Ennio Morricone – Come un delfino: La serie (2013, M4A)

Also Known As "Come un Delfino 2"

Release Date: 17 April 2013
Label: Rti
Copyright: 2013 R.t.i. S.p.a.

DIGITAL-ONLY ALBUM!

260kbps VBR M4A + COVER

A 2011 Italian miniseries, Come un Delfino (literally Like a Dolphin) was loosely based on the life of Italian swimmer Domenico Fioravanti, who was forced to retire young in 2004 after being diagnosed with a cardiac hypertrophy. This second series, again directed by Stefano Reali and starring Raoul Bova, picks up the story. Ennio Morricone�s beautiful score for the first series was until recently the last of his score�s to receive an album release (though La Migliore Offerta and the latest series of Ultimo were both released early in 2013); oddly billed as Come un Delfino � La Serie (so many people may confuse it with the previous volume), his music for the sequel has been released digitally only.

There�s something very surprising about this score � Morricone has chosen not to reprise any of the exquisite thematic material he developed for the original miniseries. Instead, he�s come up with a whole new set of exquisite thematic material. The album opens with the almost insanely lush �L�estate dei ricordi�, trademark string runs running away under a beautiful horn melody. Picture a warm Mediterranean evening, the sun going down, a cold Peroni in your hand � well, you don�t need to picture that if you listen to this theme because the music does it all for you.

�Isolati� is the second theme, this one full of melancholy, of sadness � yet it still retains a great beauty. �Sole e sabbia� is highlighted by a wonderful viola solo, then another lovely horn theme. Things take an unexpected turn in the action track �A piedi nudi sulla sabbia�, a vintage Morricone low-end stabbing piano soon joined by a surprisingly hardcore techno beat and sampled vocals (yes, you read that correctly). Maybe Morricone will become the first octogenarian to write a nightclub anthem. He quickly gets back to more familiar territory though, with perhaps the most romantic theme of the score, the gorgeous �D�amore una storia�, summery strings with subtle electric guitar accompaniment in the first and last sections sandwiching what sounds like a romantic update of �Gabriel�s Oboe� in the central bridge.

�L�altra� is a wistful theme � vaguely reminiscent of �All the Friends� from Mission to Mars � there�s a warmth to it, but also a slight feeling of loss. �I delfini affettuosi� is yet another beautiful, free-flowing piece of romance. �L�ora e il dopo� has more of an edge to it, strings rising and falling like waves lapping the shoreline but there�s no doubt there�s darkness there. �Tempesta� takes it further � you wouldn�t need Google to translate the title for you even if it weren�t obvious, because the jabbing piano and piercing brass stings, again with an electronic beat (this time more subtle than before) do indeed create a sonic tempest. This is not that kind of virtually unlistenable suspense music Morricone sometimes writes � it�s dynamic, modern, exciting, perfectly listenable. �Catarsi�, the final theme, has a slightly devilish, militaristic air to it, also a great sense of intrigue and mystery.

The balance of the album is made up of alternate versions of a few of the themes, the highlight being the concluding version of �A piedi nudi sulla sabbia�, the oppressive piano and techno replaced here by elegant plucked strings and violin solo � a remarkablly different take on the same melodic content. Come un Delfino 2 really is some collection of themes � in an era when warm melodies are generally eschewed in film music, here�s the veteran of all veterans providing more in a single score than a lot of the younger generation of film composers have managed in their careers to date.

1. L’Estate Dei Ricordi 3:22
2. Isolati 2:53
3. Sole e Sabbia
4. A Piedi Nudi Sulla Sabbia 3:25
5. D’Amore una Storia 2:55
6. L’Altra 2:32
7. L’Estate Dei Ricordi (Alternative vrs) 3:22
8. I Delfini Affettuosi 1:27
9. Difficolta’ Nei Rapporti 1:41
10. L’Ora e il Dopo 2:30
11. Tempesta 4:06
12. Catarsi 3:04
13. D’Amore una Storia (Alternative vrs) 3:28
14. Difficolta’ Nei Rapporti (Alternative vrs) 1:41
15. A Piedi Nudi Sulla Sabbia (Alternative vrs) 2:53

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