Saimel Records proudly presents on this CD the world premiere release of two haunting scores by Carlo Rustichelli which were written in 1966 and 1967 for two quite different films which both dealt with the transformation of the Italian society during the economic boom of the mid 1960s and the loss of post-war ideals and values – one in the form of a gloomy introverted drama, the other as a sarcastic melancholic comedy.
LE STAGIONI DEL NOSTRO AMORE [THE SEASONDS OF OUR LOVE] (1966) was directed by Florestano Vancini and had an excellent cast of Italian and French actors with Enrico Maria Salerno, Anouk Aimée, Jacqueline Sassard, Gian Maria Volonté and Gastone Moschin. It is a poignant analysis of a middle-aged communist intellectual (Salerno) desperately on the search for his identity after his personal life has collapsed and his beliefs in communist politics have been shattered. Vancini uses the individual case to mirror in it the sentimental and ideological crisis of an entire generation which has lost its former socialist convictions and given in to tearful resignation and complacent withdrawal.
Rustichelli´s score for the most part illuminates the psychological state of mind of the main character by contrasting two quite different evocative themes which are related to the different time phases in which the film takes place: the wailing jazzy theme for saxophone, trumpet and piano with its melancholic variants mirrors Vittorio´s loneliness and disillusionment whereas a lovely nostalgic “memory theme” is mostly heard during the flashback scenes. Rustichelli´s highy emotional score enhances the individual sequences, fits the picture like a glove and manages to link the past and the present with its memorable themes.
The second half of our CD is devoted to Rustichelli´s music for IL PADRE DI FAMIGLIA [THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY] (1967) which was already the fourth collaboration between the composer and the director Nanni Loy. In this rather bitter comedy about the troubled lives of an idealistic couple of architects Nino Manfredi brilliantly portrays the unsuspecting husband Marco who slides from one awkward and absurd situation into another whereas former MGM musical star Leslie Caron plays his caring, self-sacrificing wife Paola. The supporting cast consists of Ugo Tognazzi and of the French Bond girl Claudine Auger as Manfredi´s secret lover.
The core of Rustichelli´s music is a charming romantic waltz tune which conveys the happiness of the couple Marco and Paola with warm strings and added electric organ which gets used in many variations according to the mood of the individual sequences of the film. Although the waltz theme and its fragments dominate the score, there is also a more introspective, sultry saxophone theme and in contrast to the romantic material a march-like agitated string ostinato with a few piano interpolations which describes unrest and agitation.
In the case of LE STAGIONI DEL NOSTRO AMORE we had access to the mono master tapes from the Sugar Music archives whilst those for PADRE DI FAMIGLIA had been recorded and preserved in stereo.
01. The Separation 2:57 02. City by Night - On the Road 1:56 03. Vittorio and His Wife - Broken Marriage 2:52 04. Vittorio`s Loneliness 1:35 05. Return to Mantua - Memories of Elena 2:09 06. In Love with Elena 2:12 07. Encounter with the Night Guard 2:04 08. War Remembrances 1:40 09. Vittorio and Francesca in the Car 3:46 10. The Season of Our Love Has Passed 1:30 11. Elena´s Disappointment and Final Decision 3:40 12. The Cemetery - Childhood Memories 2:27 13. Sirtaki Dance 1:19 14. Desolation and Finale 3:00
Alternate/Unused Tracks
15. Broken Marriage (Alternate) 0:35 16. The Night Guard (Alternate) 0:39 17. Unused 0:44
Padre di famiglia
18. The Year 1946 (Main Title) 1:49 19. First Encounter 2:19 20. Falling in Love - The Wedding 1:59 21. Marco´s Frustration 1:36 22. The First Baby 2:24 23. In the Nursery 2:19 24. Romeo the Anarchist 0:39 25. Lovers at Night 1:32 26. Paola´s Pregnancy 1:47 27. The Grandfather Dies 1:32 28. Urbanization 2:03 29. Marital Crisis 1:17 30. Marco Gets Home Again 2:40 31. Marco and Paola (Reflections) 3:26 32. Plans for the Future - Paola in the Hospital 1:58 33. Finale 2:19
Wow, Yes remember watching the film for LE STAGIONI DEL NOSTRO AMORE so I could listen to Rustichelli's score found the music to be superb it creates such a great ambience.
I'm going to place some clips of Le stagioni del nostro amore so you can appreciate the quality and the extraordinary beauty of this Carlo Rsutichelli soundtrack.
I'm going to place some clips of Le stagioni del nostro amore so you can appreciate the quality and the extraordinary beauty of this Carlo Rsutichelli soundtrack.
I hope this CD will please fans of film music. The restoration of the soundtrack of "Le stagioni del nostro amore" has been a very laborious work. Sometimes a single minute of music has required 3 hours of work.
I hope this CD will please fans of film music. The restoration of the soundtrack of "Le stagioni del nostro amore" has been a very laborious work. Sometimes a single minute of music has required 3 hours of work.
The samples sound great to me Juan many thanks for your hard work.
To anybody sitting on the fence, this is a beautiful cd. Both of the scores are very restrained, that is the full orchestra is used rarely. The themes grow on you as the scores develop, LE STAGIONE is more haunting and melancholy, while there is a more romantic feel to IL PADRE. There is not a wasted note of music on this cd, 2 of my favourite scores by Rustichelli without a doubt.
Well done to Saimel for preserving these superb scores
