Tag Archives: Italian music

RIP Sylvano Bussotti (1931 – 2021)

‘Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor’ (1959) detail of ‘sheet music’ as found in ‘A Thousand Plateaus’ (1980).

Sylvano Bussotti was an Italian composer and poet known for such pieces as Five Piano Pieces for David Tudor (1959).

A piece of the “sheet music” of that composition is reproduced in A Thousand Plateaus (1980).

5 Piano Pieces for David Tudor

RIP Raffaella Carrà (1943 – 2021)

Raffaella Carrà  dancing in “Prisencolinensinainciusol” (1972)

Raffaella Carrà  was an Italian showbiz person known for her dancing in “Prisencolinensinainciusol” (1972) and her singing and low-cut suit in “A far l’amore comincia tu” (1976).

“A far l’amore comincia tu” (1976)

The song is featured prominently in Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000) by Ozon.

Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000)

In 2011, French DJ Bob Sinclar sampled the original Italian version of “A far l’amore comincia tu” and included it in his single “Far l’amore” which was later featured in The Great Beauty (2013).

“Far l’amore” as featured in The Great Beauty (2013).

RIP Franco Battiato (1945 – 2021)

Franco Battiato was an Italian composer, writer, filmmaker, and painter.

His name is on the ‘Nurse with Wound list’ and his compositions are in the ‘Caribou 1000’ and on the ‘Daily Fingertracks’.

His debut albums Fetus (1972) and Pollution (1972) are typical for the beginning of his career. He made these albums when he was 27.

I wrote something here about peak creativity but erased it. Notions such as ‘late bloomer’, ‘child prodigy’, ‘imperial phase’, ‘genius’ and ‘talent’ and artists such as David Bowie, Lee Perry and Goya crossed my thoughts.

Battato was new to me. I enjoyed him immensely yesterday. An old adagium of me comes to mind. Something about looking for beauty in unexpected places.

RIP Ennio Morricone (1928 – 2020)

“Ma Non Troppo Erotico” (1971)

Ennio Morricone was an Italian composer, a veritable monument.

He composed over 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as over 100 classical works.

“Dies Irae Psichedelico” (1968)

He is best known for the characteristic sparse and memorable soundtracks of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns: “Man with a Harmonica” from Once Upon a Time in the West and the theme to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. The first has a haunting harmonica and the second an immediately recognizable flute/whistle.

When I compiled the Jahsonic 1000, I also included “Dies Irae Psichedelico” (1968) and “Ma Non Troppo Erotico” (1971).