For the first absolute time on record the original soundtrack by Carlo Rustichelli from the 1972 movie Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi (aka "Don Camillo et les contestataires") directed by Mario Camerini and starring Gastone Moschin as Don Camillo and Lionel Stander as Peppone, the two famous characters created by the fertile pen of Giovanni Guareschi. This motion picture can be considered the official "sequel" of the five previous movies starring the great Fernandel and Gino Cervi in the roles of Don Camillo and Peppone. The successful French-Italian co-production series is well preserved on DVD: "Don Camillo" by Julien Duvivier (1952), "Il ritorno di Don Camillo" by Julien Duvivier (1953), "Don Camillo e lÂ'onorevole Peppone" by Carmine Gallone (1955), "Don Camillo monsignore ma non troppo" by Carmine Gallone (1961) e "Il compagno Don Camillo" by Luigi Comencini (1965). M° Alessandro Cicognini, one of the biggest names of the Italian Neorealism Film Music was the musical soul for the five movies writing dramatic background orchestral scores dominated by a sweet and pastorale Don Camillo Theme reprised with variations in every movie. Sadly, no record dedicated to Don Camillo with the fabulous movie scores of M°Cicognini has been issued until today (tragically the master tapes of the first three movies are completely lost, while parts of the last two ones have survived in some archives...). The movie was first intended as the sixth in the "Don Camillo" series, starring Fernandel and Gino Cervi. After a few weeks of shooting in July 1970, Fernandel had to leave the set because of failing health. Production was halted but the investors wanted to resume the shooting with a mostly new team. Co-star Gino Cervi and original director Christian-Jaque did not agree to pursue the film without Fernandel (sadly passed away in Paris on February 1971), so the series did not continue. Gastone Moschin was chosen for the role of Don Camillo, while American character actor Lione Stander for the role of Peppone. The direction was assigned to veteran director Mario Camerini, and the score to the great Carlo Rustichelli (M° Cicognini already retired from the Film Scoring scene in 1966). So our CD can be considered as the first officially released record from the original Don Camillo series (apart from the Pino Donaggio Ost – issued on LP Senso Unico SMG 72703 - written for the 1984 theatrical remake starring Terence Hill, precursor of his Tv "Don Matteo"). In the past I had already listened to the beautiful score by Carlo Rustichelli in his Rome house, but the Maestro's copy of the mastertape was just a mono mix down kept in his private archives. The stereo mix master tapes - survived in very good conditions thirty five years after the recording session - have only recently been discovered in the Rca vaults. The story of "Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi" is placed in the very early seventies, therefore Carlo RustichelliÂ's Ost is dominated by a modern and romantic theme arranged for symphonic orchestra and the choir of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. This new "Don Camillo Theme" theme is introduced first by a Beat symphonic passage of western flavour (Tr.1) and reprised throughout the score: in Tr.4 and especially in Tr.16 (with a mystical-religious tone where EddaÂ's voice explodes in all her splendour accompanied by symphonic orchestra and by the I Cantori Moderni choir). This version was heard during the moving sequence where Don Camillo rescues the crucifix vanished from his church. Other reprises of this particular theme include a Beat version with choir (Tr.18) and the Finale (Tr.19). The unforgettable style of Carlo Rustichelli is present in the orchestral variations of the partisan song Â''Bella ciaoÂ'' (Tr.9, Tr.11) including also an arrangement for brass band (Tr.8). This OST also features Lounge style themes such as the elegant rhythmical track for Flugehorn (O. Valdambrini) and orchestra (Tr.2), the widely joyful one with Edda and orchestra (Tr.5) reprised with a slow version in Tr.9, Tr.10 and in Tr.13 (a Beat tune with a dramatic intro to background the church scene where the hand of Jesus' statue saves the life of the faithful ones from a strafing during the Second World War), shake music for the sequence of the motorbike challenge (Tr.15). The young people are playing a joke on Don Camillo singing a funny little song presented here as Tr.4. As a bonus, we close our CD with alternate takes of the main themes unused in the movie: "Prologo" and "Titoli di coda" with a beautiful popular acoustic theme (Tr.19, Tr.20), "Titoli" with a longer guitar intro (Tr.21), the alternate longer version of the Don Camillo funny little song (Tr.22), an alternate intro of the track N°13 (Tr.23), and "Finale" with an alternate intro with Alessandro Alessandroni's whistle followed by a mystical passage of strings.
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