The contents of this release, which landed on classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023, are a bit different from what the graphics suggest. The
Postcards from Italy
title might connote a light crossover or pop atmosphere, and the presence of a saxophone seems to indicate heavily arranged music designed to highlight the soloist, soprano saxophonist
Marco Albonetti
. Certainly, listeners in search of mellow saxophone music will enjoy the album, but there is also a lot here to interest serious fans of film music. For one thing,
Albonetti
's program focuses closely on just two composers,
Ennio Morricone
and
Nino Rota
. There is one piece by the arranger here,
Paolo Silvestri
, and one by saxophonist
Gato Barbieri
, an excerpt from the
Last Tango in Paris
soundtrack; otherwise, it is all
Morricone
Rota
. One is struck by the difference in style between the two giants.
builds his atmospheric constructions from simple material, stated at the beginning of a cut, while
draws on a range of materials, many of them of popular origin. Hear the
Love Theme from The Godfather
, which takes on new resonances in this context. Further, the saxophone arrangements are less of an alteration than they may seem; the saxophone generally just takes up the main melody of the piece.
Chandos
engineers, working at the Forum Studios in Rome, drench the sound in close-up sentiment, which works well considering the material. Ultimately,
sets a mood and explores it thoroughly on an album that may be recommended to listeners of various kinds. ~ James Manheim