I was invited by a friend to attend a classical music concert on the 11th of December. The invitation, remarkably vague as to who would be performing and for what occasion, was extended to me a few hours prior to the concert. Since I hadn’t heard of any such event from anyone else, I was doubtful of the accuracy of the date. I headed to Cinema Roma, in any case, hoping my friend wasn’t mistaken about it.
I arrived just in time to catch the opening address given by the Italian ambassador to Eritrea, Mr. Marco Mancini. Cinema Roma was packed full with people. In his speech, ambassador Mancini explained that a special concert was being hosted to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the State of Eritrea and the Republic of Italy – an event organized by the Italian Embassy in collaboration with the Commission of Culture and Sports. An Italian quartet would be playing The Greatest Music of Italian Cinema. Instead of classical music, the evening’s performance would be a merging of two of the modern age’s defining arts: music and cinema.
The quartet was made up of world-class musicians. Its members included the award-winning pianist Françoise de Clossey, bass player Lorenzo Mancini, guitar player Gianluca Verrengia and, leading the ensemble, the renowned trumpeter and composer maestro Mauro Maur. As they took their positions on the stage, Mauro Maur spoke of the hospitality and warm welcome they encountered in Eritrea. He also mentioned the challenges (especially if one played a wind instrument) of the high-altitude atmosphere that they were not used to. His playful and charming demeanor endeared him to the audience immediately.
As the quartet began to play the most memorable of Italian film scores, a slideshow of vintage film posters and images from the films was displayed on the large screen behind them. The first few songs, from the earlier films, leaned towards classical jazz and were played with only the piano and the trumpet. When they approached the more modern films, they were joined by the bass. Lorenzo Mancini’s bass, except for that one marvelously executed solo, remained in the background never calling attention to itself but reverberating throughout the entire musical body like some unseen support structure.
In between the pieces, the ebullient Mauro Maur took several minutes to share his experiences and recounted anecdotes of his time working with Ennio Morricone. Ennio Morricone, considered to be Italy’s greatest film music composer, created most of the film soundtracks on the program. Maur knew Ennio Morricone personally and shared some stories about his professional time there. Morricone left his marks on cinema and can be heard today in the works of the world’s finest film composers such as Hans Zimmer, as well as in the songs of countless rock bands. Maur was a close friend and collaborator of Morricone’s, and he was the chief trumpet player of a number of Morricone’s works. Maur later played a beautifully moving piece dedicated to him by Morricone. As the concert went on, Maur’s trumpet crooned and wooed the audience who seemed enchanted by its radiant sound.
At one point, Maur shared an interesting story about Françoise de Clossey who was mentored at a young age by the great Oscar Peterson. When Peterson heard eight-year-old Françoise on the piano, he was so amazed he decided to give her further lessons. Oscar Peterson was one of the most brilliant jazz pianists of the last century. De Clossey then played a lively jazz number as a tribute to her mentor, her fingers flying over the keys as if in a frenzy.
In scope and expression, Italian cinema had dominated cinema of the past century. And even today, it has not lost its distinctive, intimate style of expression. Although I am more knowledgeable about the filmmakers than the music composers of the films, I found that most of the tracks sounded extremely familiar. It is always said of excellent film score that during the film you don’t notice it but afterwards you don’t forget it. As the quartet entered the Spaghetti Western era characterized mostly by Sergio Leone’s films, they began to play the score from Per Pugni del Dollari while the poster of the film appeared on the screen behind. Gianluca Verrengia, so far silent, now started to strum his guitar and the laconic notes, so emblematic of Western films, sauntered over to our ears.
Nina Rota wrote the music for the rest of the films on the program. Rota, who had worked with Fellini on many of his films, composed the emotionally charged scores of such influential films as Amarcord, La Strada, Il Padrino and La Dolce Vita.
When I stepped into Cinema Roma that evening, a concert of iconic Italian film soundtracks was not at all what I had expected. And, indeed, despite maestro Maur’s reservations about Asmara’s rarefied highland air, the formidable quartet delivered an electrifying performance.
Ambassador Zemede Tekle of the Commission of Culture and Sports presented the quartet with a gift, a framed photograph of Asmara with pictures of the four musicians worked into the photo. The performance ended with the national anthems of both countries.
The interlocking history of Italy and Eritrea goes back over a century. “We have lived together for many decades,” ambassador Mancini had pointed out. During the armed struggle, for instance, the Festival of Eritrea was for many years held in the city of Bologna. And after Eritrea achieved independence, Italy was among the earliest countries to acknowledge Eritrea as a sovereign state.
Music is a great healer. For this reason alone, celebrating our 30 years of diplomatic ties by hosting a musical performance was a fitting choice. As I exited the cinema, I hoped this concert would set a positive precedent for future collaborations in cultural exchanges. I hoped it would propel us towards a harmonious and mutual phase by healing the old scars of a colonial past and bridging the gap between the two nations.