THE LEGEND OF BLOOD CASTLE Music Composed and Conducted by Carlo Savina
Quartet Records and Gruppo Sugar present the world premiere release of Carlo Savina’s Gothic horror score for Jordi Grau’s cult classic The Legend of Blood Castle (aka Le vergini cavalcano la morte or Ceremonia sangrienta), a 1973 Spanish-Italian coproduction about the infamous Countess Bathory, starring Ewa Aulin, Lucia Bosé and Espartaco Santoni.
Carlo Savina (L’assassino ha riservato nove poltrone, Malenka, Contronatura) provides an intense musical experience featuring both tonal and atonal passages, with a strong focus on instruments (such as the harpsichord) associated with the period and the place (the film is set in 17th-century Hungary). Savina creates an ominous Gothic atmosphere in what is surely one of his best efforts within the horror genre.
With audio mastered by Claudio Fuiano from first-generation stereo master tapes (courtesy of Gruppo Sugar), the package includes a full-color 8-page booklet with liner notes by Gergely Hubai.
Track list:
01. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Main Titles) (1:55) 02. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Dark Presences) (2:09) 03. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Into Hell) (5:10) 04. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Harpsichord Concert) (3:56) 05. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Bloody Ceremony) (2:24) 06. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Devil’s Hunt) (2:50) 07. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Night Terror) (3:31) 08. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Hungry Ghosts) (3:14) 09. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Maidens Ride Death) (8:39) 10. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (The Haunting) (2:06) 11. Le vergini cavalcano la morte (Finale) (3:19)
Total Disc Time: 38:57
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I enjoyed this score; not a classic but certainly an interesting effort. The sound clips represent pretty much how the rest of the score is like. It’s quiet and introverted horror music with only a couple of positive passages. The tracks featuring the choir are the highlights; probably my favourite is one of the loudest tracks called Night Terror. I was a bit confused at first because the most commonly appearing theme which is heard in tracks 6, 10 and 11, is very similar to a children’s song that I used to sing when I was smaller. That mental image doesn’t fit that well with the bloody images of the booklet.
I think Savina employed a modern concert style, like a public performance approach to Blood Castle. This is a kind of Savina I've not heard. Perhaps somewhat similar to Pizza Connection.
