Bruno Nicolai

* Edition of 500 * Four Flies are proud and honoured to release the first vinyl reissue of Bruno Nicolai’s outstanding original score for Geminus, a 1969 Italian TV mini-series directed by Luciano Emmer and starring Walter Chiari, Alida Chelli, and Ira von Fürstenberg.

Originally released under Italian label Gemelli, Nicolai’s soundtrack has been remastered from the original master tapes and comes in a glossy, tip-on style jacket featuring the restored original cover artwork, as well as extended liner notes by film critics Francesco Cesari and Roberto Curti.

Bruno Nicolai composed and directed an eclectic score that brings together different music genres and influences, from 60s beat, psych, and prog-rock to baroque and experimental music. He did not hesitate to mix classical forms and structures with new instruments and remarkable, eccentric arrangements.

In ‘Giano’ (Janus), the interplay between a distorted electric guitar and a hypnotic harpsichord creates a strange, somewhat troubling ambience. The delicate, celestial voice of Edda Dell’Orso leaves its unique emotional imprint on the most lyricalpiece in the soundtrack, ‘Tema Barocco’ (Baroque Theme). The main theme ‘Il cielo cade’ (The Sky Is Falling) features a luxurious arrangement and stunning orchestration enhanced by enchanting vocal harmonies sung by ‘I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni’. In other pieces, such as ‘Larve’ (Larvas), ‘Il sognatore’ (The Dreamer), ‘Eclisse di luna’ (Moon Eclipse), ‘Visioni’ (Visions), ‘Catacombe’ (Catacombs), and ‘Notti romane’ (Roman Nights), expressive and experimental solo passages played by instruments such as the vibraphone, sitar, harmonica, or percussions, contribute to the sombre, mysterious atmosphere of the score as a whole.