[Monday Notes no. 160] Samba della rosa is a song by Toquinho and Vinicius De Moraes, performed by Ornella Vanoni on her album La voglia la pazzia l’incoscienza l’allegria. The recording is one of the most successful encounters between Italian music and bossanova.Continue readingSamba della rosa, Ornella Vanoni and bossa nova
Tag: italian music
[Monday Notes no. 158] Deborah’s Theme is the main piece written by Ennio Morricone for the soundtrack of Once Upon a Time in America, one of Sergio Leone’s most important films. I have tried to analyse this masterpiece in film music.Continue readingDeborah’s Theme by Ennio Morricone. Analysis of a masterpiece
[Monday Notes no. 155] Bruno Lauzi was inspired by great Italian songwriting, but also by jazz and bossa nova, genres that he played and sang with ease. In 1976, he recorded an entire album for children from which is taken Il leprotto Zip (The hare Zip), a very witty song in samba – bossa nova…Continue readingBruno Lauzi, Il Leprotto Zip. Bossa nova explained to children
[Monday Note No. 154] The Quartetto Cetra was a fantastic vocal group active for about half a century, from the 1940s to the 1990s. The group was inspired by American vocal ensembles, mixing jazz with more typically Italian vocalism. Let us analyse I ricordi della sera.Continue readingQuartetto Cetra, I ricordi della sera. A classic ‘Italian-style’ ballad
[Monday Notes no. 153] For the soundtrack of the film I soliti ignoti Mario Monicelli chose a young Florentine musician named Piero Umiliani. Monicelli wanted a soundtrack that was completely jazzy, a very unusual choice for the time. Let us analyse the track entitled Gassmann Blues.Continue readingPiero Umiliani, Gassmann blues. Jazz meets Italian comedy
[Monday Notes no. 151] Piero Piccioni was a great film music composer, he wrote dozens of soundtracks working both with Francesco Rosi in the more demanding cinema and with Alberto Sordi in the great Italian comedy. We analyse his Samba Fortuna from the film Il Prof. Dr Guido Tersilli primario della clinica Villa Celeste convenzionato…Continue readingPiero Piccioni and Prof. Dr. Guido Tersilli
[Monday’s Notes no. 149] Mi piace is a song that Lelio Luttazzi wrote in 1962, tailor-made for the singer Jula de Palma, whom he discovered and launched to international success. The song is very refined and is clearly inspired by the American repertoire. I have tried to analyse it, to reveal the secret of its…Continue readingLelio Luttazzi, Mi piace. Jazz the Italian way
[Monday Note no. 147] Vecchio Frack is a song recorded by Domenico Modugno in 1955. The song tells of the last night walk of a man in frack, who in the morning will be found dead in the river. Modugno said he was inspired by a news story, the suicide of a well-known high society…Continue readingDomenico Modugno, the last night of the Vecchio frack
[Monday Note No. 145] Profondo rosso is a famous horror film by Dario Argento, the soundtrack played by the Goblins is perhaps even more famous. Let us try to analyse it to find out how the ideal soundtrack for a horror film is composed.Continue readingProfondo rosso, how to create a horror soundtrack
[Monday Note No. 134] Amara Terra mia is a song that Domenico Modugno reinterpreted and thus brought to the attention of the whole of Italy. The original piece titled Nebbia alla valle (Fog in the valley) dates back to the early 20th century and was a work song of the olive harvesters of the Abruzzo…Continue readingDomenico Modugno, Amara terra mia. An Italian spiritual