Veröffentlichung Quartet Records: THE LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (Piero Piccioni)

[Alexander Grodzinski]

 

 

Music Composed by Piero Piccioni

Quartet Records - Limited Collector's Edition of 500 copies

 

Quartet Records and GDM present the fully remastered reissue of a classic score by Piero Piccioni (More Than a Miracle, Fumo di Londra, Bora Bora) written in 1971 for Kirk Douglas’ The Light at the Edge of the World (aka Il faro in capo al mondo).

This British-USA-Italian coproduction was directed by Kevin Billington and produced by Kirk Douglas together with Alexander and Ilya Salkind. The Light at the Edge of the World is based on the posthumously published novel of Jules Verne. The story takes place at the southernmost tip of Latin America where American refugee Denton is tasked with operating a lighthouse. When the men of ruthless pirate captain Kongre (Yul Brynner) invade his island, Denton retreats to the interior, hatching a scheme to defeat the captain and stop the massacre. Though it’s a cult favorite now, The Light at the Edge of the World was a relative failure at the box office as the film was simply too tough and uncompromising for a family adventure (as most Verne films were marketed across the world).

The music by Piero Piccioni is one of the composer’s own personal favorites and his care for the project shines through the music. The score has a rich thematic vein, featuring distinct themes for Denton, the island, the pirates and a former romance that haunts him to this day. Though Piccioni wrote a lot of music for the film, many cues were truncated when the picture lost about 20 minutes from its running length. Now you can hear the whole score in excellent quality, remastered by Claudio Fuiano from the first-generation master tapes.

The new edition by Quartet Records begins with the original album program from 1971 and is followed by an assortment of bonus tracks, including two organ cues performed by Piccioni himself. The full-color 12-page booklet includes liner notes by Gergely Hubai, who discusses the making of the film and the score, including the various cuts made to the story and the music.

 

THE ORIGINAL ALBUM

01. Ouverture (3:41)

02. Arabella (3:22)

03. L’Isola Misteriosa (4:23)

04. Jeux de Massacre (4:04)

05. Denton’s Flashbacks (4:51)

06. Love Affair (4:44)

07. Kongre (4:07)

08. The Light (2:50)

 

FILM VERSIONS

09. The Light (Main Titles) (2:13)

10. Love Affair (Emily Jane’s Theme) (5:26)

11. The Light (Love & Menace) (4:51)

12. The Light (Approaching the Island) (1:56)

13. The Light (Denton’s Theme - Solo Organ) (2:25)

14. The Light (Discovering the Island) (4:51)

15. The Light (Emily Jane’s Theme # 2 - Solo Organ) (2:20)

16. The Light (Kongre’s Attack) (2:27)

17. Love affair (Emily Jane’s Theme # 3) (3:29)

18. The Light (Denton’s Revenge) (3:15)

19. Love Affair (Emily Jane’s Theme # 4) (2:31)

20. The Light (Finale & End 7itles) (4:41)

Total Disc Time: 73:19