Two classic Nino Rota scores for the films of Federico
Fellini on one CD!
Satyricon was one of the few adaptations helmed by Fellini
during his career, based on the fragmented novel of the same
title by Petronius.
Described as one of "the most profoundly homosexual movie
in all history", the story tells the picaresque journey
of a former gladiator, who is in search of his boy lover.
Nino Rota composed one of his most unusual scores for the
film, evoking barbaric rhythms and ancient-sounding instruments
to underscore the colorful visual cacophony of the film.
Although the score had been released previously on CD (included
in a compilation of "Fellini-Rota" in 2003, now
out-of-print), those issue were produced from LPs sources,
whereas this CD has been mastered from the first generation
stereo master tapes, recently discovered in the vaults of
EMI Italy.
Roma is a more personal project from Fellini, who creates
a lively portrayal of the city through several memorable if
barely related vignettes.
By showing different aspects of the Italian capitol from different
eras, Fellini creates an enjoyable mosaic which discusses
his first trip to Rome as a child, his discovery of the city
at the age of 18 and meta-trip during which he is making a
film about Rome.
Nino Rota's underscore is a mostly monothematic offering
(Aria di Roma) apart from some of the more colorful musical
sequences (such as the 4-part "Ecclesiastical Fashion
Show").
Our program of Roma's underscore contains the complete score
used in the film, hence they are in mono quality.
When the film was released in US, United Artists Records issued
a soundtrack which contained five Rota tracks in addition
to suites of source music, such as a selection from the Barafonda
Theater's program or various compositions from the piazza
episode.
These suites contained the occasional ambience to better reflect
on the film's aural experience, but this program essentially
resulted in a souvenir record rather than an actual score
release.
Although the five Rota tracks were re-recording in stereo,
these tracks were not available for inclusion on this CD.
Still, you get to hear all the complete Rota score recorded
for the film in the best currently possible sound quality
restored and mastered by Claudio Fuiano. |
