Italian Soundtracks
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I must confess, I know about half of nothing about italian film music.
Of course I know some stuff of Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota. And of course there are the Goblin works for Argento.But I always see that great amount of scores from Italian movies from the 70s and 80s in the soundtrack online stores (comedy, horror, sex, thriller), that I think, this seems to be a thing among various soundtrack fans. But I know none of them.
Anyone here into this?
I also only know bits and pieces here and there. Lots via compilations by various composers of mostly the easy listening groovy ones. I have some compilation Franco Miccalizzi did with his band primarily from the Italian police movies. Great groovy fun. Or bits of various westerns.
Often lack the connection to the movies itself a bit although I surely saw lots of those adventure ones in my youth.I can’t keep up with the deep knowledge of Italo buffs at FSM, for example, but I’ve started to explore some of it in recent years. Piccioni, Ortolani, Cipriani, Trovajoli, de Masi etc. etc. A lot of good stuff, but also a rabbit hole to get lost in once you start. I think I just have to accept that I will never be an expert, and just be content with having skimmed the surface and selected some favourites from these.
Yeah, in a way I find it fascinating that there exists this seemingly popular parallel soundtrack world.
But my memory of the italian genre movies that I have seen (especially comedy and horror) is, that there is not much in for fans of symphonic movie scores like me. It is more that easy listening genre, like also 80% of Morricone’s scores.Interesting enough, that often music of composers who at their time often worked in kind of a pop ensemble format like Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota or also Astor Piazolla (I know, he’s Argentinian) are today a prefered source for orchestral or classical chamber arrangements of their music.
I wouldn’t say it’s all ‘easy listening’. Some of the most harrowing, dissonant works are in the ‘giallo’ genre, for example. When I picked out my favourites from (some of) these composers it’s true that they were either lyrical/wistful orchestral music, or loungey/funky stuff, because that’s my taste, but along the way I encountered a bunch of different things, from big orchestral affairs (peplum movies!) to dark, dissonant experimentalism.
I think it’s just the “colourful genre”/niche-within-niche thing that attracts so many fans, with that kind of deep, super-detailed knowledge you see on FSM.
There are actually lots of Italian pirate, Roman sword and sandal and other adventure movies at least in the 50s and 60s that have rather traditional symphonic scores. For example these Ursus, Hercules, Samson or Maciste movies. Sadly not familar with these but the Alhambra label release some of these scores by Lavagino I think.
Ah, the sword and sandal ones are also called Peplum films which I forgot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword-and-sandal
There’s certainly a lot more than easy listening to Morricone’s Italian scores, in fact, I find Morricone wrote some of his most challenging scores for Italian horror/giallo/crime genre. But it’s usually also often not sweeping or symphonic but more experimental, perhaps inspired by his work with the “Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza”.
Of course, asides from Morricone, I know other Italian film composers, and have albums by such composers as Pino Donaggio, Nino Rota, Riz Ortolani, Mario Nascimbene, Dario Marianelli, Giorgio Moroder, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis (aka Oliver Onions)… and some more, but I’m sure not an expert.
For me Dario Marianelli does not really count into that group of composers for italian movies. To be honest, I am not aware on any italian movie that he wrote the score for. Did he actually?
For me Dario Marianelli does not really count into that group of composers for italian movies. To be honest, I am not aware on any italian movie that he wrote the score for. Did he actually?
Yes, but in later years. I think he moved to London early on, like Zimmer, so he didn’t start out in Italian cinema.
Let’s share some concrete recommendations.
Carlo Siliotto:
TEQUILA
MIRACLES FROM HEAVENFrancesco de Masi:
ARIZONA COLT
UNA HISTORIA D’AMORE
LESBO
LONE WOLF MCQUADEMarco Werba: IL DIARIO DI UN PRETE
Pericle Odierna:
IL LEONE DI VETRO
PICCIRIDAPiero Piccioni:
BORA BORA
LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO
STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURAPino Donaggio:
CARRIE
DRESSED TO KILL
MORTE IN VATICANO
DON CAMILLO
L’ATTENZIONE
HOTEL COLONIAL
LA MONACA DI MONZA
COSI FAN TUTTE
ANTONIO – GUERRIERO DI DIO
JOE PETROSINO
L’UOMO DI CHE CAVALCAVA DEL BUIORiz Ortolani:
FRATELLO SOLE, SORELLA LUNA
FANTASMA D’AMORE
LA RIVINCITA DI NATELEStefano Caprioli:
LA FRECCIA NERA
FURORE
IL SEGRETO DI BORGO LARICIStelvio Cipriani:
FEMINA RIDENS
ANONIMO VENEZIANIO
IL GIARDINO DELL’EDEN
ORGASMO NERONewer scores:
Francesco Marchetti: THE GARBAGE MAN
Francesco Cerati: VILLETA CON OSPITI
Gabriele Roberti: JULIAN SCHNABEL: A PRIVATE PORTRAIT
Giulani Taviani & Carmelo Travia: L’UOMO CHE DISEGNÓ DIO
Marco Pedrazzi: L’ORO DEL RENOGiorgio Moroder is a chapter in himself; one of my favourite composers. Same for Morricone. Never been a big fan of Nino Rota, but I like a few of his things. Goblin, I primarily like SUSPIRIA and the odd theme here and there. I have a soft spot for the scores of Italian neo-realism, plus Michelangelo Antonioni, who is one of my favourite directors (Gaslini, Fusco etc.).
