IL COMPAGNO DON CAMILLO

Digitmovies proudly presents for the first time on CD the complete OST by Alessandro Cicognini for the movie “Il compagno Don Camillo” (aka “Don Camillo en Russie” – “Don Camillo in Moscow”) directed in 1965 by Luigi Comencini, fifth and last movie of the lucky movies series well known all around the world, starring the french actor Fernandel as Don Camillo, a priest and the italian player Gino Cervi as Peppone, a communist major. Both those characters created by the highly imaginative pen of Giovanni Guareschi. Although we still ventured in the movie territory of Don Camillo releasing the Carlo Rustichelli OST for “Don Camillo e i giovani d’oggi”, a kind of re-make starring Gastone Moschin (Don Camillo) and Lionel Stander (Peppone) directed by Mario Camerini in 1972, after Fernandel’s death (Digitmovies CDDM 077), this CD represents for Digitmovies a very important pass, considering that of the original five movies, all scored by Alessandro Cicognini, the first two directed by Julien Duvivier, the two following ones by Carmine Gallone) in those days no one note was ever issued on complete records, 78 rpm, 45 rpm and compilations, so a real “black hole” in the world discography. Until now it seems that no master tapes from the first four movies survived (but the searches continue, helped by the faith, hope and good will…),but for this long time awaited CD project is one more time possible thanks to the big help of the friends at C.A.M. whose archives the mono master tapes of the original recording session were kept stored until today. Alessandro Cicognini (15th January 1906, Pescara,9th November 1995, Rome) is an huge name of the Film Music, with a so big filmography (he was the most important composer of the Italian Neorealism), but sadly not much represented on records. Our CD wants to fulfill this emptiness with the rescue of a simply delicious score. The score is based on the pastoral Don Camillo theme, a simple and lovely motif that recurs, with variations, in all the five movies, introduced by bells tolls and performed by French horns (Tr.1). For Peppone, the trusty communist major of Brescello, town close to river Po, M°Cicognini has written another recurrent main theme, a popular flavoured march that perfectly contrasts the religious flavour of the Don Camillo motif (Tr.3). Every movie, after main titles, features an off-screen narrating voice that introduces the new plot,like in Tr.2, where the Don Camillo theme returns with a Folk music style with waltz tempo. Alessandro Cicognini reprises with a very sweet and pastorale mood the Don Camillo theme and alternating it with the Peppone theme in Russian style with Fisa (Tr.4), with solo celesta and electric guitar accords (Tr.5),Don Camillo’s plot is underscored by dramatic strings (Tr.6, Tr.8,Tr.11,), for the scene of Don Camillo meets major Peppone and his collaborators with a duel style, the author has written a semi dance western theme (Tr.7), the main themes are reprised with a bucolic flute (Tr.9), celesta ed archi (Tr.10), solo celesta as introduction to a powerful symphonic Russian theme (Tr.12), Russian folk music (Tr.13),suspence music (Tr.14), a twist dance(Tr.15). For the Italian journalist and the Russian girl Alessandro Cicognini has written a slow love theme performed by electric guitar with modern flavour that introduces with ancient flavour the Don Camillo theme (Tr.16), lovely reprised after a suspence intro for strings (Tr.17), in russian version with electric guitars followed by the same arrangement of the Love theme reprise (Tr.19).This romantic motif returns in Tr.20 and Tr.21 with the finale reprise of the Don Camillo Theme that closes the movie and our CD. Another must rescue of the Italian Golden and Silvers Ages.