«Acts of wisdom and trust»: Sheets, Tapes and Machines in Egisto Macchi’s Film Music Composition

Abstract

Egisto Macchi (1928-92) was a key figure in the renewal of late 20th century Italian musical life, as he contributed significantly to the creation of institutions such as Nuova Consonanza. During the 1960s his significant involvement in film production led him to compose scores for hundreds of short films, working with leading Italian documentary filmmakers, and for several feature films. The relationship between Macchi’s musical strategies and the film production apparatus has not hitherto received much scholarly attention. Drawing on archival sources, this essay aims at discussing the different compositional levels that are layered in Macchi’s soundtracks. The study of sketches and paratextual indications in the score allows a close look at the relation between musical ideas and their realizations from a perspective strongly influenced by film post-production technologies.