Sorry, that was a longer post than I had anticipated.
A few quick by me that should be generally orchestral:
Carlo Siliotti THE PUNISHER
Carlo Siliotti JULIUS CAESAR
Carlo Siliotti NOMAD THE WARRIOR
Franco Piersanti IL COMMISSARIO MONTALBANO (ok, actually more chamberlike)
Francesco de Masi’s THUNDER (have it as LP) / THUNDER 3 (bascially italo western scores so only partly orchestral)
Piero Piccioni ROMULUS & REMUS
Nino Rota GATTOPARD
Marco Frisina Tristano e Isotta
Marco Frisina Michele Strogoff, il corriere dello ZarI admit, when I read “Italian Soundtracks”, I tend to go by composer, but of course Italians have written music for non-Italian movies, and non-Italians have written music for Italian movies. (I usually go by composer, but of course, that’s but one option.)
I admit, when I read “Italian Soundtracks”, I tend to go by composer, but of course Italians have written music for non-Italian movies, and non-Italians have written music for Italian movies. (I usually go by composer, but of course, that’s but one option.)
I agree, that’s a plausible way to look at it.
By the way, stylistically I find Marianelli’s most italian score is The Boxtrolls, which is one of my favourites of his.
Italian film music isn’t what it used to, but Pericle Odierna is a new, interesting voice. This work, from 2014, is relatively obscure (I had to upload the cover image myself!), but combines post-minimalist romanticism with some period tropes. I also recommend PICCIRIDDA from 2020, which should be easier to come by online.
Never heard of him before, will check some things out. Being born 1965 not exactly “fresh new” seen from our age 🙂
I’ve now reached Piero Piccioni (1921-2004) in my collection walkthrough, and I realize that several of the Piccioni scores I own could have fit perfectly in other threads. BORA BORA (1968) goes in the erotica thread. Both LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO (1973) and STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA (1973) are nunsploitation films and could thus have been put BOTH in the erotica thread AND in the religious thread. But I’m “spending them” in this thread, because we need more discussion on Italian film music. Or Piccioni, for that matter. He should probably get his own thread at some point.
Of the three I mentioned, LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO is my favourite; in fact it’s my favourite Piccioni score with those gobsmackingly beautiful madrigals:
… nunsploitation films …
Umm.. this is a thing?? As they say in Sweden: “Det finns mycket”.
But the term itself creates some images in my head, so I think I get the idea. 😉
It’s also a genre that isn’t quite dead yet. Paul Verhoeven’s BENEDETTA (2021) falls into this genre, and it was my favourite film that year. Anne Dudley’s score was also my favourite of the year! Nunsploitation for the win!
I mentioned this earlier (in fact, I mentioned most of my Italian soundtracks earlier), but it’s really worth checking out if you like those broad, pastoral, romantic-orchestral affairs. Zeffirelli always managed to get that sound out of the composers he worked with – with Rota’s ROMEO & JULIET primary among them, perhaps. I only have three Ortolani soundtracks (FANTASMA D’AMORE, LA RIVINCITA DI NATALE and this), and would really love to get more recommendations, if you have any.
As I said earlier in the thread, Italian film music isn’t what it used to be, but for some reason, the type of consonant orchestral writing that was more common 30 years ago, still persists with surprising frequency over there, compared to other European countries. 63-year-old Stefano Caprioli is one such example, just like Pericle Odierna above. Currently listening to his wonderful, romantic LA FRECCIA NERA (2006) — “spotified” below — but there’s also the two TV series FURORE and I SEGRETI DI BORGO LARICI from 2014 that I think are really good.
I suppose there’s hope yet for Italian film music, although they will probably never reach the glory days of the 50s to the 80s once more. I sometimes wonder what happened.
Alhambra is releasing A.F. Lavagnino’s peplum(?) score to BEATRICE CENCI (1969). It reminds me that I have very little Lavagnino in my collection. Nothing, in fact, when I search my iTunes. Any recommendations?
For me also a widely blank page although I surely saw several westerns or these 60s peplum movies he scored (For sure some Ursus/Hercules). I only have this album from somewhere digitally:
https://www.discogs.com/de/release/11046360-Angelo-Francesco-Lavagnino-Le-Sp%C3%A9cialiste-Gli-Specialisti-et-autres-westerns-dAngelo-Francesco-Lava
It’s naturally in the big footsteps of Morricone but quite nice.Who WASN’T following in Morricone’s footsteps at that time? But thanks for the recommendation, I’ve heard about GLI SPECIALISTI – vaguely.
Dr. Jacoby would KILL in this thread. Shame he doesn’t post more often.
I don’t post often (and even less when there are no new CD releases) but A F Lavagnino is a favourite so very happy with BEATRICE CENCI (1969). It is not a Peplum.
As for suggestions, A F Lavagnino has a vast body of work. He was really a Golden Age composer so I would say the older the better, generally, although few of his scores from the 1950s are on CD, hence I would recommend those from 1958-1963. Most of his westerns or later scores were low budget, so the scores are a bit more limited in terms of themes and size of orchestra.
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