Look no further than FSM's Kenner/More Than A Miracle by the the great Piero Piccioni for true beauty and sound. Especially More Than A Miracle, it is sublime! Still available and thank you Lukas!
One of the most amazing parts of my journey into the music of composers like Morricone and Piccioni is how capricious they were. They could traverse the territories of different musical genres, non-traditional instruments, soundclips (preceding the sampling craze of today, and used in generally far more imaginative ways back then).
L'uccello Dalle Piume Di Cristallo is currently blowing me away with its adventurous ways.
One day years ago, I had this gorgeous Morricone track stuck in my head, but I couldn't find it. I frantically went through all my Morricone LPs and CDs searching for it, but to no avail. I called my brother-in-law, who shares my love for Italian soundtracks and exploitation cinema, and sang it to him over the phone. He reminded me that it is Gianni Ferrio's theme to the giallo "Death Walks at Midnight."
Great selections OnyaBirri I love all those scores especially this one which is in a different league.
Thanks Stefan I agree 100 percent about Carlo Rustichelli's Bubu I am loving the score it really deserves a re issue or an expansion.
- LE MONACHE DI SANT'ARCANGELO (Digitmovies) from 1972: Highly melodic and deeply moving music, also with some religious choirs. For me one of the best Italian scores of the 70s. You will also find some tracks from STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA (the sequel) on this CD, but personally I prefer the absolutely enchanting LE MONACHE to STORIA.
Have you heard the Avanz expanded version of STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA it is superb my whole opinion of the score changed after listening to it.
The last score I discovered is the jazzy / loungey BALEARI OPERAZIONE ORO (1966) by Benedetto Ghiglia and found it very pleasant. It features instruments like the vibraphone, the flute, the trumpet etc, playing mostly over then en vogue rhythms such as he samba, the shake, etc.
Another one from the same year and also featuring the word "operation" I like very much is Robby Poitevin's A.D.3 OPERAZIONE SQUALE BIANCO. It's a bit more suspense-oriented but also has great stuff in display, including a fascinating lively main theme with solo harpsichord, a secondary theme whistled by Sandro Alessandroni, etc, etc.
Thanks Stefan I agree 100 percent about Carlo Rustichelli's Bubu I am loving the score it really deserves a re issue or an expansion.
Unfortunately, BUBU is owned by Edizioni Curci who most often only have the former album master of a score - if at all. So I don´t think that an expansion with more score material will be possible. And I also doubt that an Italian reissue will appear in the near future as our Italian labels at the moment don´t seem to work together much with Edizioni Curci and are rather exploiting either Sugar´s CAM catalogue or getting GDM or RCA titles.
LE MONACHE DI SANT'ARCANGELO (Digitmovies) from 1972: Highly melodic and deeply moving music, also with some religious choirs. For me one of the best Italian scores of the 70s. You will also find some tracks from STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA (the sequel) on this CD, but personally I prefer the absolutely enchanting LE MONACHE to STORIA.
Have you heard the Avanz expanded version of STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA it is superb my whole opinion of the score changed after listening to it.
Yes, I also have the Japanese edition of STORIA DI MONACA DI CLAUSURA which has a lot of nice variants of the themes heard in the first score. But nevertheless my opinion remains unchanged and I still prefer the MONACHE score as a superb listening experience. The original MONACHE score works as an organic whole, it has a narrative flow from beginning to end whereas the Japanese STORIA is more or less just a collection of variations and probably also alternate tracks with a lot of repetition of the same theme. For example just consider the five only slightly different versions of "Aria classica" which have been put together in a row one after the other (track 17-21). All of these are alternate takes of one track - something which Piccioni liked to do a lot during his recording sessions.
LE MONACHE DI SANT'ARCANGELO (Digitmovies) from 1972: Highly melodic and deeply moving music, also with some religious choirs. For me one of the best Italian scores of the 70s. You will also find some tracks from STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA (the sequel) on this CD, but personally I prefer the absolutely enchanting LE MONACHE to STORIA.
Have you heard the Avanz expanded version of STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA it is superb my whole opinion of the score changed after listening to it.
Yes, I also have the Japanese edition of STORIA DI MONACA DI CLAUSURA which has a lot of nice variants of the themes heard in the first score. But nevertheless my opininon remains unchanged and I still prefer the MONACHE score as a superb listening experience. The original MONACHE score works as an organic whole, it has a narrative flow from beginning to end whereas the Japanese STORIA is more or less just a collection of variations and probably also alternate tracks with a lot of repetition of the same theme. For example just consider the five only sligthly different versions of "Aria classica" which have been put together in a row one after the other (track 17-21). Al of these are alternate takes of one track - something which Piccioni liked to do a lot during his recording sessions.
Have always loved those small variations the score sends me in to a sort of trance.
The last score I discovered is the jazzy / loungey BALEARI OPERAZIONE ORO (1966) by Benedetto Ghiglia and found it very pleasant. It features instruments like the vibraphone, the flute, the trumpet etc, playing mostly over then en vogue rhythms such as he samba, the shake, etc.
Another one from the same year and also featuring the word "operation" I like very much is Robby Poitevin's A.D.3 OPERAZIONE SQUALE BIANCO. It's a bit more suspense-oriented but also has great stuff in display, including a fascinating lively main theme with solo harpsichord, a secondary theme whistled by Sandro Alessandroni, etc, etc.
Enjoy!
Wish that Poitevin had composed more films.
Robby Poitevin Quella Carogna Dell'Ispettore Sterling (1968)
Has WagnerAlmighty gotten any further discs of music by Piccioni, Rustichelli or any other Italians?
This year, Beat Records issued Piccioni's Islam which plays rather like a concert composition than TV music. I think WagnerAlmighty might like Islam because it is orchestral at its core ... and could make an ideal listening companion album alongside a Rozsa historical/biblical epic score...
