Spaghetti and cowboys: part 8

Title: Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (I’m Sartana, your angel of death)

Year: 1969

Composer: Vasco Vassil Kojucharov & Elsio Mancuso

I’m concentrating my reviews mostly on Italian film composers but for Vasco Kojucharov I’m making an exception. He was born in Bulgaria but made his film composer career mostly in Italy scoring a number of Spaghetti Western films. A few of his scores were credited as collaborate projects with another composer Elsio Mancuso under the alias Vasco & Mancuso. This Western score lists both composers in many sources but the album only credits Kojucharov as the sole composer. Who knows whether or not it is a joint project or a solo one but Kojucharov’s distinctive style is still heard throughout this plentiful 50-minute album.

The score consists of three elements and their variations. By far the best one is the title theme which is heard right from the get-go. It’s an electric-guitar waltz with a driving percussion backing resembling galloping horses. It’s certainly catchy and heroic and the arrangement for the entire orchestra is exquisite. The A section has some jazzy chords which is another big plus and makes the tune more colourful. Seq. 5 includes a quiet variation for solo harmonica performed by Franco de Gemini. A laid-back campfire version of Seq. 15 for the harmonica and xylophone is another nice addition which resolves eventually to the full comedic version of the secondary theme. The following cue moves the melody to solo organ and harpsichord after some comedic interruptions by the low woodwinds. The most massive arrangement which ends into a victorious crescendo is disappointingly not the last cue, but track 22, which is followed by a few other slow cues mostly filled with suspense music and a few main theme statements.

The suspense music is another prominent element heard first in Seq. 2 & 3. These moments are scored for tremolo strings and chromatic chord changes often written for harpsichord, electric guitar or xylophones resolving to an unexpected minor chord. If the suspense moments don’t utilize this chromatic motif, they consist of solo percussion that sometimes sounds like a practice take of a drummer rehearsing between the cues. In the film they probably work but on the album they lose their magic and become boring. The best suspense moment is Seq. 17 in which elements of the main theme are fused with the jazzy solo percussion and organ chords creating otherworldly soundscapes.

The last element is the comedic theme for the sidekick performed by a banjo. This melody is first heard in Seq. 4 after a unique harpsichord moment. It’s surprisingly similar to Santa Claus is coming to town, whether or not intentional, I don’t know. This is another tune similar to the suspense motif which becomes a little tiring after a while. It’s unfortunate that the main theme gets several great variations but this secondary theme basically sounds the same every time it appears.

Besides these elements I have very little to say about the album. The mood may change a lot within a single cue from a main theme statement to suspense and an appearance of the secondary banjo theme. Some source music like moments appear in between like Seq. 12, which is a cheerful solo harpsichord piece suitable for a saloon setting, or Seq. 20 which is a classically inspired piece of solo organ music probably for a funeral scene.

Sono Sartana… is a hard album to thoroughly enjoy. Especially the suspenseful moments would benefit from some trimming and become tiresome after a while. The main theme however is stellar and the reason for repeated listens. Hopefully this score and its potential success would make room for more obscure titles from Kojucharov’s catalogue to get released. The talent is there but the execution could have been more interesting.

Rating: ***1/2

Tracklist:

1. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 1) (02:25) *****

2. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 2) (02:52) ***

3. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 3) (01:15) ***

4. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 4) (01:37) ****

5. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 5) (01:17) *****

6. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 6) (01:14) ***

7. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 7) (01:40) ****

8. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 8) (03:01) **

9. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 9) (02:40) ***

10. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 10) (02:28) ***

11. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 11) (01:00) ****

12. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 12) (02:05) ***

13. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 13) (02:12) ****

14. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 14) (01:30) ***

15. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 15) (02:21) *****

16. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 16) (01:58) ****

17. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 17) (03:17) ****

18. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 18) (02:00) ****

19. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 19) (01:29) ***

20. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 20) (01:16) ****

21. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 21) (02:09) ****

22. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 22) (01:00) *****

23. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 23) (03:25) ****

24. Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino (Seq. 24) (03:40) ****

Exotic flavours: part 7

Title: L’inchiesta (The final inquiry)

Year: 2006

Composer: Andrea Morricone

After a long break I finally found some time to write a new review. I’m planning to do some more in near future, mostly concentrating on some new releases from last year. Let’s hope I’ll find time to do so.

