Saturday 21 April 2018

WTF (part 7) and Giallo fever (part 11)


Title: L’ingenua (The naive)
Year: 1975
Composer: Carlo Savina


Sexy comedies with some softcore nudity were their own genre in Italy in the 70s, including L’ingenua from 1975. There is a plot about conmen trying to sell a villa but the real reason for the film were the views, both the beautiful scenery but mostly the nudity of one Ilona Staller, aka Cicciolina, a famous Italian sex-object. Strangely a film like this also got an original score which was made by none-other than Carlo Savina, already a prolific film composer at the time. And the result is actually a pleasant surprise, not just some background porn music.

Because the score is so short, around just 25 minutes, Savina made a clever choice to build it around one unifying theme heard in Seq. 1. It opens however with a sighing female voice, which is a corny touch and sadly disappears for the rest of the score. The theme is then heard in waltz meter on the Mediterranean accordion and whistling which gives it the comedic edge before modulating into a wondrous little crescendo. Lovely stuff indeed. It is followed by straight-up comedy honky-tonk which after a pause turns into a fine version of the main theme never straying far from the comedy. A more laid-back poolside source version is heard in Seq. 3 but Seq. 4 returns to the comedy with music suitable for a funny chase sequence and later more anonymous background music. Seq. 6 and 11 include folk-music like accordion waltz which isn’t terribly original but does it job. Bluesy radio source with walking bass is featured in Seq. 7 preceding a cheeky main theme statement of Seq. 8 which has slight hints of doubt with the underlying orchestrations.

A beautiful saxophone solo opens Seq. 10 before the comedy motif of Seq. 2 returns somewhat ruining the otherwise fine atmosphere. The most ‘suspenseful’ moment of the score is heard in Seq. 12’s beginning but then it dissolves into a mixture of both the main theme and an actually interesting variation of the comedy motif with odd tinkling sound-effects and organ bleeps. The last cue returns to the lovely wonder of the opening with sweet orchestrations and floating accordion solo.

The score for the film is a very light one and doesn’t feature any real drama. If you’re looking for an easy-listening to play in the background, this certainly does the job but never reaches the heights Savina is capable off. But on the whole we have to be glad that this project even exists and we are able to hear it after over 4 decades.

Rating: ***


Title: L’osceno desiderio (Obscene desire)
Year: 1978
Composer: Carlo Savina


As an odd choice, the second feature on this album is actually from a giallo/horror film about an American tourist who gets impregnated while on a holiday. Inspired clearly by The omen and Rosemary’s baby, the child is actually the antichrist. Savina’s score is actually similar to one featured in those films, since it includes both beautiful passages that lull you into a fall sense of security and then releases frightening scenarios in the tension-filled cues.

The film’s sad main theme opens Seq. 1 with a plain piano solo which later expands to woodwinds and solo viola. Savina’s scores generally are more built around motifs than long-lined themes. However this time the melody is really developed and tear-jerkingly beautiful, and perhaps one of the composer’s very finest. The orchestration for this score is quite sparse which makes all the instruments pop out thus making the listener feel each performer’s unique way of playing. The first few reprises are full of hope and filled with the bliss of a tragic romance. Both Seq. 3 and 4 include passages in major key and variate the melody into clever chord progressions that change the overall mood momentarily into a light autumn breeze. The last shades of almost childlike innocence are heard in Seq. 6 which once again continues to the tragic pattern that is incredibly beautiful with its sadness. From thereon the theme continues to get shades of darkness with every reprise. Seq. 8 combines it with clashing pianos, keyboards and even snippets of the devil’s viola, and the style gets even more broken and crooked in the following cue. After many horrific cues there is a surprising sequence, Seq. 17, which is a romantic new theme that has dramatic piano flourishes and even major key sections. That new melody is also heard in the finale cue which isn’t the romantic conclusion I was hoping for because there are still shades of darkness left, perhaps signaling that the evil wasn’t defeated.

