Improvisation 19 "Lament, Italian Style"

Divorzio all'italiana, or Divorce, Italian Style, is an Italian black comedy film dirceted by Pietro Germi in 1961. The story concerns the impoverished aristocrat Ferdinando Cefalù as he attempts to cuckold himself in order to justify an "honor killing" of his wife, in essence "divorcing" her. (In Italy, divorce was not legalized until 1974.) Ferdinando's reason for wanting to enact such an elaborate hoax for a divorce is to marry his beautiful, young cousin Angela. Germi's satire focuses mostly on the way Sicilian society at the time prioritized outdated laws and social customs which enshrined family honor and patriarchy above the individual. In spite of all this rollicking satire in the film, there are some truly beautiful moments in the film, which only serve to heighten the absurdity of the situation.
The films more romantic moments are interspersed with the song "Canto D'Amore" (literally "Song of Love"). While watching the film I was immediately taken in by strumming timbre as well as the Phrygian-flavored harmonies. In particular, I latched onto the motive featuring a descending lament bassline alternating with a inverted pedal G#. I quote several other components of the song in my improvisation also. The general structure is that of a song with occasional instrumental interludes. As in the original, the lament bass is used as instrumental breaks between the more wayward melodic lines.
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Original song:
• Canto D'Amore (Titoli)
Images from Divorce, Italian Style (1961)
#italiansongs #italianfilm #film #improvisation #piano

[@alexcao7502]

Absolutely amazing! I wish I can improvise this well too! Although I'm a bit confused in what way is this "Italian style"?

[@SBKMusic940]

Hi, so glad you enjoyed! Great question! The title is a little bit of a misnomer as it's more of a reference to the film's title. However, there are some elements which at least suggested an Italian style to me when I was listening to the original song and improvising off of it. The original song is in a 6/8 or 12/8 rhythm, which resembles, at least in feeling, the Baroque form of a Siciliana. A Baroque Siciliana was generally a slow, minor mode piece in 6/8 or 12/8 which lilting rhythms. As the film was set in Sicily, I originally thought this explanation fit quite well. However, there are characteristic rhythms to a Siciliana, which I felt neither the original nor my piece fulfilled. Other elements that reminded me of the Italian style was the use of the lament bass figuration, which was prominently used in some Italian art songs in the Baroque. In most Italian music (broad generalization), the texture is also homophonic, meaning it's one voice supported by accompaniment. While I improvised, I tried to mimic the basic structure of an Italian art song, with an introduction, verses, interludes, and a postlude. Although there were some elements which suggested an Italian style to me, the short version is I just wanted to find something that resembled the title of the original film. That's the long and short of it. Thanks for asking the question! Glad you enjoyed it.