CrimeWaves: part 8

Title: L’assassino (The assassin)

Year: 1961

Composer: Piero Piccioni

L’assassino was one of cult director Elio Petri’s first films. It is about a man who is incarcerated for killing his wife. For a title as flashy as this, Piero Piccioni’s score paints a whole different picture. It’s a very subdued work which probably works well underscoring the investigation scenes and nostalgic reminiscing of the past. The score for the film could easily be disgarded as mere source music. However there are clearly definable themes that appear constantly throughout the score. The small ensemble of brass, keyboards and percussion forms the core with only a handful of other additional instruments, which just adds to the nightclub like nature of the music.

Piccioni assembled a 5-track EP programme at the time of the film’s release presented as the first five cues on the album. The main theme is heard in Titoli, a darkly intriguing cue which borrows from the jazz music of the era. However there is something mysteriously seductive about the tune and sultry sax performance which lifts it above a standard restaurant source cue. Momento d’amore is the love theme which in a usual fashion for the composer doesn’t stick with you during the first few listens but when you get it memorized, you’ll realize how beautiful it truly is. That first version isn’t really memorable on the long run though but luckily there are several moments of that melody to come. A low sax chorus similar to the main theme forms Notturno but it’s more menacing with its delivery. I get some callbacks to Henry Mancini’s compositions with this cue. The most hopeful tune of the score, Attesa blues is another romantic piece highlighting mellow and jazzy, surprising chord progressions. The last cue of the EP is a chase cue with fast drumset and that crime flick sax section playing in a forceful manner along with trumpet flourishes.

A complete presentation of the score follows and it’s built around the EP material with only a few moments deviating further. Though this might create a somewhat redundant listening experience, luckily there is enough variation to keep things interesting. Notable highlights are for instance two longer versions of Attesa blues with echoy vibraphones and delightful little solos changing from an instrument to another, a harpsichord version of the love theme (tracks 13, 20 & 25) bringing to mind Piccioni’s Emily Jane’s theme from The light at the edge of the world or an extended main theme treatment of tracks 19 and 30. Those new moments I mentioned are Momento misterioso and Indagine both of which are variations of the main theme and feature avant-garde, cold, low rumbling bass and percussion which creates a creepy atmosphere for nocturnal stalking, and Atmosfera sensuale, a new variation of the Attesa blues melody for a wonderful flute solo.

L’assassino isn’t one of the most essential Piccioni scores, but it’s another fine rescue from the golden age of Italian cinema by Quartet Records. If you enjoy laid-back tunes with occasional darkness for small ensembles, this score is just up your alley.

Rating: ****

Tracklist:

1. L’assassino (Titoli) (02:44) *****

2. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (02:57) ****

3. L’assassino (Notturno) (02:21) ***

4. L’assassino (Attesa blues) (01:39) ****

5. L’assassino (Inseguimento) (01:35) *****

6. L’assassino (Titoli slow) (01:33) *****

7. L’assassino (Inseguimento) (00:22) ****

8. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (01:27) ****

9. L’assassino (Attesa blues) (01:41) ****

10. L’assassino (Notturno) (01:07) ***

11. L’assassino (Attesa blues) (02:23) *****

12. L’assassino (Notturno) (00:58) ***

13. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (01:05) *****

14. L’assassino (Sospetti) (00:19) ***

15. L’assassino (Atmosfera di sogno) (00:27) ****

16. L’assassino (Momento d’amore piano solo) (02:24) ****

17. L’assassino (Inseguimento) (01:33) ****

18. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (00:57) ****

19. L’assassino (Titoli slow) (02:59) *****

20. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (02:34) *****

21. L’assassino (Sospetti) (00:47) ***

22. L’assassino (Momento misterioso) (02:02) *****

23. L’assassino (Indagine) (01:42) ****

24. L’assassino (Attimo sensuale) (00:17) ****

25. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (00:56) *****

26. L’assassino (Atmosfera sensuale) (01:12) *****

27. L’assassino (Momento d’amore) (02:45) ****

28. L’assassino (Finale versione lunga) (00:45) ****

29. L’assassino (Attesa blues alt.take) (02:24) *****

30. L’assassino (Titoli slow alt.take) (02:52) *****

31. L’assassino (Finale versione corta) (00:26) ****

Need for drama: part 8

Title: La lupa (She-wolf)

Year: 1996

Composer: Ennio Morricone

The last title I reviewed was for Maesto Morricone’s 90s score for Wolf. Based on the title I assumed that She-wolf would be similar to that film but instead of a werewolf flick it is a psychological drama about a woman who seduces younger men, based on a short story written in the 1800s. The two scores are very similar in tone and the score for La lupa would easily pass as the sequel score to Wolf.