The horror begins already in Seq. 2 with devilish viola solo, another classic way to resemble the devil through Western classical music. The base is reprised without the viola in Seq 7. The mood of these cues is later developed into an actual horror motif which is the score’s secondary theme. Seq. 10 has interesting keyboard effects that are actually quite fun in a twisted way. The first version of that secondary theme is also heard during its final moments. Seq. 11 has music that sounds like someone creeping around empty rooms at night. Seq. 12 begins with terrifying variations of the main theme which make way to another sparse creeping around cue that is actually quite frightening to listen to by yourself. Seq. 13 is the first cue built entirely around the secondary theme. It isn’t as effective as the previous horror music but functional for sure and it even includes some humming choral voices that create a ghostly atmosphere. There are also otherworldly electronic enhancements in the following cue which are actually quite unsettling. The closest the music comes to releasing the tension is at the end of Seq. 18 where the music speeds up and swells into its climax.

L’osceno desiderio has beautiful, exquisitely orchestrated music during its first half which then turns into sour, slow-burning tension during the second half that barely lets the listener have a moment to breathe. Unfortunately the beginning is so strong that the suspense music, which is built around repeating loops and short phrases, just falls flat at certain points. At times though it manages to get under my skin and makes me check over the shoulder for intruders. Nevertheless it’s clearly the better score of the album and just barely misses a perfect rating.

Rating: ****1/2


Tracklist:
1. L'ingenua (Seq. 1) (02:10) *****
2. L'ingenua (Seq. 2) (02:24) ****
3. L'ingenua (Seq. 3) (01:37) ****
4. L'ingenua (Seq. 4) (02:06) ***
5. L'ingenua (Seq. 5) (01:22) ***
6. L'ingenua (Seq. 6) (01:39) ***
7. L'ingenua (Seq. 7) (01:17) ***
8. L'ingenua (Seq. 8) (01:48) ****
9. L'ingenua (Seq. 9) (01:58) ***
10. L'ingenua (Seq. 10) (02:04) ***
11. L'ingenua (Seq. 11) (01:48) ***
12. L'ingenua (Seq. 12) (02:32) ****
13. L'ingenua (Seq. 13) (01:11) *****
14. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 1) (01:52) *****
15. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 2) (01:26) *****
16. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 3) (02:24) *****
17. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 4) (02:56) *****
18. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 5) (01:19) *****
19. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 6) (02:06) *****
20. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 7) (01:26) ***
21. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 8) (02:31) *****
22. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 9) (01:49) *****
23. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 10) (02:28) ****
24. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 11) (01:37) ****
25. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 12) (03:00) *****
26. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 13) (02:00) *****
27. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 14) (03:24) ***
28. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 15) (02:26) ****
29. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 16) (02:01) ***
30. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 17) (03:42) *****
31. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 18) (01:53) ****
32. L'osceno desiderio (Seq. 19) (02:30) *****

Friday 20 April 2018

Love and other drugs: part 3


Title: L’attico (The attic)
Year: 1962
Composer: Piero Piccioni


L’attico is a story about a naïve girl who wants to make it big in the city working as a model and living in a penthouse facing the Colosseum. While fulfilling her dream she also dates several suitors. Piero Piccioni’s score is almost pure jazz, based around two alternating main themes which are the building blocks to almost every single cue on this 70-minute album.

And luckily Piccioni really delivers a home run with the opening theme, which is the most prevalent melody heard throughout the score. L’attico is a lively piece of smooth, falling-rising lines which move from solo instrument to another and allow the performers’ improvisational skills shine. The orchestration here also differs from standard jazz band ensembles, including for instance a vibraphone and harpsichord which give the music otherworldly, slightly off-kilter edge. Usually Piccioni’s melodies tend to take their time to arouse the listener’s interest. In the case of L’attico I was hooked from the first note and I must admit that this might be my all-time favourite Piero Piccioni tune. Fortunately for me (and hopefully other listeners too) the score is basically a theme-and-variations type of score, like e.g. Maestro Morricone’s La cosa buffa, both of which twist and turn their core material into all the possible shapes.

