# Music by Genre > Orchestral, Classical, Italian, Medieval, Renaissance >  Capt. Corelli stinks!

## Eugene

I admit it, I had high hopes for the movie, but found myself a bit underwhelmed by the cheesy, over-the-top sentimentality of the story as translated to screen. Plamen's recent reports from Bamberg reminded me that the best thing I could say for the movie is that it inspired Plamen and friends to record a touching and more tastefully sentimental fantasy on themes from the soundtrack. I decided to dig it out and give it another listen last week; I still enjoy the hearing of it (thank you Plamen). This time, a touch of recognition was stirred. Pelagia's Song is constructed around a quote of the recurring central motif from Liszt's Sposalizio, S161 (appropriately enough, from the Italian Années de pèlerinage). Has anybody else noticed this? Im not familiar with this as a quote of an extant folk song; is this motif Liszts own concoction?

...And I do find the soundtrack itself rather pleasant.

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## Arto

The film stinks, I agree. The book is great.

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## Neil Gladd

I had intended to see it on the opening day, but it got such a bad review in the Washington Post (headline was "A Big Pizza Hooie") that I went to Planet of the Apes, instead (which I also didn't like). I eventualy bought the DVD, but only because Alison Stephens played on the soundtrack.

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## Nick Royal

I to like the sound track for Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
The mandolinist on it is Giovanni Parricelli.
  Alison Stephens is playing mandolin, with classical guitarist, Craig Ogden, on Music from the Novels of Louis de Berniers, on the Chandos label. 

Nick Royal

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## Neil Gladd

I have the Chandos CD, but she also played on the film soundtrack. Oh, Alison...

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## trebleclef528

Not to keen on the film either... but for us it was a great publicity avenue. Our local cinema allowed our orchestra (Da Capo Alba) to perform in front of the screen for 20mins for 7 nights before the film began.

The audiences did not know this was going to happen and most loved it. This was in the early days of our orchestra and through that "marketing" we got 7 new orchestra members and 6 new members for our adult mandolin classes.......... so although the film was fairly duff I will always have fond memories of it for other reasons.
Ian

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## John Bertotti

Well this redneck loved the show. I will have to read the book which may color my liking of the show. Now though I find I am compelled to get the soundtrack. I am now curious who Liszt is. I will take this show over planet of the apes any day. I found it to be worthless.

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## glauber

> The film stinks, I agree. The book is great.


I liked (not loved) the movie (but i live in the USA, so my standards for movies are low ). I read the book only recently and loved it; it's now one of my favourites. Really really excellent; i need to check out L Bernieres other books.

I found only one mistake in the book: old Corelli teaching the boy to use first finger on first fret, second finger on second fret, etc.  Dang, he should have asked here first.

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## B. T. Walker

As is so often the case when novels are adapted for the screen, the movie is dreadful. I highly recommend the book, however.

glauber, I remember the lesson, but I didn't catch the mistake. Good eye.

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## Plamen Ivanov

> Plamen's recent reports from Bamberg reminded me that the best thing I could say for the movie is that it inspired Plamen and friends to record a touching and more tastefully sentimental fantasy on themes from the soundtrack. #I decided to dig it out and give it another listen last week; I still enjoy the hearing of it (thank you Plamen). #


Thank you for the kind words, Eugene! 
Here is what Eugene is talking about. Now three years later I can find a lot of things that could be made/played better in this recording, but it`s OK.

I have the feeling I`m missing a lot of interesting things happening on the board, but I`m terribly busy and it seems that`s how it`s going to stay in the near future. No vacation this summer, Linda! Thanks for the nice wishes, though!

Have a nice weekend!
Plamen

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## glauber

Plamen, that's beautiful. Can you give us more complete credits, who is playing what? Is it available commercially?

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## Plamen Ivanov

Hello Glauber,

No it`s not available commercially and it has never been thought to be released. As Eugene pointed out it was a passing inspiration. This piece has never been performed in public. I sent few copies of it to some friends (most of them members of the board) just because i was interested in their opinion about the arrangement, playing, etc. And although my understanding is that this arrangement is not going actually to infringe someone`s copyrights i will delete the file in the next 24 hours and it won`t be available for download anymore. It`s rather a question of principle.

The arrangement was made by my guitar colleague Danney. An Italian guy married for a former girlfriend of mine wrote down the lyrics, we made two rehearsals with friends of mine that play accordeon, viola and a tenorio and went to the studio. That`s all.

Good luck!
Plamen

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## Plamen Ivanov

Hello,

Didn`t want to open a new topic and found this one to be suitable...
A Bulgarian TV channel will show an Italian movie called "Cefalonia" in the weekend. The screenplay sounds familiar: "allies become enemies, when one of them refused to fight." I guess there will be some kind of a romantic story as well. The music is composed by Ennio Morricone. I`m curious whether he used the mandolin in the soundtrack or not. So, i`ll report in the beginning of the next week about the movie in general. Anybody seen this film already?

