Mario Nascimbene (Milan 1913 - Rome 2002).  From very young, it follows the courses that are imparted in the conservatory "Giuseppe Verdi" of their native city. After several years of intense studies, he decides to be devoted to orchestra's conductor, although years behind Mario Nascimbene, to the twelve year-old age, he had seen "The jazz singer" and after discovering that the voice of Al Jolson it left the same screen, he understood that their life would be dedicated to the cinema. Finally, their musical career is focused toward the seventh art, being Nascimbene, the first Italian composer that put the feet in Hollywood, since was his first works in Italy, what propitiated that film directors of the magnitude of King Vidor, Joseph Leo Mankiewicz, Robert Rossen, Jack Cardiff or Richard Fleischer, trusts the maestro for its big productions. Mario Nascimbene, it has probably been next to the Hungarian Miklós Ròzsa, the biggest specialist in films colosals of court historical and great budget. Nascimbene belongs to Carl Orff's style, Schöenbergg or Kaminski, for the similarity of its style with that of these composers already classic. Its musical creation, often spreads to a great expressive style and the use of big chorus, not avoiding harmonic complications and counterpointers, but that in turn everything is enhanced it of a full orchestration. Some of their works, are very in the line of some compositions, particularly Orffians, as Catulli Carmina, Victory of Aphrodite, or the operas Antígona and Edipo, all them of Carl Orff. For Nascimbene, the use of the percussion is fundamental, she is the absolute main character of almost all its works. And the rhythm that provides the perfect balance between feeling and intellect and that it engenders in their to become the melody, instead of being a formal element. It is in their obsessive monotony, the same essence of the music. Good example of it, is the film of Don Chaffey CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT in 1970. It often uses the dodecafonic chromatic scale and their compositions, they are almost always for complete groups and without repetition of the twelve sounds, valued equally and without references to tonal centers.
In their music of the most abstract species, exempt of all external association. Their main contribution was without a doubt some, its grandiose scores for films of sacred or historical court, with some incursions in invoice adventures rather fantastic (its stage in the Hammer Film). Their works are loaded with a great serenity and depth and they were always, totally faithful to the spirit of the films and of the time or characters that narrated, respecting the fundamental norm of the film music and the reason for which is conceived. Some examples of this part of their work, are represented in films like BARABBA (Barabbas, 1961); THE VIKINGS (The Vikings, 1958); ALEXANDER THE GREAT 1955; or SOLOMON AND SHEBA (Solomon and the queen of Saba, 1960). Its obsession for the percussion in these films, becomes a powerful means to create diverse sound effects that allow in more measure, to rhyme the action of the main characters. It is certain that if Nascimbene has given the best thing of itself in this type of films, not less important they are its works for the Italian cinema of character intimista and with a clear Latin spirit, for film directors like Rossellini, Soldati, Lattuada, Risi, Lizzani or its great friend and collaborating Valerio Zurlini that without Mario Nascimbene, its movies would not have been the same ones, in a binomial that has always worked to the perfection
like the case of Rota-Fellini. Mario Nascimbene has studied with big teachers of the film composition, as Enzo Massetti, composer of Piccolo mondo antico and of Hercules' films, with Steve Reeves, at the end of his career. And with the great Ildebrando Pizzetti, composer of Cabiria, directed in 1915 by Renzo Bassi. Its film premiere, is in 1941 with the film L'amore canta, of a similar style to the one that will demonstrate later on in 1952 with the film document ROME ORE 11, key piece of the Italian neorealism, directed by Giuseppe de Santis and that it is its first really important work. Although previously to this film it had composed other works, we will begin with this, as first excellent point of their career.
MARIO NASCIMBENE WORKS AT ITALIAN CINEMA INDUSTRY.
ROME ORE 11, it was directed as we had already said for Giuseppe de Santis in 1952. It was the first really important score written by the maestro, in the one which, Nascimbene imposes its conception of the music inside the film, for what diverse elements converge to build the history that is about a group of small in the Italy of the postwar period, dramatically to the laborious hunt of a work position as typists. The tragedy takes place when the stairway of the building in which make line, collapses. The sound of an authentic typewriter, is the absolute main character of the score and it is inserted inside the score with own name. In 1953 Mario Sequi direct CRONACA DI UN DELITTO, in which a young engineer is accused of a murder that he has not made, and that finally, not without before big changes, it is acquitted by lack of tests. The maestro's music, usesphsicologically the atmosphere and its score is characterized by a strong rhythm that is not purely descriptive and that it weighs about the main character spirit accused wrongly.
