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FA6811 H2S
Auther: Jonathan Broxton

ENNIO MORRICONE REVIEWS, Part 7-73

H2S (1969)

H2S is an Italian science-fiction fantasy, written and directed by Roberto Faenza (with whom Morricone previously worked on Escalation in 1968), and starring Lionel Stander and Denis Gilmore. Ostensibly the film is about a student revolt at a university in a futuristic society where individualism is forbidden, but in reality the film is an excuse of Faenza to engage in a series of peculiar, abstract, surreal vignettes which criticize the political and social climate in Italy in late 1960s. The film was banned in its home country upon release, and has rarely been shown since, making is one of the most obscure entries in Morricone’s filmography. (The title, H2S, is of course the chemical compound symbol for hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous and corrosive that eats away at everything it touches – and is a metaphor for the society in Faenza’s film.

There has never been a legitimate soundtrack release of the score for H2S, meaning it is one of the most obscure soundtracks of Morricone’s entire early career. However, oddly the standalone main theme from the film has become quite popular in recent years, as a result of Morricone playing it regularly in concerts, and it appearing on several compilations. I first came across it when it was included on the 1999 album ‘Cinema Concerto a Santa Cecilia’ and I was enormously impressed – it builds from a cheerful, slightly comedic piano riff to encompass renaissance-style brass, dancing strings, and chimes, in an uplifting and uncharacteristically jolly way.

A second cue from the score, called “Luna Canadese,” also appears on several compilation albums, notably the 2005 EMI album Love Themes. The rest of the score, according to people who have seen the film, is quite peculiar, and is filled with abstract and dissonant pieces for strings and keyboards, plus odd musique-concrete style sound effects. Whatever the case may be, I certainly hope the whole thing sees the light of day at some point, because the main “H2S” theme is delightful and deserves to be more widely known.
Sep 19, 2020
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001
Luna canadese （04:04）
002-1
H2S (Slow speed) （03:09）
002-2
H2S (Medium speed) （02:47）
002-3
H2S (Fast speed) （02:25）
Attachment: About Jonathan Broxton
Jon is a film music critic and journalist, who since 1997 has been the editor and chief reviewer for Movie Music UK, one of the world’s most popular English-language film music websites, and is the president of the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA). Over the last 20+ years Jon has written over 3,000 reviews and articles and conducted numerous composer interviews. In print, Jon has written reviews and articles for publications such as Film Score Monthly, Soundtrack Magazine and Music from the Movies, and has written liner notes for two of Prometheus Records’ classic Basil Poledouris score releases, “Amanda” and “Flyers/Fire on the Mountain”. He also contributed a chapter to Tom Hoover’s book “Soundtrack Nation: Interviews with Today’s Top Professionals in Film, Videogame, and Television Scoring”, published in 2011. In the late 1990s Jon was a film music consultant to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, and worked with them on the films “Relative Values” with music by John Debney, and “The Ring of the Buddha” with music by Oliver Heise, as well as on a series of concerts with Randy Newman. In 2012, Jon chaired one of the “festival academies” at the 5th Annual Film Music Festival in Krakow, Poland. He is a member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the premier nonprofit organization for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working motion pictures, television, and multimedia. (Here)
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