Michele Lacerenza.

Born in Taranto, Puglia, Italy on January 7th 1922. Michele Lacerenza was to become one of the most important musicians to be connected with the Italian cinema and in- particular the Italian western. Like Alessandroni, s whistle and guitar playing, Franco De Gemini’s excellent harmonica performances and Edda Dell Orso’s unique aural vocalising, Lacarenza was to make his mark on the western genre and also other movie scores with his inspired and unblemished trumpet playing.

Lacerenza came from a family background that was musical; his Father Giacomo Lacerenza was a well known conductor. Lacerenza came to the forefront of Italian film music when he was asked by composer Ennio Morricone to perform trumpet on “A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS”. The films director Sergio Leone had originally insisted on having Italy’s most prominent trumpet player at that time Nini Rosso to perform on the soundtrack, but Morricone wanted to use Lacerenza because he remembered his flawless performances whilst they were at the music conservatory and has stated since that he wrote the piece with Lacerenza’s trumpet in mind.

After playing the films central theme for Leone the great film-maker was said to be reduced to tears because Lacerenza’s performance was so full of emotion. Morricone described him as “A sublime trumpet player” After the success of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, Lacerenza continued his collaboration with Morricone on scores such as A PISTOL FOR RINGO , FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Lacerenza became much in demand and began to perform on many other film soundtracks, it was also at this time that he had a hit record with a cover version of THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (La Casa Del Sole) a song that had been a worldwide hit for British rock band The Animals.

 

Lacerenza’s career went from strength to strength and as well as performing on film scores and collaborating with composers such as Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota and Armando Trovaioli he also began to compose music for the cinema and although his output may not have been immense it was certainly important and original. The Maestro also taught music at the Foggia conservatory of music and the Santa Cecilia Academy.  He died in Rome on November 17th 1989.

STANLEY MYERS.

 

British composer Stanley Myers was born in Edgbaston England on October 6th, 1930, he studied at Oxford University, and by the mid 1950’s had already established himself as a songwriter and a musical director in theatres for musicals. His first foray into film scoring came in 1958 when he worked on the English motion picture MURDER REPORTED on which he collaborated with Reg Owen. Myers would not return to film music until 1964 when he scored DIARY OF A YOUNG MAN it was also in that year that the composer wrote the music to six episodes of the popular BBC series DR WHO, these episodes were, PRISONERS OF CONCIERGERIE, A BARGAIN OF NECESSITY, THE TYRANT OF FRANCE, A CHANGE OF IDENTITY and GUESTS OF MADAME GUILLOTINE.

In 1967, he provided the score for the controversial movie ULYSSES which was based around the novel by James Joyce. Myers would also conduct many scores for other composers as well as his own and by the time the 1970, s arrived he had become one of Britain’s leading composers of film music and sought after by film directors and producers. It was in 1970 that he penned what was to be his most enduring and famous piece of music, CAVATINA, this was a piece originally written for the movie THE WALKING STICK, which starred David Hemming’s and then later more famously utilised in the Robert de Niro picture THE DEER HUNTER, it is a piece of music that is still to this day played all over the world at some point every day.

During the decades of both the 70’s and the 80’s Myers had a prolific output for movie scores but increasingly turned to writing for television. In 1980, he scored THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES a miniseries that starred Rock Hudson. The films he did work on all contained more than just serviceable scores, but had soundtracks that not only enhanced and underlined every scenario but also stood out as music that could be enjoyed away from the images that it was intended to support, THE RAGING MOON.

 

During the 1980’s he collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer on numerous projects SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE, PAPERHOUSE and MOONLIGHTING amongst them. As well as writing music for television Myers would often act as a musical supervisor or conductor during this period of his career. His last major film score was SARAFINA starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1992, but as the 1990’s progressed the composer was drawn towards productions for the small screen and his last six scores were for TV productions such as MIDDLEMARCH and HEART OF DARKNESS.

 

Stanley Myers passed away on November 9th,1993 after a battle with cancer.

GARY HUGHES.

 

 

Gary Hughes was a film music composer who was particularly active during the 1960, s and worked on a number of historical dramas for Hammer films. Born Gareth McClean Hughes on March 21st, 1922 in Nanaimo Canada, Hughes initially began his working career as a print setter but always had a passion for music. Whilst being employed in the printing industry he began to study music in his spare time, he eventually achieved his goal and became a musician becoming a trombone player and then progressed to doing arrangements and finally to becoming a composer. He re-located to England in 1955 with his wife Grace and settled in Richmond Surrey.