Equally in 1953, Mario Nascimbene composes the music of a film of episodes that for that time and until well entered the sixties, were a quite frequent fashion of the Italian cinema. To this period belongs L' AMORE IN CITTA' that counts with several directors. The first episode is "L'amore che si paga" and we see the difficulties of a prostitute, to leave ahead in a country in full postwar period. The music, especially the "Tema delle prostitute", it is a reason to march rhythm, slow and very repetitive, that has in their notes the dark tone of a clarinet and a saxo. A troublesome and resigned to stroll for this woman's life, as a landscape without horizon, kind of a prison in which is our inside main character and of the one that is not able to escape. An invariable and implacable score, with the dramatism of a situation without exit that has not escaped to the maestro's musical portrait. This episode was directed by the great Carlo Lizzani.
But maybe, be the episode Storia di Caterina, the best in the movie, although yes too melodramatic. It was directed by Cesare Zavattini and Francesco Maselli and narrates the story of Caterina Rigoglioro, a poor maid that seduced, pregnant and abandoned, she will leave their son abandoned by not being able to be taken charge of him. The music of Nascimbene is not unaware to the tragedy and it describes all the sadness of the story powerfully, in which composed an adagio for oboe with the whole orchestra's slow ascension, describing a sad melody with the sound of a mute in lonely and melancholic way, with a flavor to nostalgy of a non experienced happiness. The work is completed with the episode "Gli italiani si voltane", directed by Alberto Lattuada. Francesco Rosi and Mario Nascimbene collaborates for first time in the film MORTE DI UN AMICO, in 1959 that narrates the history of two youths of the suburbs of Rome. The first one, Bruno, completely unrecoverable for the society. The other one, Aldo, built up hopes for the first time, in their sad existence, with the love of an adolescent and resolved to leave the scums, although finally he will die in dramatic circumstances. Nascimbene has composed a leit-motiv for each main character. A blue rhythm describes to Aldo, and on the other hand, a violent rhythm of rock'n'roll comes closer a lot to the personality of Bruno, while a brief romantic note, by way of valtz, is listened for the girl. In 1963, the reconstruction of the historical facts happened in the Italy of Mussolini, of the figure of Gaetano Ciano, charges life in Carlo Lizzani's IL PROCESSO DI VERONA. The music enters with dramatic resonances and the melody sounds with a clear metallic flavor, to comment the fundamentally
dramatic moments of the history, and it includes the real sound of three machine gun blasts, in the moment that Ciano comes closer to its tragic final destination. The final part of the score, is a clearly distorted rumor and later on, the singer's vocal topic Nora Orlandi, inserts us in the atmosphere of the war. Lionello De Felice directs in 1953 L'ETA DELL' AMORE that counts the story of love of a couple of youths that will finish tragically with the girl's death. The musical comment of Nascimbene is slow and very melancholic and the protagonistic sound of the harp, expands for the melody like a wave of sentimentality. A leisurely melody, as remembered or dreamt, like kind of a charmed landscape that culminates with the tragic end of the absolute love of two adolescents, among excessive melodramatic narrative touches. Nascimbene collaborated in the year 1954 with the guionista and in managing occasions Arduino Maiuri in the film SE TUTTE LE DONNE DEL MONDO... that counted a strange story, of a man determined to sterilize the whole humanity, played by Raf Vallone. Mario Nascimbene was interested primarily in the locations of the story, more than for the story in itself that it is developed in diverse places of Brazil and of its capital. The forced fact of the Brazilian music, sounds to transform to the way personalísimo of Nascimbene, represented in their biggest part by an unusual orchestral formation, composed by guitars, marimbas and harp. The noted Roberto Rosellini carried out in the years sixty a good number of films, most documentaries dedicated to the television means and some of them with Mario Nascimbene like coproducer. One of the most interesting was THE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL (the lotta del uomo per la soppravivvenza). Shirley Bassey that already performed their effectiveness in the topics of main credits songs from the films of James Bond, is the one in charge of performing the topic that gives title to the work. It is an absolutely documental film based on the fight of all the creatures of this world, including the men and counting by way of fable that the one that conquers is always the strongest. The aggressive force of the song of holding, resides in the accentuation of its terrible rhythm that represents the concept of the violence using diverse percussion elements and frequently appealing to the employment of the technical MIXERAMA, designed and perfectionated by Nascimbene and of the one that will speak more widely in the titles of the Hammer Film, concretely in ONE MILLION YEARS, B.C, film of the one that surprisingly, this documentary of Rossellini, is a musical antecedent clearing. In 1968 Giulio Bontempo directs SUMMIT, a partially autobiographical story of a journalist, that is a correspondent to Paris, Warsaw and Berlin, among other places, with the reason of carrying out a work on the men that govern the destination of the nations. In this European pilgrimage the score written by Mario Nascimbene arises, in the first place with the song of holding, written by Duilio del Prete and sung by Jula de Palma that marks the beginning of the loving disappointment of a French (the actress Mireille Darc), in its relationships with the journalist Italian main character (played by Gian María Volonté). The melancholic tone of the song as well as the rest of the score, they depict the difficult coexistence wisely among them, being inspired clearly by the purest classic model in the song and the French, absolutely sentimental and dramatic music. One year before, Massimo Franciosa carries out ...C'E UNA CERTA GIULIANA PER TE, the story of a modern and graceful girl, but it matures and responsible when the love.
