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Marco Werba's first feature score from 1988 is an impressive debut that earned him the Colonna Sonora award the following year. Christina Comencini's film tells the story of 11-year-old Martina who lives alone with her father, night watchman in the Rome Zoo. One night, she stumbles upon a young boy roaming about among the caged animals - a fugitive boy sold to a gypsye as a baby. A friendship evolves between the two children. A suite of the score has already been released on Werba's promo sampler, but the Italian label Hexacord premieres the complete score with this release. The opening "Tema di Zoo" cautiously starts with tremolo strings, but rapidly settles in a lovely, melancholic tune played by flute and strings - with hints of childlike innocence. This theme sets the tone for much of the score - that alternates between tongue-in-cheek melodicism and long sustained string chords. It is the former which is most engaging, such as the charming harp pluckings of "Tema di Martina" or the somewhat sadder and more elegiac "Tema di Ratti". The sustained string chords, on the other hand, border slightly on gratuity, as in "MI4 - L'Esplorazione Notturna" or "MI1 - Martina Ha Paura". Werba presents the themes in slightly different variations throughout. A piano and orchestra-version of the Zoo theme pops in midway while two bonus tracks present the selfsame theme in both a vocal version ("Vai, Te Ne Vai") and an extended live concert version performed by the Mario Nascimbene Orchestra. The suspense tracks do not really work as a rewarding listening experience alone (although they might work brilliantly in the film), but that is largely outweighed by the lovely melodies and themes that are typically Italian in sentiment - there's something about the utilization of minor chords in European film scores! And although the many theme variations might opt for unneccessary repetition, the album never exceeds its welcome at a fine 40 minutes. The performance - part chamber-sized orchestra, part sampled electronics - is also fine and impeccable, although the sound quality of the concert version is a bit muddy. A small drawback is the liner notes that merely sum up the film's plot in shaky English, but that is sort of a tradition with many Italian CD releases, so it's a minor quibble.
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BUYING OPTIONS: Go to www.hexacord.com ...or contact Mr. Roberto Zamori Tel/fax: (39) 0574 625109
CD INFO: Prod. nr.: Hexacord HCD-15 Music composed, orchestrated and conducted by: Marco Werba Recorded and mixed at: Teatro Massimo di Pescara and Film Music Art Studio "Vai, Te Ne Vai" Music and lyrics by Marco Werba Performed by Fransesca Russo "Zoo - live version" Performed by The Mario Nascimbene Orchestra conducted by Antonio Cericola Sound restoration and digital mastering by: Roberto Zamori |
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