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Posted: |
Oct 12, 2012 - 10:48 PM
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By: |
ToneRow
(Member)
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Piero Piccioni began scoring films around 1953, but his discography doesn't reflect much from this early period until some titles of his from 1957 got released.
The soundtrack recommended the highest by me out of the late-'50s titles is LA DONNA CHE VENNE DAL MARE:
Although Piccioni's background was jazz, one wouldn't know it by listening to this Hollywood-style Golden Age orchestral music.
If you are partial to early '50s dramatic scores from 20th Century Fox by the likes of Hugo Friedhofer or Leigh Harline or Sol Kaplan (etc.), then you might be receptive towards LA DONNA CHE VENNE DAL MARE which contains long melody lines (a la Friedhofer) with maritime impressionism and some Eastern scales for ethnic colors (I'm guessing this movie features scenes taking place within ports in Asian territories). This soundtrack also has a couple of marching band tracks and piano solos - source music quite typical in this time frame.
Released by Saimel in 2005, this item disappeared rather quickly despite its obscurity and is no doubt out-of-print.
Perhaps not an essential Piccioni album, this DONNA is nevertheless the one pre-1960 Piccioni score which endures best under the test of time, in my opinion.
The film, by the way, stars Vittorio De Sica and Sandra Milo, who also acted together in Rossellini's GENERALE DELLA ROVERE.
[Italian actresses from the late-'50s were so voluptuous, weren't they?]
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Posted: |
Oct 13, 2012 - 10:18 PM
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By: |
ToneRow
(Member)
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1960 witnessed Piero Piccioni securing cinematic subject matter better suited to his aesthetics and stylistic developments. From this year up through 1963 is a span which I'd describe as "primo" Piccioni - a peak period of excellence (and not his only nor final peak by any means).
The high watermark, in my estimation, of 1960 is IL BELL'ANTONIO, directed by Mauro Bolognini (a key director with whom Piccioni collaborated during his formative years as film composer).
Concurrent with British kitchen sink dramas, IL BELL'ANTONIO offers audiences a candid glimpse into sexual topics hitherto taboo - in this case it's male impotency and society's attitudes towards it.
Marcello Mastroianni's character has a reputation for being a village lothario until it is discovered that he is unable to consummate his marriage to Claudia Cardinale.
Piero Piccioni is given content here with which he proves he is 2nd only to Alex North in writing music to communicate humiliation, dejection and loneliness.
No Sicilian folk tunes are utilized - yet Piccioni achieves aural provincialism via classical Italianate lyricism. Profundity issues forth from bluesy trumpet lines backed by oscillating strings; in other places, fragility is denoted by solo flute (and in one track with harpsichord & harp in unison).
Typically for soundtracks in this era there are source music cues: the jazz ranges from big band tunes to piano solos; also present is a funeral march, a waltz, a tango, a church organ, etc.
In spite of the dichotomy between functional music and descriptive underscore, IL BELL'ANTONIO is a "Top 10" soundtrack by Piccioni. This 2008 soundtrack CD on the Dagored label is reviewed online, to my pleasant surprise, and those interested can read an alternative assessment here:
http://www.gutbrain.com/past/2010_04/20100405.html
Even though it is a digi-pak album with no individual track listings, this is a must-have by my standards, which, I fear, gets overlooked by many (except the Piccioni completist) whose focus rests on the "lounge" Piccioni of the psychedelic & glam rock eras.
Another soundtrack album by Piccioni from 1960 is ADUA E LE COMPAGNE, which is rather straight-ahead big band jazz and not commentative underlining. A very solid album listening experience and one of the finest of its kind by Piccioni, ADUA E LE COMPAGNE should not be missed either.
Rather than attempt to encompass the entire decade of the 1960s in a single swoop, I'll be posting to this thread one year at a time ... 1961 will be coming up shortly. 
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:
to you! ] 
Children
