Franco
Micalizzi was interviewed thru letters and then
translated by
John Mansell. This interview was shared by John to the
Movie Music Italiano mailing list (MMI) and he granted me permission
to post it here. Thanks John!
Please note that there is a book in
progress with this and many other interviews. When there is
any information on the release of this book I will place it
here. Now, on to the show!
An
Interview to the Composer
By
John Mansell
Like so many composers that wrote for the cinema in Italy during the decades of the
60's and
70's, Franco Micalizzi began his career in film music composition by writing a score for a
western
My first film score was for a Western
called The Gun Men of the Ave Maria. This was co-written with
Roberto Pregadio who was a very good friend of mine.
It would probably be true to say that the most popular western score that Micalizzi penned was for the first in the series of
Trinity movies, entitled THEY CALL ME TRINITY which was
released in 1970, it was this score that caught soundtrack collectors
attention, and set Micalizzi on the road to being an established film music composer in his native Italy. The theme song for the movie became very popular both inside Italy and across
Europe. I asked the composer how he became involved on the film ?
The big composers at the time were
not really interested in Trinity. It was something of an
experiment at the time. Being a comedy western made in Italian
but aimed at audiences in the United Kingdom and America. So
many composers that were offered the film refused it because
they were nervous of it failing at the box office. I was lucky
enough to be good friend with producer of the movie, who was
Italo Zingarelli. He decided to give me a chance and let me
compose the score.
Who decided that the film would have a theme song ?
I think it was something of a joint
decision between myself, the producer and the director E.B.
Clucher (Enzo Barboni), we
felt it might help the film be more acceptable to audience
outside of Italy having a theme song sung in english.
Yes, I have often wondered about this, who was the lyricist on the song ?
The English lyrics were written by a
friend of mine, Lally Stott. He understood perfectly what I
wanted and what I wanted to achieve with the song.
Unfortunately, he died in a boating accident in Liverpool a
few years after we worked together on Trinity.
Your score for Trinity was a great success, but you did not work on the sequel or indeed
any of the subsequent sequels, why was this ?
Unfortunately there was a little misunderstanding between myself and the producer of the movie about recording rights
etc., and this matter to do with publishing I am sorry to say
lessened our friendship, so I was not asked to work on any of the
other Trinity movies, a shame but things like this happen often in the film industry, I am glad to say that the matter is now resolved.
Two important figures within Italian film music circles are Edda Dell
Orso and Alessandro Alessandroni. Franco Micalizzi has worked with both of
them on various occasions, what was it like to work with such artistes?
To work with Edda is a joy. It is an
extraordinary experience that is uplifting and enlightning.
Her voice and her great talent are unique in creating a
sensual and lyrical atmosphere. Alessandroni too is a great
talent, he has contributed to numerous soundtracks, via his
whistle and also his wonderful Choir Il Cantori Moderni.
What made the composer take up a career in film music?
I always had a great love for music
and I also loved the cinema. The cinema was a very big source
of culture for people of my generation. I think my fascination
for films and also for music I heard in them was the reason
for me being attracted to the idea of writing film
soundtracks, the idea of writing musical themes to accompany
the film captured my imagination totally and fascinated me
immediately.
So did he come from a family background that was musical ?
No not really, it was not the
tradition of my family to become a musician, although I showed
an interest from a very early age I could only dedicate myself
to the study of music privately, and this was something I had
to do after I had finished my education at High School. I
gained most of my musical knowledge by my own personal
experience and also by studying the work of other important
musicians.
Micalizzi has written the music to many films all of which have been in differing genres, i asked the maestro was he happier scoring one genre as oppose to another ?
The real beauty of writing music for
film is that you get a chance to work on so many different
subject matters: comedies, romances, dramas, westerns, every
genre has its own stimulating opportunity for the musician. I
do not think that any movie is easier or more difficult to
work on, the real problem is to find the right solution for
each film, the correct idea for the music on any film is
always difficult to find and this requires work, concentration
and of course, talent, so I am happy to work on any type of
film.
What about scoring timetables, is it the same in Italy as in America and the UK ?
If you mean does the producer want
the score completed yesterday? Yes, it is the same in Italy as
elsewhere that I think is something that all film music
composers have to contend with, and also the edits etc. it can
sometimes be very frustrating and stressful,. It really
depends on the individual production, some can be a nightmare
where you get as little as 10 days from start to finish, but
then there are some that allow you a month or even longer,
which is a luxury in composing terms.
When did the composer like to become involved on a project, did he read a script or did he like to see the film in its rough cut stage before starting work on the score ?
Again, this depends on the producer,
or at times the director. They might have had another composer
on the film and decided that the music is not right for the
movie, so a re-write is asked for another composer brought in.
I have read scripts in the past, but these are a little
sketchy and more often than not are changed on a daily basis,
so the composer can find it difficult working from a script.
You might compose a piece for a scene that gets cut out of the
finished movie, so I prefer to spot the film with the director
in its rough cut stage. It's less of a headache, but of course
I have written a score for a film by just studying the script,
and yes, it did work. I suppose really it is better to start
with the script and get ideas and then develop the ideas when
you see the almost finished movie.
Did the composer orchestrate all his own music and did he consider orchestration to be an important part of the composition process ?
I orchestrate everything myself. If a
composer writes the music and then hands it to someone else to
orchestrate it, the music ceases to be the work of the
composer, it becomes a collaboration, so I do not use
orchestrators, and yes, orchestration is important. In fact, I
think composition and orchestration are one and the same
thing.
And how does he work out his musical ideas at the piano or maybe with a
synthesizer/pc ?
At one time I did all my work at the
piano but things have progressed and now I use a computer as
do so many other composers who work on films. Every age places
the best instruments at the musician's disposal, but the only
really important thing is the original idea. It does not
matter how you arrive at the end product. Without ideas, no
computers or synths can be useful.
What other composers have influenced you ?
There are many, Ennio Morricone,
Piccioni, Trovajoli, jazz artists, russian classical composers
all have had a profound and lasting effect upon me and also
have influenced the way in which I write music.
Thanks to Franco Micalizzi.
John Mansell © 2002/2003
Franco
Micalizzi - A Selective Filmography
Compiled by John Mansell (c) 2001.
- Gunmen of the Ave Maria
- They Call me Trinity
- The Devil Within Her
- The Last Snows of Spring
- The Tree with Pink Leaves
- The White Horses of August
- I Due Volti Della Padra
- Lucrezia Giovane
- Stridulum
- Alla mia Cara Mamma nel Giorno del Suo Compleanno
|
