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Chris' Soundtrack Corner proudly presents the CD soundtrack to Peccato senza malizia (aka Sins Without Intentions, 1975), an elusive romantic drama by a similarly enigmatic albeit one-time filmmaker, Theo Campanelli. The film tells the story of Stefania, an 18-year old girl leaving her orphanage in Ascoli Piceno who moves in with her stepfather, a humble and simplistic fisherman. Seeing the girl as a wife and a lover rather than a daughter, the unnamed stepfather ignites an abusive relationship until Stefania escapes into a series of equally unhealthy situations.
When the movie was released, an inventive marketing campaign was launched to promote its arrival; foreign promotional campaigns played up the sexuality aspect, focusing on the single (comparatively tame) shower sequence in a series of lobby cards and posters... Unfortunately, Peccato senza malizia has all but disappeared from the public eye. As director Theo Campanelli never gained a cult following, his sole movie hasn't been given any attention by home video labels. As such, it becomes yet another Italian film where the soundtrack is more readily available than the film itself…
The musical score for Peccato senza malizia was composed by Stelvio Cipriani, and belongs to the same genre of romantic dramas Cipriani was known for, where art plays an important part in the unfolding relationships. While the protagonist of Anonimo veneziano is a musician who uses his craft to seduce his former wife again, Dedicato a una stella develops the artistic romance concept further with a heart-wrenching concert performance of an original Cipriani composition. Peccato senza malizia tries to achieve the same by drawing a parallel between music and painting, where Cipriani's music underscores the emotional changes just as well as the artworks that are presented on screen. His score relies on two themes, with its first half building almost all of its cues around the main theme with a strong focus on Stefania's character. Here, Cipriani uses his array of orchestral tricks to showcase the emotional rollercoaster of the main heroine. When Stefania hooks up with her inspiring music teacher, Maurizio, a trumpet is used to suggest his masculine swagger; as their relationship blossoms, Cipriani introduces his love theme. This motif draws upon Stefania's innocence to showcase the transformative power of their romance.
Chris' Soundtrack Corner is delighted to make this score available for the first time. Given the fact that the first half of the movie is on the more monothematic side, we have opted to create a better listening experience by either merging shorter cues together or by simply changing the order of the cues. Peccato senza malizia may very well be the most obscure movie our label has ever released, but it's worth every minute of the prime Cipriani material put on display. The album is produced by Christian Riedrich and mastered by Manmade Mastering. The CD is accompanied by an 8-page illustrated booklet designed by Tobias Kohlhaas and featuring exclusive notes by Gergely Hubai, who explores the making of the film and its score in detail.
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