Continente Perduto was one of the most influential Italian documentary movies of the 50s.
It was the first Italian film in Cinemascope and in four-channel stereophonic sound which was quite revolutionary at that time.
Moreover, the complete crew - producer Leonardo Bonzi, directors Enrico Gras and Giorgio Moser, cinematographer Mario Craveri and also composer Lavagnino - spent several months on location in the islands of Indonesia and the Malayan Archipelago where the whole movie was shot.
Its spectacular visual extravagance was awarded top prizes at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals in 1955.
The cinematic travelogue consists of several episodes which deal with the strange, sometimes weird customs and age-old traditions of the natives of these so-called "happy islands" of Indonesia.
The entire film is an investigation of this mysterious exotic world where spiritual experience is mixed with cruel savageness.
During his six-month stay in Indonesia Lavagnino studied the sounds, rhythms and instruments of the local Gamelan music which became a source of inspiration when the music was composed back in Italy - his work was not a pure reproduction of authentic Indonesian music, but rather a very personal re-interpretation through his own fantasy and a transposition into a symphonic sound palette.
The music in the film itself is often on a par with the words and images which gave Lavagnino the chance to experiment for the first time with innovative sound and recording techniques.
For some scenes like the aerial volcano shots or the hair-cutting of a young nun in a temple the different sections of the orchestra as well as natural sounds were recorded separately on four or five tracks and then divided onto four channels of the film soundtrack so that the sounds of the instruments moved stereophonically from the left to the right side of the screen or vice versa.
Lavagnino is at the peak of his craft in creating colourful orchestrations, exciting rhythms and brilliant themes with extensive use of choir which makes for an enchanting, diversified and unique listening experience.
On this CD the complete original score from Continente Perduto with almost 60 minutes can be heard for the first time in full stereo as it was originally intended which is quite sensational for an Italian soundtrack from 1955.