L'Art d'aimer / Le jeune marié / Un amour interdit

A 2-CD set. Remastered edition supervised by Claudio Fuiano,
including 25 minutes of previously unreleased music.
8-page CD booklet with liner notes by Gergely Hubai.
Limited Edition of 300 units.

Music Box presents a collection of Luis Bacalov's three scores written for French films, including previously unreleased material.
L'Art d'aimer (Art of Love, 1983) by Walerian Borowczyk is based on Ovid's Ars Amatoria, an instructional elegy series about finding the right man or woman for yourself. An erotic film indebted to Federico Fellini's Satyricon, Luis Bacalov take a cue from Nino Rota by embracing the Roman dream sequence with music that's based on the sound of the historical period. The composer uses varied devices, such as a male choir for the military, a lyre, recorder, tambourine, flute and assorted percussion. The music is rounded out by the slightly anachronistic pop song Art of Love, performed by Lany Jones.

Co-written and directed by Bernard Stora, Le Jeune Marié (The Young Bridegroom, 1983) is about a young construction worker who has second thoughts about his marriage when he bumps into a rich socialite on his wedding night... The score is anchored around the title song A Suitcase Full of Memories which is performed in English by Italian singing sensation Bobby Solo. While the rest of the score pays tribute to the wedding with an assortment of instrumental source songs, there's a beautiful love theme for the romance as well as a so-called distance theme which is first introduced on flute and harp, then a Morriconesque racing piano figure adds a final touch of class to this highlight.

The third film, Jean-Pierre Dougnac's Un amour interdit (A Strange Passion, 1984) takes up the whole second disc with several previously unreleased cues. Based on Heinrich von Kleist's book Der Findling, the story is about a young boy who wrecks havoc on the family that adopted him. Bacalov's score heavily builds upon the traditions of Italian Baroque with a special focus on the harpsichord compositions of Venetian master Baldassarre Galuppi apart from religious elements and even beautiful vocal cues credited to Edda Dell'Orso. The lovely main theme with a four note vamp and pizzicato things communicates the twisted relationships in the family.

While there was a previous collection of French film scored by Luis Enriquez Bacalov, five films were put on one CD, meaning that only highlights could be represented. All three scores were released on LP and this compilation marks their CD debut. There were a lot of new tracks available for Un amour interdit which now runs over twice as long as the original LP and another two bonus cues were uneathed for L'Art d'aimer. There was no extra material available for Le Jeune Marié. 8-page liner notes by Gergely Hubai discuss the films and the scores alongside colorful stills.

More info at: Music Box Records