DIGITAL EP REVIEW - ONE NIGHT IN TURIN


One Night in Turin
Music by Stuart Hancock
MovieScore Media MMD 0009
7 Tracks 19:27 mins

The documentary One Night in Turin was apparently shown in UK cinemas for one night only on June 1st, though I have to admit that, living in the UK as I do, I saw absolutely no publicity for it whatsoever. Anyway, the documentary relates the England team's progress to the semi-finals of the football World Cup in Italia 1990, and this digital EP of Stuart Hancock's music for the film was released to coincide with the screenings.
The theme song for that year's World Cup was Pavarotti's classic performance of Puccini's Nessun Dorma from Turandot, and the documentary's soundtrack would be incomplete without the popular aria. The EP opens and ends with the piece, performed here by tenor Sean Ruane. In between, we have Hancock's orchestral score, performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra. As one would expect, the emphasis is on action and the brief "Planet Football" certainly moves along at a fair lick, filling one with a sense of eager anticipation. The equally brief "Trusted Lieutenants" follows, bringing to mind Elmer Bernstein's iconic march from The Great Escape, which has of course become something of an anthem for the England football team.
By complete contrast, "The Minister for Sport" is a loungy, lighthearted piece, reminiscent of Danny Elfman.
It's down to business with parts 1, 2 & 3 of the fateful match "England vs West Germany" which, for reviewing purposes, I'll treat as one piece. After a grand, fanfarish opening, the action builds from subdued, quite nervous beginnings to full-on drama and heroics, before ending in the tragedy of defeat for the England team.
This brief, but enjoyable score from Stuart Hancock is available at a budget price from www.moviescoremedia.com/onenightinturin.html, where you can listen to samples, watch a trailer for the film, and find full downloading details.