Nascimbene has composed for this juvenile comedy, a romantic score but at the same time loaded with irony, accompanying him of a vocal group of French small youths, faithful to the juvenile spirit of the work and its main character. One year later Roberto Rosellini requires the maestro's services for a new film dedicated to television again: GLI ATTI DEGLI APOSTOLI.
 A beautiful film of the great creator of the neorealism that comes closer to the moment of the Christian revolution in the Hebrew, Hellenic and Roman worlds. Nascimbene has appealed in this occasion to the symphonic music that so excellent results have given him along its work, especially, for their American and British works. In her, diverse exotic elements, as the use of the sound of a flute, executed by their great friend Severino Gazelloni, enrich the score, in which has also been served as numerous string groups that produce a sound of great exotism. All this, cocktail with a rich range of sound effects coming from their technical MIXERAMA, able to reproduce an extensive gallery of sounds tried previously. A clear example is the sound of a cricket in the beginning of the main topic, of which Mario feels very satisfied. It is of everything it, a brilliant score, with a highly suggestive and penetrating sound atmosphere, and a special luxury as the interpretation of Severino Gazelloni to the flute, considered by many as the best flute soloist that exists. The album that was published in the time by CAM Italy, is practically
today unavailable, although its unconditional ones are since of congratulation it will be reissued shortly by CAM although this time in format CD.
QUANDO L'UOMO SCOMPARE, it was directed in 1970 by Fernando Armati, and it is another documental film. A land where the maestro gave samples of his big musical knowledge for the means, the same as his colleague and friend: the great Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, was two of the composers better gifted for the documental means. Rotated also for television, QUANDO L'UOMO SCOMPARE, it presents some of the last primitive towns that exist in our planet. Nascimbene has used for this film one of its more unusual combinations, in its constant intent of experiencing with the film music toward new forms and never used previously. Firstly, an incessant modern rhythmic base combined with an absolutely primitive percussion. Next, the serious notes of the sound of an original flute belonging to the aboriginal
Australians called "diediridu", for finally to supplement and to enrich the composition with their technical MIXERAMA accompanied by the human voice that is used to intone an authentic aboriginal song.
In 1969 the story of a young archaeologist in their laborious search of remains in the city of Florence, it is narrated
by Giorgio Albertazzi in GRADIVA. The culminating point of the maestro's romantic score, constitutes it the main character encounter with the remains of a feminine figure. This magic moment of the film is particularly captured by Mario's brilliant idea, for which has had the flute of Severino Gazelloni again that accompanied to the guitar for Mario Gangi and to the harp for Anna Palomba, constitutes one it lines melodic modern very particularly inspired in that moment of the film, in the titled topic "Incontro d'amore al giardino di Meleagro. In 1971 he collaborates with Francesco Rossi again, still although Rossi, it has been one of the directors of those that Nascimbene doesn't keep very good memory. After their magnificent encounter in the previous film "Morte di un amico" in 1959, ENEIDE supposes a new work for television on Virgilio's epic poem that has had one of the maestro's more beautiful scores next to the Greek actress's vocal accompaniment Olga Karlatos, main character also of the film. For this occasion, it has
been the human voice accompanied by a scarce instrumentation, the one that describes a serpentine and disturbing message, forming a melody of unmistakable mediterranean flavor. IL MESSIA supposes the last and fruitful collaboration of Nascimbene with Roberto Rosellini. It is an interesting tentative, of counting in present time Christ's life. Nascimbene has known how to understand the whole sense of the work of Rosellini and he constructed an archaic musical atmosphere, but in turn, it has had her of a modern sound. At the beginning of the score an indefinite resonance, fruit of the use of the technical MIXERAMA, appears accompanying her of the solemn and intense sound of the flute of Severino Gazelloni, creating with everything it a form like of static view. In 1979 Giorgio Moser direct UN REIETTO DELLE ISOLE that describes the white man's deep anguish in a place of the Southern India. The main element of the score constitutes it the authentic Hindu sound, obtained starting from the MIXERAMA and that it submerges us in the enervating obsession of the sun, of the sea, of the light and in definitive, of the immobile landscape and the claustrophobic sensation in a country like the India. It has been served also as the typically oriental music, with the use of Indian instruments, as the flute " bansuri " and the " santoor " that it was also used by Maurice Jarre (one of the maestro's favorite composers), for the score of A PASSAGE TO INDIA. Finally, the sound of the violin that produces a melody being revealed with anguish of a sweetness unbearable and that she goes into with resonance, in the distressing spirit of the film. In 1982 Mario's new encounter takes place with the director Francesco Rossi, in the film STORIA D'AMORE E D'AMICIZIA. For this story, the unique profesionalism of Nascimbene, took him to compose an absolutely original tango for the main character, by way of leit-motiv. In this film, Rossi has unequal fortune the story of Cesare, a youth that lives in a ghetto of Rome and that it begins a great friendship with a Jewish couple.
