ribonucleic
01-11-2013, 07:44 PM


The 1981 Jean-Jacques Beineix film Diva is a dizzying cornucopia of delights, with a strong sense of urban cool and a cast of characters whose alternating detachments and obsessions hint at the legacy of pain and loneliness that helped form them. Its score, composed by Vladimir Cosma, is inseparable from the film, which, after all, is about music itself, and the ways that it links to desire and longing. From the beautiful arias of Wilhemina Wiggins Fernandez (who plays an opera singer in the film) to the eerie, achingly beautiful instrumental pieces composed by Cosma to set the mood for images of rain-slicked streets, Taiwanese music pirates, teenaged Vietnamese thieves, jaded middle-aged art sages, motorbikes and car chases, the score for Diva remains one of Cosma's masterpieces, a perfect companion to a film that became an international underground hit. ... Cosma's score seems steeped in gritty '80s punk mojo, while remaining completely stylish and refined. - AllMusic

01. Aria from "La Wally" [(A. Catalani - arrangement: V. Cosma) sung by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez] (03:33)
02. Sentimental Walk [Piano solo: V. Cosma] (02:40)
03. Dead End (03:06)
04. Gorodish (03:03)
05. Zen and the Art of Buttering Breead (02:04)
06. Ave Maria [(C. Gaunad) sung by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez] (01:38)
07. Aria from "La Wally" [(A. Catalani - arrangement: V. Cosma) cello solo: Hubert Varron; piano: Raymond Allessandrini] (instrumental version) (03:07)
08. Sentimental Walk [Piano solo: V. Cosma] (03:36)
09. Ground Swell (04:23)
10. Metro Police (02:36)
11. The Abandoned Factory (03:12)
12. The Priest and the West Indian (01:31)
13. The Tilery Beneath the Rain [sung by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez; piano: V. Cosma] (01:29)
14. Prelude to the Suite in D Minor BWV 1005 [(J.S. Bach) Cello solo: H. Varron] (01:11)
15. A Bath by the Sea (02:21)
16. I Don't Like Elevators (02:29)
17. Aria from "La Wally" (reprise) [(A. Catalani - arrangement V. Cosma) Piano solo: R. Allessandrini] (02:58)
18. A Dog for Mr. Michael (02:50)
This is neither the 12-track original US version nor the 19-track "20th anniversary" limited edition US version - both of which appear to be out of print. It is a 1985 French edition from Milan Records. It differs from the "20th anniversary" edition in the order of its later tracks and by its omission the end titles version of "La Wally". [Though perhaps the listener will have enjoyed a sufficiency of the opera by that point.]
The soundtrack's eclecticism can make it difficult to listen to straight through. But this is worth getting for the unforgettable "Sentimental Walk" cue alone.
Please PM for link.