It’s Eastertime and I decided to review a two-episode TV-miniseries which tells the story of Jesus from the Romans’ point of view. The score was made by Ennio Morricone’s son Andrea, most well-known for his love theme from Cinema Paradiso for which his father did the rest of the score.  He is however a gifted composer in his own right and if L’inchiesta is any indication, clearly needs some high profile assignments.

The album starts with an extended slow-moving piece of murky action with ethnic percussion and low flutes punctuated by militaristic trumpet fanfares. A large choir enters soon after singing in Latin and the song keeps building towards a victorious closure. A powerful and highly enjoyable start to the album which makes you hope the rest of the score is nearly as good as the opening.

Fortunately the beginning of the album doesn’t disappoint. After some dark string lines, Taurus introduces a driving, triple meter base on top of which a slower, victorious horn line is heard. The choir returns halfway and continues underneath the driving rhythm and horns until the finish. Thrilling stuff! Gerusalemme has another modern film score staple: the wailing female voice provided this time by Yasemin Sannino. Fortunately it isn’t overused here. What follows is another build-up based on a unique melody that is both ‘Middle-Eastern’ and ‘Jewish’ with its progressions and has an underlying militaristic beat. The military fanfares from Battaglia make a short cameo as well.

An attractive little melody starts Cristanità with addictive woodwind writing before the march for the Christians is heard. This tune might be the most ‘classical’ moment of the score drawing inspirations from Bach’s oratorios. The melody gets a few reprises later in Veglia and in the finale. The score isn’t that keen on establishing a single unifying theme but a strong contender melody-wise is L’incontro which is by far the prettiest the score ever gets. Especially the middle part when the pianos create a crescendo to the rising string line gives me goosebumps every time I hear them.

The five first cues present the building blocks for the rest of the album. Melodies inspired both by the sacred and profane, classical and folk progressions. Latin choir mixed with ethnic instruments. However with an opening this strong, some of the darker pieces heard in the middle aren’t as interesting or rewarding in comparison. Bruxos has beautiful choral writing and Taurus-inspired rhythms though. Compared to his father’s suspense writing, he keeps things still moving and melodious throughout. For instance Lapidazione has once again some amazing, dramatic choral work though the music is dark and foreboding. Strangolamento is probably the most brutal moment of the score, not surprised by the title, and even that cruelty ends with a melodic string reprise of the theme from Taurus.

The wailing vocals return along with the judgmental choir and the triple meter percussion in Crocifissione which ends with a slow elegy for the voice and a plucked, ethnic string instrument. I’m glad that they used restraint for the pivotal scene of crucifixion but I feel that the trope might be a cliché by now which lessens its impact. Luckily what follows is the score’s greatest cue Amore which is the extended love theme heard in track 5. The impressionistic opening for choir and wind instruments makes way to the melody that is as good as the love theme from Cinema Paradiso. After the reprise arrives a new surprise, namely a passionate cello solo that ends the cue peacefully. Another lovely extended moment is Maria which begins with romantic strings and then moves to beautiful, pristine flute and an ethnic, acapella vocal performance of the love theme and finally an orchestral reprise of the cello cadenza. The score ends with a nostalgic reprise of Taurus melody in Verità and a restrained hymn to Christianity called Esodo.

L’inchiesta misses the full 5 stars by only a small margin. The score is melodic throughout, it sounds mostly fresh and mixes various musical styles together successfully. The biggest hindrance for me is that the opening is so strong that the rest can’t offer similar oomph and sheer power presented previously. Still whether or not you’re a believer, most listeners will no doubt be moved by its beautiful melodies and the ingenious orchestrations.

Rating: ****1/2

Tracklist:

1. Battaglia (06:17) *****

2. Taurus (04:22) *****

3. Gerusalemme (05:13) *****

4. Cristanità (02:45) *****

5. L'incontro (02:04) *****

6. Bruxos (02:26) *****

7. Il palazzo (02:44) ***

8. Lapidazione (03:44) *****

9. Rissa-Presagio (04:09) ****

10. Vita (02:17) ****

11. Strangolamento (01:38) ****

12. Il corpo (02:27) ****

13. Crocifissione (04:49) ****

14. Amore (03:49) *****

15. Veglia (03:00) *****

16. Attesa (03:35) ****

17. Inquietudine (02:09) ***

18. Maria (04:05) *****

19. Svolta (02:07) ***

20. Verità (04:07) ****

21. Esodo (03:33) *****