In 1971, Stefano Torossi released Musica per commenti sonori, a library music album of original compositions intended as a film soundtrack that feature the vocals of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and an orchestra directed by Alessandro Alessandroni. The twenty-one tracks on the Costanza Records’ LP (CO 10010) include thirteen compositions by Stefano Torossi plus eight extra versions. The orchestra pieces were arranged by Alessandro Alessandroni, founder of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.

The first side of Stefano Torossi’s Musica per commenti sonori includes “La dannazione,” “Malvagita’,” “La lotta,” “Il dolore,” “Tradimento,” the first version of “Sensualita’,” four versions of “La sconfitta,” and “La caduta.” The vocals of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni are featured on every track except “Tradimento.”

Stefano Torossi’s “Sensualita’ (1 vers.)” featuring the choir I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and an orchestra directed by Alessandro Alessandroni is on SoundCloud:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

Side two of the LP includes four versions of “Disagio,” two more versions of “Sensualita’,” “Circe e maiali,” “Le arpie,” “Menestrello,” and “Grande sonata da solatto.” The last two Torossi compositions that close the album are instrumentals.

The 1971 album by Stefano Torossi is one of four he did for the Italian label between 1968 and 1974 including Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10002) in 1968, Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10004), with Vito Tommaso  in 1969, and Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10005), with Sandro Brugnolini, also in 1969.

Torossi also contributed on three Costanza albums by Giancarlo Gazzani, Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10006) and Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10007), both released in 1971, and Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10010), an LP with a duplicate catalog number that came out in 1974 and then was quickly withdrawn by the record company.

Asked about the Musica per commenti sonori (CO 10010) album recently, Stefano Torossi commented:

As a matter of fact it was an idea that appeared very original and interesting to me. To me only, though, as the film it was supposed to be a soundtrack for was a total flop, and the music publisher didn’t see anything worth promoting in the music.

So it still sits there, was never reissued on CD, and, sadly, didn’t bring in a single penny in royalties. But I still find it interesting.

Stefano Torossi’s “La lotta” featuring the choir I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and an orchestra directed by Alessandro Alessandroni is online:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

At this time, it seems none of the tracks from Stefano Torossi’s Musica per commenti sonori (C0 10010) album have been reissued since the original limited-run vinyl release in 1971. In fact, only a handful of Torossi tracks from this period have ever been reissued–a compilation made up of cuts from the CO 10002, CO 10004, and CO 10005 LPs was reissued by Costanza on CD in 1997 under the title Musica per commenti sonori: The Seventies, and released as a digital download from Deneb Records in 2013, Vintage Jazz, Pop & Rock: 1960s – 1970s – Easy Listening.

Although out of print for more than four decades, music fans and collectors can still find copies of the original vinyl on auction sites that specialize in used LPs. For example, four copies are currently on offer from different sellers at Discogs. Be prepared to spend three figures, whether using euros or U.S. dollars.

Stefano Torossi’s “La caduta” (“The Fall” in English) featuring the choir I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and an orchestra directed by Alessandro Alessandroni is online–this short composition would fit perfectly as part of the ending on another 1971 release, “O.D.” from The Last Poets’ This Is Madness:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

More from Stefano Torossi, Alessandro Alessandroni & I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni

Stefano Torossi, Alessandro Alessandroni, and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni collaborated on several projects in the late 1960s and early 1970, including soundtracks for director Giuliano Biagetti’s  L’età del malessere (The Age of Malaise) and Fabio Piccioni’s Si può fare molto con sette donne (You Can Do A Lot With Seven Women).

In 1968, Torossi worked with I Cantori Moderni  di Alessandroni on his soundtrack for the film L’età del malessere (The Age of Malaise), released on LP by General Music the same year and reissued in CD with extra tracks by Japanese label Verita Note in 2010.

In 2002, Italy’s Hexacord records released Al cinema con Edda Dell’Orso, a collection that includes “L’età del malessere (Main Theme)” and a previously unreleased track, “L’età del malessere (Edda’s Solo Voice At ’68 Rec. Session),” which is slightly longer than the version, “Malessere (Solo Vocal),” on the 2010 soundtrack reissue. This site highly recommends seeking it out!

A video for Stefano Torossi’s “L’età del malessere (Main Theme),” with I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni featuring Edda Dell’Orso on vocals, was recently uploaded to YouTube:

This version also appears on The Best Of The Italian Film Music (2002) CD released by Digitmovies–an instrumental version appeared on The Beat, The Shake And The Lounge 2 (2001) CD and download compilation from GDM Music.

Stefano Torossi and Alessandro Alessandroni composed “Bassa Beat,” with Franco De Gemini, an instrumental that was used on several albums. In 1972, it was included on Franco De Gemini’s soundtrack for Si puo’ fare molto con 7 donne (You Can Do A Lot With Seven Women), also released by Beat–and reissued in CD by the same label in 2012.

