Francesco De Masi " Eroe Vagabondo"

Kronos Records is proud to present for the first time ever on any format the soundtrack to Walter Santesso's (Paparazzo from Fellini's La Dolce Vita) Italo-Spanish film from 1966 Eroe Vagabondo.  Music by the iconic Roman composer FRANCESCO De MASI (1930-2005).

The soundtrack of Eroe Vagabondo boasts a number of truly outstanding performers: the guitars are played by none less than Alessandro Alessandroni, the Maestro’s assistant and close friend, who's guitar playing we know in innumerable films and Dino Asciolla; impeccable soloist who has performed on hundreds of works by the Roman composer, plays the viola.  Maestro De Masi conducts the Orchestra da Camera di Roma in this heart wrenthing gem, available to the public for the first time ever.

While listening to the 18 tracks on this CD, we can let ourselves be carried to the post World War II period.  The main theme of Santesso’s Eroe Vagabondo, which we find in many different arrangements in other tracks, presents a poignant and catchy melody, that is able to find a place in your mind since the first listen.  But there are also great moments of love (L'Amore di Noè) and rural Iberian flavoured atmospheres (“Terra di Spagna” and “Il Circo”). Moreover, having been born in 1930, the master knew very well that certain feelings were part of  his life-luggage and knew how  to  express them in music with the same effectiveness.

 

Francesco De Masi was an Italian conductor and film score composer.  Born on the 11th January 1930 He studied composition at the San Pietro a Maiella in Naples, under the guidance of Achille Longo, who was also his uncle. De Masi got interested in film music when Longo was asked to compose a soundtrack for a film, and he asked De Masi to be his assistant.   De Masi's filmography includes scores for over 200 films and TV series, ranging from spaghetti westerns and sword and sandal epics to gialli and horror films, such as Lucio Fulci's "Lo squartatore di New York"(The New York Ripper).

De Masi also scored several action films, such as Enzo G. Castellari's "Quel maledetto treno blindato" (Inglorious Bastards), but he is best remembered for his work on spaghetti westerns. Unlike most other composers, De Masi started writing western scores slightly earlier than the genre's most influential musician, Ennio Morricone. As De Masi's music was less influenced by Morricone, his style had a distinctive sound. Many of his songs were performed by the low-voiced member of the I Cantori Moderni choir, Ettore "Raoul" Lovecchio.

De Masi was also very interested in classical music. He taught at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, also conducting the conservatory's orchestra. In an interview, De Masi listed Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Karlheinz Stockhausen,Maurice Ravel and Dmitri Shostakovich as his main classical influences.

He died of cancer at the age of 75 on the 6th November 2005.

Below is the track entitled "Il Circo" taken from the soundtrack.Enjoy!