo (Psichedelico macabro) (06:27) **
23. Finale
(01:16) *****
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