L’Ile du Pardon

June 10th 2022, and a chance for a rare trip to London and a scoring session at the renowned Angel studios in Islington, which are now part of the Abbey Road family. The film being scored was The Island of Forgiveness directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ridha Behi which stars Claudia Cardinale, as Agostina, Katia Greco as Rosa and Paola Lavini as Elena. The movie is produced by Ziad Hamzeh, Nicole Kamato, and Ridha Behi.

The soundtrack for this beguiling movie is very close to release, so I thought I would prompt collectors about it and just how wonderful it is. It is a soundtrack of ample qualities; I think it can be described as a score that is written in a more classical and traditional style using real players and having gracious and affecting thematic properties. It is romantic, tragic, dramatic and above all entertaining and effective both within the movie and away from it. The seven-note motif that introduces Rosa’s Song immediately alerts the listener to something that is special and rewarding. This is a theme that can be heard throughout the score with the composer introducing it in various arrangements and guises. The vocal version of the theme is performed by Welsh singer Ellen Williams, who also wrote the beguiling lyrics.

I was so excited to interview award-winning Italian film music composer, Marco Werba. Marco is a versatile composer whose credits include, “The Island of Forgiveness”, “Giallo”, “Dead on Time”, “The Mystery of Britannic” and more. Marco recently collaborated with Welsh soprano, and classical crossover favorite, Ellen Williams on the songs “Rosa’s song” (from the Tunisian movie “The Island of Forgiveness” and “Masquerade” (from the Spanish movie “Hybris”).