• NEWS - PRESS

    “La Sorpresa” Review on BuySoundtrax

    April 14, 2016

    Soundtrax: Episode 2016-3
    April 11th, 2016

    By Randall D. Larson

    http://www.buysoundtrax.com/larsons_soundtrax-4-11-16.html

    LA SORPRESA/Kristian Sensini/KeyeStudios – ltd ed cd + digital
    Italian composer Kristian Sensini has released his latest score on his own, digitally. Be thankful. Directed by Ivan Polidoro, LA SORPRESA (The Surprise) is a family drama that focuses on the awkward relationship between a father and his estranged daughter, compounded when he suddenly grows ill and she must take care of him; in the process she grows more distant when a male nurse is brought in who provides the kind of loving care she cannot. Sensini (HYDE’S SECRET NIGHTMARE – see my review in my Nov. 2012 column; ROCKS IN MY POCKETS – see my review from the Oct. 2014 column) has provided an intimate score performed by a small string ensemble (violin, viola, cello), supplemented by guitar, flute, keyboard, and voice. The score begins with “Attese” (Expectations), a deeply morose intonation of cello chords that resonates with the sad disaffection between the woman and her father. Sensini’s title theme, with its highly reverberated keyboard underpinning, carries a poignant weight that is less harsh; its melody will drift throughout later cues to paint the family in colors of sympathy and sorrow (In “La Sorpresa 1,” the melody is taken by a synth-violin, while in “La Sorpresa 2,” Sensini gives the melody line to a toy piano, which, in referring to happier and younger days of the family, is quite touching). The awkwardness between father and daughter is adroitly summed up in the colorless measures of “Figlia del Padre,” while the close-miked cello melody evoked in “Padre” paints the father in a much more empathetic light. The voice of Laura Bruno is heard in several cues, including a recurring, hymnlike a capella motif titled “Ana Yelena” whose lyric repeats the titular name in beautiful, double-tracked harmony. The film’s turning point and score’s apotheosis is found in “Ragnatela,” an uplifting harmonic treatment for all three strings over an interplay of muted drums and electric guitar which offers a serene resolution to the distance inflicted upon father and daughter. A drum kit is added for “Un Tango,” adding a nice contemporary pop rhythm to the tango’s string melody and harmony; the drums are also present for the second reprise of “La Sorpresa,” where the melody is presented in a more positive tempo and much brighter harmony, the family’s journey from alienation is finding its reunion and redemption. “Surprise Me” is a pretty pop-styled melody played on keyboards with digital handclaps and drum-kit. LA SORPRESA is a thoroughly engaging and beautiful score, deeply honest and moving in its sensitivity and treatment of its subject matter.
    The digital album is available on Italian iTunes and Amazon and elsewhere in the US.  A signed CD edition is available in limited quantities (100/c) from CDBaby.

    Randall Larson - La Sorpresa

  • NEWS - PRESS

    “La Sorpresa” Ost – Review at Film Music Magazine

    March 23, 2016

    La Sorpresa ‪Ost‬ is one of March ‪Soundtrack‬ Picks at ‪‎FilmMusicMagazine‬ along with Zootopia (Michael Giacchino) , Batman v Superman (Hans Zimmer Junkie XL), London Has Fallen (Trevor Morris )

    You can buy limited edition signed copies of the soundtrack at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kristiansensini3

    http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=15918

    Having quirkily played mental illness with his score for the generational madness of the fest favorite “Rocks in My Pockets” (its soundtrack on Movie Score Media) Italian composer Kristian Sensini creates another memorably individualistic soundtrack for “La Sorpresa” (“The Sunrise”). Here, the musical anguish is subtly inward and far less humorous, if no less enticing, as a daughter finds her father’s male nurse has far more of an emotional connection to the ailing man than she does. Sensini thematically plumbs her pained struggle towards a relationship in an impressively subdued variety of styles. Poignant chamber music mixes with alternative acoustical rhythm, child-like percussion hints of the past, while religious female voices sing a haunting chant. Even mod synthesizers and a tango come into this fraught, family bond. There’s an inventive, often meditative beauty throughout “La Sorpresa” that makes it a transfixing listen and Sensini an individualist talent to watch for, his classical training and studies with Ennio Morricone and Nicola Piovani evident in one of the rare, interestingly melodic scores that can tenderly capture inner emotion. Having cd signed and hand-numbered by Sensini adds a further nice touch for his unique, enticing score that bridges the classical and alt. family ties of film music.

     

    Film Music Magazine - La Sorpresa

  • NEWS - PRESS

    La Sorpresa–SoundtrackDreams Review

    December 22, 2015

    http://www.soundtrackdreams.com/2015/12/soundtrack-review-la-sorpresa-kristian-sensini-2015/

    “La sorpresa” is a 2015 Italian film directed by Ivan Polidoro. It’s the story of three people and their relationship, unwanted, but necessary. The protagonists are a father, his daughter, and a male nurse. The setting is a city in the south of Italy: Potenza. She immediately realizes she’s not able to take care of his father because of an unnatural awkwardness. Too many years have passed and too many lies have been told. Rocco is a nurse, a lonely, mysterious man who lives for his job. He looks after Antonio with obsessive manners and tender affection – almost as a son would do – proving that a stranger can succeed in doing the things a family cannot do. Kristian Sensini wrote the score.

    European dramas have a certain kind of mood and this is almost always reflected in the music. “Attese”, the opening theme from “La sorpresa” does a great job in getting me familiar with the story. The cue is quiet and dominated by a string motif that moves slowly as if to give it time to really sink in and give me time as a listener to feel the weight of the setting and not rush into the story. Now that I am in the right mood to really feel this score the composer continues with the almost atmospheric “La sorpresa 1” which as far as reflective themes go really hits the spot for me. I immediately connect with it and its ambient vibe and I hope we’ll get more pieces like this one. There’s a bit of late 80s, early 90s vibe in it and there’s no sweeter place for me to be in.