JOHN HOLLINGSWORTH, MUIR MATHESON and SIR WILLIAM WALTON.

He carried on doing arrangements and writing his own compositions and was asked to arrange some music for Sir William Walton, which threw him into the limelight and he began to work for several composers who were popular at that time. In 1960, he wrote the music for LINDA which was conducted by Muir Mathieson, soon after this he was recruited by John Hollingsworth who was the Musical director for Hammer films and worked on a handful of movies these included the period dramas, DEVIL SHIP PIRATES, THE VIKING QUEEN, PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, A CHALLENGE FOR ROBIN HOOD and the English civil war tale THE SCARLET BLADE, which starred Oliver Reed and Lionel Jefferies.

He also collaborated with Muir Mathieson again in 1964 on the Cy Enfield directed HIDE AND SEEK. At the age of just 56, the composer passed away in Farnham Surrey, on April 25th 1978, this was after a series of strokes, the fourth of these proved to be fatal. It is a great shame that he passed away at such an early age, as I am certain he would have continued to be a sought-after composer of film scores, his music was particularly suited to the adventure movies of the 1960’s but he was a versatile and talented composer, arranger. There is not a great deal of his music available on any format, although GDI records did include a handful of cues from his Hammer assignments on their compilations of themes from Hammer films. These are mainly the opening themes for the movies.

NOI ERAVAMO.

 

Composer Baptiste Allard is a new name for me, although I notice he has worked on a few movies, which include a score for a version of PAPILLON earlier this year for Italian television. His latest score is NOI ERAVAMO, and I must say it totally beguiled and enthralled me, it is a beautifully crafted score and one that is overflowing with delicate and fragile sounding tone poems which ooze emotion and are brimming with poignancy. I was surprised to learn that the score is made up of samples so no real instruments performing as it were, well I find this very hard to believe because the work is just so alluringly beautiful and possesses real heart and soul, the music is romantic, dramatic and haunting. The composer’s themes and musical passages infiltrate your mind and work away at your inner emotions at times leaving one a little exhausted but in a nice way. There is a light and subtle style present within the score that is laced with an air of the mysterious and maybe the magical. It is a work that I am confident will become a favourite amongst collectors and one that will be returned to many times once heard. There is just a sound to it that makes it attractive and comforting, piano and harp are utilised with strings also being a large part of the equation. I can’t really say this is a massive orchestral score because I know it is not, but the composer has fashioned a soundtrack that is so tender and so filled with emotive nuances and motifs that one would be hard pressed to say it was not played by an orchestra, he builds the work gradually and tenderly with woodwind playing its part alongside and underlining strings and brass sounds with percussive elements being added for the more dramatic and urgent sounding pieces within the score.

 

The title cue NOI ERAVAMO is actually track number 7 in the running order and is one of the longest cues on the soundtrack coming in at just over seven minutes, this I think is what one might call a slow burning fuse of a theme as the composer builds the cue layering strings over woods and adding percussion even thought this is subdued, brass flourishes are also entered into the proceedings to give it a more pronounced dramatic feel, but all the time we hear the strings which are underlining supporting and enhancing everything that is going on, the style employed is like a fusion of Thomas Newman and Ennio Morricone, so it is subdued but at the same time has to it a strong thematic presence that one cannot ignore.

 

Piano does feature predominantly in cues such as LUCIANO and LUCIANO and GUGLIELMO and returns in many the cues adding wisps of melancholy and at times infusing an atmosphere that is sombre and solitary. The composer also includes a fusion of horns and strings that are underlined and punctuated by percussion in cues such as PLANES, PLANES FACTORY, SOLDIERS DEATH, and VOLANTARI which is the final cue on the release. No stand out cues as all are very good indeed. I only hope that one day very soon this composer gets a film with a large music budget, then the end results I am sure will be powerful and beautiful. But for now, check this out, you will not be disappointed.

composer Baptiste Allard.

 

 

 

 

Track listing.

1
Opening

2
SoldIers

3
Agnese & Guglielmo

4
Blood Donors

5
Fiorello La Guardia

6
Injury

7
Agnese Bloody Clothes

8
Everyone Goes on Their Own Way

9
Hospital Arrival

10
Noi Eravamo

11
Luciano

12
Luciano & Guglielmo

13
Luciano’s Goal

14
Planes

15
Luciano’s Writing

16
Planes Factory

17
Reminds You

18
Solders’ Death

19
Takeoff

20
Travel Memories

21
Armistice

22
Volontari (Bonus)