Attico per organo changes the melody into an improvisatory keyboard solo in a slower pace which is just lovely yet simultaneously odd. A nightly, slow jazz orchestra version of track 11 is not as engaging as the faster versions but beautiful nevertheless. After a straightforward reprise, track 13 turns into a hallucinatory duet for abstract organ chords and solo vibraphone. Next reprises are dominated by sultry saxophones before a straightforward church organ version appears in track 20 representing the other end of the spectrum of uses Piccioni has for the melody. It’s followed by a dramatic, Baroque-inspired harpsichord variation of the melody that is just another stroke of brilliance. Track 29 combines the harpsichord and organ into a duet of nearly religious proportions that is ruined when a more mischievous variation appears after a dissonant surge.

The second melody, called simply Ancora is a more mournful tune, whose long lines allow usually a passionate solo instrument to take the centre stage over more laid-back accompaniment. This melody clearly represents the nocturnal, lonely city streets and perhaps also the hardships our protagonist might encounter in the city. In its first incarnation the melody is played first by a trumpet and then saxophone, while in track 9 the roles are switched. The trailer version of track 14 features the melody on flutes and keyboards while the beat is more danceable than previously.

To add some variety, Piccioni wrote also some other pieces of music to expand the musical universe of the film. Afro starts with slow Latin rhythms which are then joined by playful woodwinds and organ notes, but in its 1st reprise we only get some odd percussion effects and someone blowing into a glass bottle. Afrodite is a poolside source cue for flute soloist and light percussion, whereas Chicago style is a fun, but all-too-brief nightclub ragtime number for tinkling piano and percussion work resembling tap dancing. Its reprise sounds like the saloon piano playing the tune has been detuned and slightly broken. Track 12 includes fast, big city jazz that might have something to do with the main theme but at the level that escapes this listener. A change in pace is also Marcetta which is a comedic march tune interrupted by constant, dream-like space-effects in the background. Lastly there is Piano source, a sad minor-key tune for solo piano written in the best romantic music traditions but strangely it ends with a thump representing the pianist’s frustration.

The listener’s enjoyment of the score depends largely on whether or not he likes the main theme, because that theme is nearly everywhere. I happen to love that melody and hence giving a rating for the score is relatively easy. After a trim, there is nevertheless a large amount of well-composed, jazzy film music for others. The warmth of the music is exceptional and I really can’t remember another Piccioni score that has given me an emotional rollercoaster ride like this one.

Rating: *****

Tracklist:
1. L'attico (02:16) *****
2. Afro (03:11) *****
3. Afrodite (02:08) ****
4. Ancora (03:14) *****
5. Attico per organo (02:18) *****
6. Chicago style (01:01) *****
7. L'attico (01:58) *****
8. Afro (02:41) **
9. Ancora (03:10) *****
10. Chicago style (01:30) ****
11. L'attico (grand orchestra) (02:37) ****
12. L'attico (02:04) ****
13. L'attico (01:56) *****
14. Ancora (trailer) (03:01) ****
15. Attico per organo (01:58) ***
16. L'attico (01:17) *****
17. L'attico (marcetta) (01:36) ***
18. L'attico (02:04) *****
19. Ancora (01:54) ****
20. Attico per organo (01:32) *****
21. L'attico (02:03) *****
22. Attico per organo (01:20) *****
23. Ancora (02:56) *****
24. Afro (01:11) ****
25. L'attico (02:02) *****
26. Chicago style (fast) (01:56) *****
27. L'attico (piano source) (01:31) *****
28. L'attico (01:11) ****
29. L'attico (01:34) *****
30. Ancora (trailer take 2) (02:21) *****
31. Attico per organo (01:28) *****
32. L'attico (01:09) ****
33. L'attico (01:17) ****
34. L'attico (01:47) *****
35. L'attico (grand orchestra) (02:50) ****