Their life moves among miseries and dangers that will culminate with its tragic one final. Mario's music, parallelly to the context of the tragedy it submerges us inside the life in the ghetto and the efforts of Cesare to leave their sordid world. A score in sum, romantic and reminiscent, doesn't exempt of certain dramatismo, although it is not among the maestro's big titles. Later on we will pass to be in charge of of one of the binomials composer-director, more fruitful of the Italian cinema. The magnificent collaboration among Mario Nascimbene and their great friend Valerio Zurlini, it has been reflected in particular in a compound block by four films: ESTATE VIOLENTA, 1959; LA RAGAZZA CON LA VALIGIA, 1961; LE SOLDATESSE, 1965; and LA PRIMA NOTTE DI QUIETE, 1972.
ESTATE VIOLENTA, it has a score based on two different musical modules. A romantic topic, abandoned to the pain of the feeling, it squeezes the passion of the two main characters: the French Jean Louis Trintignant and the Italian
Eleonora Rossi Drago. While, a rhythmic intervention of the percussion (in one of the most dramatic moments in the war), it describes the state of the main character spirit in that certain historical period of the year 1943. Fear of great dramatismo (main titles), melodious and romantic unaware to the context of the war (incontro/scene d'amore), the feminine main character beautiful note in (she Fears I gave Maddalena) or the reminiscent song of the warlike disaster in (Canzone di Rossana). The maestro received for this magnificent work, the prize Nastro D'Argento in 1960.
Also carried out by Valerio Zurlini, it is LA RAGAZZA CON LA VALIGIA in the year 1961, in the one that two topics mainly dominate the score. Of entrance, a vigorous allegro by way of Baroque sonata and on the other hand, a reason full with simplicity and of grace, but in turn fundamentally lonely. The history aims a brief and impossible love of a youth, belonging to a good family and a girl of humble origins that were Jacques Perrin and Claudia Cardinale respectively. Both reasons have the protagonism of two instruments: a clavicembalo (executed by an exception soloist: the unforgettable composer Bruno Nicolai) and of a classic guitar interpreted by Mario Gangi, both in magnificent counterpoint. A score loaded with romanticism, from the main topic (main titles) or (first encounter) and the beautiful one (scena della spiagia). Mario Nascimbene was again award-winning in this occasion, with the Prize Fierce Of the Cinema in 1961. LE SOLDATESSE, it is a film of warlike character of the year 1965 that narrates diverse skirmishes of Italian soldiers during the Second World War. The score has been mainly constructed on topics to rhythm of military march (Holding), with the incursion of dance rhythms tremendously popular, and it has used the instrument Greek "bonzuki" (Ballata delle prostitute) and that it is good to intone in its direrentes passages (Fucilazione dei partigiani), all the fierceness of the battle. In 1972 Valerio Zurlini and Mario Nascimbene collaborates together in the film LA PRIMA NOTTE DI QUIETE, performed by Alain Delon. We attend here the lonely and twilight life of Daniele, an not-hero, to which the love has not been good him to fill its poor existence. The Nascimbene score is restricted
to the dialogue of two instruments soloists; on one hand, a saxo tenor (executed masterfully by Gianni Basso) and that he has for counterpoint a trumpet, which has been played by the soloist Maynard Ferguson. Everything it is translated in slow and romantically inspired topics, as the titles or (Daniele and Vanina's first encounter). It is built this way an atmosphere of absolute jazzy influence. The saxo is discovered languid and melancholic and it weighs about the character's desperate love (Sequenza della marries abbandonata), while the trumpet, believe an atmosphere of absolute tension in turn, since notes look likine a frantic rhythm and the fright of titshe action, certain moments of the history with the tragic death of Daniele in (Corsa e morte di Daniele).
Rafael Martinez, 2002

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