Songs Of Stone is a remarkable, collaborative project between Italian poet Gabriele Tinti, ambient composer Massimo Pupillo (ZU) and actor Malcom McDowell (A Clockwork Orange; Caligula; If). For the piece, Gabriele composed “several epigrams, elegies and laments inspired by epigraphs from the ancient world”, which are interpreted by McDowell and then scored by musical improviser and composer Massimo Pupillo. The result is an eerie, evocative work which, although nominally divided into tracks, is best heard simply broken into sides, as it is on the 10” physical pressing.
Side A
It opens as a soundtrack. Eerie, atmospheric noise vies with ambient sounds to create a lush backdrop for Malcom McDowell’s instantly recognisable tones. It is the perfect stage for any actor and Malcom, who was allowed a free hand to interpret Gabriele Tinti’s epigrams and elegies as he wished, clearly enjoyed the experience. Throughout, Massimo serves to bring out the underlying emotions, the music a subtle drone that compliments the narrative without seeking to overpower it. It is not an easy balancing act, but as the first side progresses, so Malcom’s beautifully delivered lines are replayed, awash with effects and trapped between the ever-shifting layers of sound, as if his very words are caught in the sands of time, slowly slipping away. There’s beauty here, but it is a decayed beauty, underscoring Massimo’s sympathy with the source material, and the listener will find themselves lost in the half-light of this dreamworld – so much so, that when the first side comes to an end, you can feel yourself physically pulled back to modernity as you flip the record over.
Side B
Side B opens on a darker note, the strings playing with the listener’s nerves as a lost choir shrills in the darkness. As a touchpoint, listeners at the more extreme end of the spectrum might recall the ambient discomfort of An Axis of Perdition’s Urfe, although the narrative here is clearer; or the dense atmospherics of Elliot Goldenthal’s soundtrack work; but ultimately this is deeply original music, drawing on the art of soundtrack writing, but expanding it to fill the void where the images should be. As Malcom’s narrative turns morbid, so the music seems to envelop his ailing frame, carrying him out of himself as his blood slowly seeps into the earth. It’s a beautiful, if harrowing epitaph, that seeks to provide no comfort in death beyond the protective covering of earth that provides a final resting place.
Conclusion
Songs Of Stone is a remarkable undertaking. It plays out, as few pieces are able to do, as a motion picture of the mind. The product of genuine collaboration, it sees Gabriele’s obliquely wonderful texts interpreted by Malcom with the perfect mix of gravitas and emotion. There is a quiet dignity to his delivery, while Massimo carries the emotional burden, crafting music that is truly evocative, drawing the listener out of themselves and placing them in a world long thought lost and visible now only in the half-light of history. 9/10
