Francesco De Masi
Encyclopedia
Francesco De Masi was an Italian
conductor
and film score
composer
. He studied composition at the San Pietro a Maiella in Naples
, under the guidance of Achille Longo, who was also his uncle. De Masi got interested in film music when Longo was asked to compose a soundtrack for a film, and he asked De Masi to be his assistant. De Masi's filmography includes scores for over 200 films and TV series, ranging from spaghetti western
s and sword and sandal
epics to gialli and horror film
s, such as Lucio Fulci
's Lo squartatore di New York (The New York Ripper). De Masi died of cancer at the age of 75.
De Masi also scored several action films, such as Enzo G. Castellari
's Quel maledetto treno blindato
(Inglorious Bastards), but he is best remembered for his work on spaghetti westerns. Unlike most other composers, De Masi started writing western scores slightly earlier than the genre's most influential musician, Ennio Morricone
. As De Masi's music was less influenced by Morricone, his style had a distinctive sound. Many of his songs were performed by the low-voiced member of the I Cantori Moderni choir, Ettore "Raoul" Lovecchio.
De Masi was also very interested in classical music
. He taught at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, also conducting the conservatory's orchestra. In an interview, De Masi listed Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
, Maurice Ravel
and Dmitri Shostakovich
as his main classical influences.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He studied composition at the San Pietro a Maiella in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, under the guidance of Achille Longo, who was also his uncle. De Masi got interested in film music when Longo was asked to compose a soundtrack for a film, and he asked De Masi to be his assistant. De Masi's filmography includes scores for over 200 films and TV series, ranging from spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s and sword and sandal
Sword and sandal
The Peplum , also known as Sword-and-Sandal, is a genre of largely Italian-made Historical or Biblical Epics that dominated the Italian film industry from 1957 to 1965, eventually being replaced in 1965 by the "Spaghetti Western"...
epics to gialli and horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s, such as Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
's Lo squartatore di New York (The New York Ripper). De Masi died of cancer at the age of 75.
De Masi also scored several action films, such as Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti westerns with such titles as Go Kill and Come Back Enzo G. Castellari (born July 29, 1938) is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti...
's Quel maledetto treno blindato
Quel maledetto treno blindato
The Inglorious Bastards is a 1978 Italian "macaroni combat" comedy-drama war film directed by Enzo G. Castellari, written by Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Franco Marotta, Romano Migliorini, and Laura Toscano, and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani, and...
(Inglorious Bastards), but he is best remembered for his work on spaghetti westerns. Unlike most other composers, De Masi started writing western scores slightly earlier than the genre's most influential musician, Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
. As De Masi's music was less influenced by Morricone, his style had a distinctive sound. Many of his songs were performed by the low-voiced member of the I Cantori Moderni choir, Ettore "Raoul" Lovecchio.
De Masi was also very interested in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. He taught at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, also conducting the conservatory's orchestra. In an interview, De Masi listed Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
, Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
as his main classical influences.
Partial filmography
- Ercole l'invincibile (Hercules the Invincible, 1963)
- Un angelo per Satana (An Angel for Satan, 1966)
- Arizona ColtArizona ColtArizona Colt is a 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Michele Lupo. Its stars Giuliano Gemma.-Cast:*Giuliano Gemma ... Arizona Colt*Fernando Sancho ... Torrez Gordo Watch*Corinne Marchand ... Jane...
(The Man from Nowhere, 1966) - Vado... l'ammazzo e torno (Any Gun Can Play, 1967)
- Los quatro salvajes (Ringo; Face of Revenge, 1967)
- Quella sporca storia nel west (Johnny Hamlet, 1968)
- Sette winchester per un massacro (Seven Winchesters for a Massacre, 1968)
- Ammazzali tutti e torna solo (Go Kill Everybody and Come Back Alone, 1968)
- La battaglia d'Inghilterra (Battle Squadron, 1969)
- C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara (I Am Sartana, Trade Your Guns for a Coffin, 1970)
- I Familiari delle vittime non saranno avvertiti (Crime Boss, 1972)
- La orgía de los muertos (The Orgy of the Dead, 1973)
- The ArenaThe Arena (1974 film)The Arena is a 1974 gladiator exploitation film, starring Margaret Markov and Pam Grier, and directed by Steve Carver and an uncredited Joe D'Amato. Grier and Markov portray female gladiators in ancient Rome, who have been enslaved and must fight for their freedom...
(1974) - Private Vices, Public Virtues (Vizi privati, pubbliche virtù, Vices and Pleasures, 1975)
- Quel maledetto treno blindatoQuel maledetto treno blindatoThe Inglorious Bastards is a 1978 Italian "macaroni combat" comedy-drama war film directed by Enzo G. Castellari, written by Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Franco Marotta, Romano Migliorini, and Laura Toscano, and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani, and...
(Inglorious Bastards, 1977) - Napoli spara (Weapons of Death, 1977)
- Kid Vengeance (1977)
- Lo squartatore di New York (The New York Ripper, 1982)
- Rush (1983)
- Thor il conquistatore (Thor the Conqueror, 1983)
- Lone Wolf McQuadeLone Wolf McQuadeLone Wolf McQuade is a 1983 action film, starring Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, and Robert Beltran, and is directed by Steve Carver. The film score was written by Francesco De Masi and borrows heavily from Ennio Morricone's score for Once Upon a Time in the West...
(1983) - Fuga dal Bronx (Bronx Warriors 2, 1983)
- Cobra Mission (1985)
- 7, Hyden Park: la casa maledetta, (Formula for a Murder, 1985)
- Mortacci (Death to You, 1989)