Triple Cd Cipriani (Femina ridens / La morte cammina con i tacchi alti / L’iguana dalla lingua di fuoco)

Hoping to renew and to satisfy the requests received, we wanted to present this set dedicated to the Maestro Stelvio Cipriani, containing three titles that our society had published back in 2006/2007, and that they were sold out. The three ost are presented in a new design and all strictly separated to allow an accurate and philological fruition, that will help to appreciate in the best possible way, these wonderful comments made by Maestro Stelvio Cipriani. We hope you enjoy!

 

FEMINA RIDENS

 

Digitmovies presents on CD the complete full stereo original motion picture score composed and conducted by Stelvio Cipriani for the 1969 movie “Femina ridens” (aka “The laughing woman”), directed by Piero Schivazappa and starring Philippe Leroy, Dagmar Lassander and Lorenza Guerrieri. The movie tells with grotesque tones the story of Doctor Sayer (Philippe Leroy), director of a philanthropic institute. A childhood trauma makes his life uncomfortable: he has a recurrent fear of being killed by a woman during a sexual act in a similar way as the scorpion female kills the male. Therefore Doctor Sayer, to meet trouble half-way, has got into the habit of torturing and killing his partner every time he has sex, at every week-end. But something in his perfect machine breaks down. Being unable to find his usual week-end-victim, he decides to trepan Mary (Dagmar Lassander), his secretary, to play his vicious games. But she surprises Doctor Sayer by subverting his tricks and tortures, and takes him on a diabolical journey that he could never have foreseen. He becomes the prey, while the real predator is the woman, who arranges a diabolical plan to kill the doctor: accomplishing the final triumph over the males, the last of a long series of revenges, those of Femina Ridens. This CD project was again made possible thanks to the friends of C.A.M., in whose archives the stereo master tape of the original 1969 album (C.A.M. SAG 9017) as well as the master of the whole stereo session recording have been carefully preserved. The album is surely one of the rarest items in the Film Music history. This CD gives the fans the chance to enjoy a very fascinating score, good example of refined Lounge Music especially created for the big screen by one of the greatest soundtracks composers, Stelvio Cipriani, adored by fans around the world (he is particularly popular in Japan). Maestro Cipriani has created a very varied score. The main theme is a romantic orchestral waltz introduced in Tr.1, then reprised by violin and piano (Tr.5). A magic and suspended version of the theme also features the voice of Edda Dell’Orso (Tr.8). Many different musical styles are represented in this score, including pieces between experimental and Lounge (Tr.2, Tr.10), a minuet with the voice of Edda simulating an orgasm (Tr.3), Bachian music with jazz arrangements performed by band and by the choir of Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni (Tr.4), shake music once again with the sensual voice of Edda (Tr.6), another shake sung by Olympia and accompanied by the Cantori Moderni choir (Tr.7) and a fabulous Western Deguello for orchestra and choir (Tr.11). Our CD encloses also eight inedit tracks discovered on the original session master tapes. These are mainly reprises of the album tracks including instrumental versions (Tr.13, Tr.16) and the off vocal base with orchestra and choir (Tr.19) of the vocal shake.

 

LA MORTE CAMMINA CON I TACCHI ALTI

 

“La morte cammina con i tacchi alti” (aka “Death walks on high heels”) shot in 1971 by director Luciano Ercoli (his second thriller movie after “Le foto proibite di una signora perbene”) is a Giallo that follows the Argento- school, with a serial killer dressed in dark and a women destined for violent death. The Ercoli movie has its own particularity: mixing the thrilling sequences, black comedy tones and elements typical for the Agatha Christie novels, placing the plot in England. The real surprise of “La morte cammina con i tacchi alti” is the genial presentation of the murder’s scene just after half-time of the movie, when the viewer has already been conquered by the sympathy of the murdered female protagonist’s character. Digitmovies releases on record the complete original score composed and conducted by Stelvio Cipriani. This CD project was made possible

thanks to the cooperation of the C.A.M. archives where the original stereophonic master tapes have been preserved since the recording session date. This score is built around variations of a romantic main theme, introduced with a gentle beat mood featuring the sensual vocal by Nora Orlandi in the Main Titles (tr.1). M° Cipriani has created this particular motif for Nicole’s character, a fascinating Parisian night-club singer, and thereby giving more space to the Lounge-style music throughout the whole score (tr.2, tr.4, tr.8, tr.10, tr.14, tr.15, tr.16) so as to describe the atmospheare in that the girl lives. The Main Theme is then reprised with different arrangemens like tr.3 (slow and dreamy), tr.6 (an up-tempo valzer), tr.7 (a Bacharach-style version), tr.12 (a bossa vivace). The most dark moments of the story are underlined by a few but adequate tension cues ((tr.5, tr.9, tr.11) and by a long piece (tr.17) written for the scene of the final confrontation, where Stelvio Cipriani evokes a western-style motif written by him in the same year for the cult western movie “Blindman”. The movie as well as our CD conclude with the reprise of the Main Title theme featuring Nora Orlandi’s whistle instead of her voice (tr. 18).

 

L’IGUANA DALLA LINGUA DI FUOCO

 

After the CD release of Stelvio Cipriani’s scores for Horror movies directed by Mario Bava (“Ecologia del delitto” and “Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga” - available on Digitmovies CDDM046), for another Horror “Un ombra nell’Ombra” (available on Digitmovies CDDM052), Digitmovies is now glad to release on record the complete original motion picture score by M°Cipriani for the Giallo “L’iguana dalla lingua di fuoco”. This CD edition was made possible thanks again to the help of C.A.M., in whose archives the original stereo master tapes have been stored until today and to the help of M°Cipriani who approved our musical selection. The score is based on a romantic main theme introduced in the Main Titles with a beat arrangement for orchestra feat. vocal of Nora Orlandi (Tr.1). This motif is reprised with variations in Tr.4, a version for solo piano performed by Stelvio Cipriani and again vocalized by Nora Orlandi, then in a version for piano and symphonic orchestra (Tr.9) and ultimately in a semi Pop-flavoured version using harpsichord, piano, guitar and female voice (Tr.11). The dark side of the score is given by a series of macabre and suspense themes sometimes slow and mysterious (Tr.2, Tr.5, Tr.7, Tr.12, Tr.14), sometimes fast and rhythmical (Tr.6, Tr.10, Tr.13).