    I always love to hear a cue like ”Devotio” in a score. This one almost has nothing to do with any story other than the one the composer wants to tell. It’s a beautiful and tender string theme that makes me feel as if I’m in a chamber watching a very intimate concert. The soloists put all their hearts in playing the notes that Kristian Sensini wrote and the effect is charming. The score evolves naturally so that an almost religious choral piece like “Ana Yelena 1” doesn’t surprise me and feels like it comes at the right time. Each of the two main themes “La sorpresa” and “Ana Yelena” get further explored in a few more subtle variations.

    I love the modern ambient sound of the “La sorpresa” moments just as much as the deep string work the rest of the score brings. Overall the score really is a very nice surprise and I can’t wait to hear more from this composer.

    Soundtrack review_ La sorpresa

  • NEWS - PRESS

    Hyde's Secret Nigtmare OST review

    August 24, 2012

    Here’s a great review published on MUNDO BSO
    http://www.mundobso.com/es/verbandasonora.php?id=13777&fb_source=message

    The cd is avalaible on Itunes
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/revelation/id541356836?i=541356957

    and as limited edition on
    http://www.kronosrecords.com/catalogue.html

    In Taxi Driver (76) composer Bernard Herrmann wrote one of the referential scores in the duality Jekyll/Hyde, which is exactly how he saw and applied the music in the character of Travis Bickle, in the form of a constant struggle theme/countertheme that set out who was dominating the character´s mind. In other films, and directly out from Stevenson´s story, the music tended to be more environmental than psychological.

    This soundtrack of the young Italian composer Kristian Sensini is a great surprise in an environment as codified as the current in film music. He does not use the game of dueling theme/countertheme (among other reasons because it worked very well at its time but now it might be too basic, not being he a genius as Bernard Herrmann), but Sensini neither eludes to take to the musical field the war between two warring personalities of one only person. He does this first establishing the environment in which it will be developed the battle: the aged and wistful psychedelia of the glorious years of Giallo, among other styles that he applies for the sorrounding. On respect to the duel, he does not face one theme to another but a group of themes against others. Thus, his music dark, sinister, also perverse serves to expose the evil and the danger in it, while the human side and not demonic is exposed with a music that is fragile and distressed, comparatively weaker. He does it with a calculated imbalance without reference themes that may serve to help the spectators to rationalize the character behaviors and, conversely, creating a very controlled and ordered chaos. Each of his themes is laboriously worked and altogether makes an exemplary soundtrack.

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  • NEWS - Uncategorized

    Score Komposer the Official (and FREE!) App

    August 9, 2012

    iphone-app

    “I have an App for that” it’s a common quote nowadays, but…

    I’ve have noticed a lack of Apps about film music and film composers,

    so I’ve teamed up with the cool guys at http://www.letsgomobile.it/ 

    and we’ve realized this cool app :

    APPLE – SCORE KOMPOSER

    It’s avalaible for free, and there’s an Android version too

    ANDROID – SKORE KOMPOSER

    The app is loaded with the latest news of your truly, updated videos and, of course, MP3.

     

    If youre too lazy or too cool to click on the link, take a picture of the following QR CODE

    and your smartphone will do the rest!

    APPLE

    foto 1

    ANDROID

    foto 2

  • NEWS - Uncategorized

    “Hyde’s Secret Nightmare” – Colonna Sonora

    May 2, 2012

    Sto ultimando le registrazioni ed il mastering della colonna sonora di questo film di Domiziano Cristopharo.  Ho deciso di fare un tentativo di produzione “dal basso” per pubblicare il cd, non solo perchè ritengo sia un metodo intelligente e partecipativo di distribuire un lavoro artistico, ma anche perchè mi da l’opportunità di essere più in contatto con gli utenti finali, gli ascoltatori. Come potete leggere nell’articolo e nella pagina di INDIEGOGO, ho ideato delle opzioni che consentono ai filmaker indipendenti di avere una colonna sonora originale per i propri film, senza che questa gravi particolarmente sul budget dell’intero progetto. E’ una via collaborativa che restituisce un pò al cinema ed alla musica un certo senso di familiarità e conpartecipazione che è stato un elemento importante del cinema italiano e che forse si sta un pò perdento.

    Ecco l’articolo pubblicato sulla rivista Non Solo Gore

    http://www.nonsologore.it/2012/05/01/6586/

    Appena nata una nuova iniziativa, più un tentativo al momento, per la produzione di un’intera colonna sonora per un film horror attraverso il crowdfunding, processo di finanziamento collaborativo in cui più persone partecipano attraverso una donazione in denaro per sostenere progetti e organizzazioni. In questo caso, con un piccolo contributo, sarà possibile produrre la OST del film “Hyde’s Secret Nightmare” del regista Domiziano Cristopharo curata dal compositore Kristian Sensini.

    Partecipando a questa iniziativa si effettuerà un pre-ordine della colonna sonora che si riceverà non appena stampata. All’interno dell’iniziativa c’è inoltre un’opzione dedicata ai registi i quali, partecipando con una donazione maggiore, potranno avere i diritti per utilizzare le musiche presenti nel cd all’interno dei propri film oppure ricevere una colonna sonora personalizzata.

    Lo stile utilizzato per la OST è per lo più quello classico con accenni elettronici e progressive rock anni 80.

    La buona musica e il genere horror hanno da sempre i propri seguaci appassionati e con un piccolo aiuto e questa passione potete supportare questo progetto affinchè venga realizzato.

    Chiunque fosse quindi interessato, può contribuire andando su questo sito

    non solo gore