In 1974, “Bassa Beat” (sometimes spelled “Bossa Beat”) was included on Franco De Gemini’s L’armonica a bocca album, released both on Beat Records and on the Music Parade Beat imprint.

In 2014, “Bassa Beat” appeared on the Beat Records CD twofer by Franco De Gemini, L’armonica a bocca / L’armonica a bocca di Franco De Gemini. The CD reissue is available from the Beat Records Company website, among other places. The label was founded by Franco De Gemini.

Alessandro Alessandroni, Franco De Gemini, and Stefano Torossi’s “Bassa Beat” is on YouTube:

The year before Stefano Torossi’s Musica per commenti sonori (C0 10010) album featuring I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, Torossi composed four tracks with Alessandroni on his Fischio in armonia album for SR Records.

This album was also issued a short time later in France by St Germain Des Prés, M. Alessandroni’s Sifflons en harmonie.

A closer look at Fischio in armonia that showcases a few musical highlights of Alessandro Alessandroni including a recent live performance of three pieces from the films of Sergio Leone is HERE.

New Releases and Reissues by Alessandro Alessandroni

Among a steady stream of new releases, reissues, and newly discovered previously music that had never been issued previously is Alessandro Alessandroni’s 2015 eponymous release, commonly referred to as Farfalla #3 (or “Butterfly #3” in English).

The Cometa Edizioni Musicali LP and CD uses tracks Alessandroni composed and recorded between 1971 and 1972.

Intervallo, another new entrant to the library music and soundtrack field, reissued Alessandroni’s 1975 Angoscia album in both vinyl and as a download at the end of 2015. The LP first appeared on the Octopus label.

This correspondent was especially pleased to see Intervallo’s 2016 reissue of Biologia marina and Ittiologia, two classic 1973 library music compilations that feature tracks by Franco Tamponi, Amedeo Tommasi (some using his Atmo alias), and Alessandro Alessandroni (including two using his Braen alias).

Initially released by Rhombus and Cardium, the same label plans reissues of the five remaining albums of the nature-themed library series according to their website. All tracks can be previewed at Intervallo‘s bandcamp site.

Alessandro Alessandroni’s “Acquario,” the opening track of the first of the seven nature-themed LPs, is on YouTube:

Next month, SONOR Music Editions will release Alessandro Alessandroni’s UST 370 – Caratterisctici vari: Temi per situazioni diverse (1979) part of the Fonit Usignolo series.

The vinyl remaster contains outtakes from Alessandroni’s 1977 album Inchiesta–reissued by the same label in 2013.

Alessandro Alessandroni’s “Foggy Place,” one of twenty tracks on UST 370, is at SONOR‘s bandcamp site.

Besides having tracks on recent vinyl compilations such as Criminale, Vol. 3: Colpo gobbo and Criminale, Vol. 4: Violenza! released in 2015 on Penny Records (each LP bundled with a CD), and the new vinyl-only Esterno notte (2016) compilation on Four Flies Records, Alessandro Alessandroni has a composition with Franco De Gemini on Library of Sound Grooves: Action Beat and Psycho Grooves from the Italian Cinema (1966-1974) (2015), a double LP released at the end of last year by Semi-Automatic Records.

Complementing last year’s Farfalla #3 release of Alessandro Alessandroni music rescued from the vaults is Akriliko, an album that features unreleased music from Alessandro Alessandroni, Sandro Brugnolini, and Teimar composed sometime between 1975 and 1979.

More information about Akriliko is found at the Cometa Edizioni Musicali website.

A promotional video for Alessandro Alessandroni, Sandro Brugnolini, and Teimar’s Akriliko is on YouTube:

More music from the amazing career of Alessandro Alessandroni, including I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, is located on his personal website.

Stefano Torossi Online Audio Sampler

A selection of eighteen compositions and two excerpts of music from Stefano Torossi taken from eight albums released in or around 1971, including:

• Giancarlo Gazzani – Musica per commenti sonori (1971) Costanza Records (CO 10006)
• Giancarlo Gazzani – Musica per commenti sonori (1971) Costanza Records (CO 10007)
• Stefano Torossi – Musica per commenti sonori (1971) Costanza Records (CO 10010)
• Gianna Mazza – La citta N. 2 (1971) Fly Record
• Stefano Torossi – Qualche tema lungo (1971) Lupus
• Fotriafa (aka Stefano Torossi) – Un tema: Tante variazioni (1971~1972) Lupus
• Stefano Torossi – Tensione e distensione (1971~1972) Lupus
• Stefano Torossi – Michelangelo e il Rinascimento (1971) Canopo