One thing I have to warn first is that the score is mostly monothematic and if you don’t like the main theme, you’re not going to enjoy this album. That theme is also very slow-moving so the tracks involving it tend to be quite long. I happen to like the theme. It reminds me of the main theme of Wolf because it too has some darkly tragic qualities while oozing with underlying sexual tension. La lupa adds a classical guitar into the orchestration which brings some rural feel to it. The theme is first heard on staccato high strings and later moves to another instrument associated with the film’s 19^th century setting: a recorder. At the end of the cue there is also a short waltz variation, later developed further in the macabre Triste notte featuring church bell tolls. The great thing is that the melody has great variation in the orchestration. Al fiume reprises the theme with the recorder, judgmental distant drum hits and slowly building pace whereas Cartezza di amare has some sort of swirling figures. Track 10 is the most romantic version thus far but later has a sinister bassline that twists the harmonies around into more suspenseful territory. The final version in La lupa doesn’t deliver a romantic conclusion but ends in some annoying suspense material which is just a disappointingly weak end to the album.

Besides the main theme statements there are cues that break the mold. Jarufalu pumpusu is performed in Italian by the film’s main actress Monica Guerritore in a powerful folk music like vocal performance. The backing orchestral music by Morricone is disturbing suspense material which really gives the cue an unsettling feel. The delivery of both the vocals and the backing also has some Middle Eastern qualities which is an odd choice but works brilliantly. The following La fine continues with the disturbing orchestral material in a short burst of screeching atonality but soon moves back to the main theme with a rather uninteresting version of the melody. The Middle Eastern aspect continues in La mietitura, a weird melody for woodwinds and a keyboard bouncing between a more hopeful horn theme that’s one of the score’s highlight moments. Like track 2 it’s a unique listen and pleasant to hear because of its surprising manner. The great major key theme is reprised in Notturno e alba but instead of balancing with the Middle Eastern melody it features a keyboard version of the main theme. The last odd yet charming moment arrives in La masseria, a medieval or gypsy -inspired dance for ethnic flutes and a tambourine and even an unexpected variation of the main theme.

Very high atonal strings start Notte oscura, notte chiara like a wind moving through a dark forest before a sinister lower string line appears underneath along with some lonely brass. Though a challenging listen it is actually better than the horror music in an real horror film, Wolf. More of that straight-up horror starts Disperazione that also bares some similarities with the main theme but then moves to complex atonal chords with bubbly pizzicato strings on top of which horns play snippets of the main theme. That moment is just ugly because of how shocking it is, but unfortunately the ending with an added drumset and the eventual main theme reprise flatten the mood. Nel profondo is another suspense cue that’s rooted in the main theme but unfortunately it just doesn’t get under your skin like some of the other tracks. Luckily at the end there is some genuine action music to be heard with screeching woodwinds and primal rhythms provided by the pounding percussion. Infatuazione, Diabolica passione and Veglia are the most tedious suspense moments on the album in which almost nothing of interest happens. Luckily Veglia reprises the shocking suspense of Disperazione in a decent final showdown.

Though there are some stellar cues at the first part of the album, the disappointingly dull last third ruins the listening experience for me. The sense of dread is palpable throughout and luckily some of the suspense material is just thrilling. La lupa isn’t one of the classics and the depressive nature of the constant onslaught of minor chord after another won’t make you want to return to this very often.

Rating: ***1/2

Tracklist:

1. La lupa (04:05) ****

2. Jarufalu pumpusu (03:07) *****

3. La fine (04:15) ***

4. Notte oscura, notte chiara (02:58) ****

5. Al fiume (02:52) ****

6. La mietitura (03:02) *****

7. La masseria (02:21) *****

8. Sui campi dolorosi (01:49) ****

9. Certezza di amare (02:24) ****

10. La lupa (03:44) ****

11. Notturno e alba (04:41) ****

12. Disperazione (06:25) ****

13. Nel profondo (05:07) ***

14. Infatuazione (04:18) **

15. Diabolica passione (03:56) **

16. Triste notte (03:34) ***

17. Veglia (04:29) ***

18. La lupa (02:12) **