Plamen

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## jacky

That's interesting. I was in Cephalonia last May - staying in Sami where CC's Mandolin was filmed. The locals told me that Italian television had been filming a soap set in Cephalonia which was intended to show the Italian side of the WW2 story. I wonder if this is the same thing?

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## Paul Kotapish

I agree that the movie was a big disappointment. I really enjoyed the book, which was itself very cinematic.

I thought Nicolas Cage was terribly miscast, and the director missed a fine opportunity to incorporate some interesting traditional music played by real musicians into the screenplay.

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## vkioulaphides

A most hilarious film on the subject, voicing the scathing self-mockery with which (most) Italians discuss their embarrassingly failed invasion of Greece during WWII was _Mediterraneo_. It played on the often hilarious juxtaposition of the similarity between two related/neighborly peoples, and the harsh realities of war. Alas, I do not remember the soundtrack...

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## vkioulaphides

This is the movie I mean. Highly recommended!

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## etbarbaric

Ah... "Mediterraneo"! #I remember that one fondly indeed.

My chief complaint about "Corelli's Mandolin" (aside from oddly associating the real Archangelo Corelli with the mandolin) was the cover to the book. #The cover used most in the U.S. features a Baugin painting of what is likely a gut-strung mandore... from centuries earlier. #Is nothing sacred?! # 

:-)

Curmudgeonly,

Eric

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## vkioulaphides

Along the same lines, the cover and inside illuminations in one of my favorite collections of songs from the _Belle Epoque_ of Athens features... a *bouzouki*! (simply non-existent at that time). 

Your fellow-curmudgeon.

But we digress... back to the hapless Captain, if we must.

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## Plamen Ivanov

> That's interesting. I was in Cephalonia last May - staying in Sami where CC's Mandolin was filmed. The locals told me that Italian television had been filming a soap set in Cephalonia which was intended to show the Italian side of the WW2 story. I wonder if this is the same thing?


Hi Jacky,

Yes, I think it must be this one. According to the information provided by imdb, the movie was made in 2005.

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## zoukboy

> I agree that the movie was a big disappointment. I really enjoyed the book, which was itself very cinematic.
> 
> I thought Nicolas Cage was terribly miscast, and the director missed a fine opportunity to incorporate some interesting traditional music played by real musicians into the screenplay.


I completely agree. Some of Cage's leaden lines still haunt me...

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## Neil Gladd

I ran across yet another film, El Hombre de la Mandolina, which is probably the world's only gay-themed Mexican mandolin feature! I haven't actually seen the film, but I bought a lobby card for it on eBay and gave it to a friend for Christmas. He was mightily impressed.

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## Paul Kotapish

> A most hilarious film on the subject, voicing the scathing self-mockery with which (most) Italians discuss their embarrassingly failed invasion of Greece during WWII was _Mediterraneo_. It played on the often hilarious juxtaposition of the similarity between two related/neighborly peoples, and the harsh realities of war. Alas, I do not remember the soundtrack...


Agreed, Victor. That is a wonderful film. Unfortunately, it is not yet available in DVD format in the U.S.

Might still be around in VHS, though.

PK

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## Eugene

...And I'm still waiting on a discussion of Liszt!

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## Rick Schmidlin

I agree that the film stinks as I am mandolin player and film producer!

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## Ali

Hi guys,
Just for the record. I did play on the film as someone quite rightly mentioned - I was essentially 2nd mandolin with John Paricchelli (Giovanni!) who is a stunning jazz guitarist by main trade but a very nice mandolin player as well. He played 1st mandolin a lot and guitar a bit.
The music had some nice moments but film was disappointing I thought. I played on that CD with Craig and also in the stage show which is still going after 500+ shows and 7 years! . Those of you in NY. Mike Maran - the story-teller who I did Corelli stage show with is playing in a show called "Did you Used to be R.D. Laing?" in NY somwhere in April. 
Anyway - hopefully the record is now straight!
ALI

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## billkilpatrick

> A most hilarious film on the subject, voicing the scathing self-mockery with which (most) Italians discuss their embarrassingly failed invasion of Greece during WWII was _Mediterraneo_. It played on the often hilarious juxtaposition of the similarity between two related/neighborly peoples, and the harsh realities of war. Alas, I do not remember the soundtrack...


a local group (well ... from assisi) called ensemble micrologus recorded the music for the film:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensemble_Micrologus

... but you may have opened up a can of worms here because any search for "mediterraneo" (cd or soundtrack) has no mention of their names. #the "mediterraneo" cd says "music by giancarlo bigazzi and marco falagiani" but had to look up micrologus to find any mention of them in connection to the film. #

hmmmm ....

their lute player, adolfo broegg, died suddenly at a very young age last year. #don't know if the group is still together.

sorry - late entry: #here's the micrologus site:

http://www.micrologus.it/

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