The Godfather Triology: I, II & III

Paul Bateman / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra / Crouch End Festival Chorus

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The Godfather Triology: I, II & III Review

by William Ruhlmann

No small part of the success of The Godfather was director Francis Ford Coppola's coup in getting Italian composer Nino Rota, best known for his scores to Federico Fellini's films, to write its music. Rota borrowed and transformed a theme from an earlier work of his as the score's main motive, presenting a lovely, lonely, minor-key melody that evoked the Italian heritage on which Coppola built the film's sense of grand tragedy. The melody was highly serviceable, working both as a single trumpet tune and as the basis for dances and other musical moments throughout the film. Coppola also brought in his father, Carmine Coppola, to handle some of the music on both The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II, with the elder Coppola taking over more extensively on The Godfather, Part III, which was produced after Rota's death. Soundtrack albums for all three films reached the charts, and now Silva America Records has put together an album of music from the three films, newly recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic conducted by Paul Bateman. The cardboard cover on the CD jewel box contains the phrase "30th Anniversary," which indicates that somebody can't count, because The Godfather was released in 1972, but no matter. The music remains compelling, with the prelude to Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana, used as the dramatic conclusion to Part III, fitting in well and suggesting one of the influences on Rota's style.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 03:45 SpotifyAmazon
2 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:45 SpotifyAmazon
3 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 01:33 SpotifyAmazon
4 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:08 SpotifyAmazon
5 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 03:12 SpotifyAmazon
6 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:47 SpotifyAmazon
7 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 04:02 SpotifyAmazon
8 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:49 SpotifyAmazon
9
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Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:44 SpotifyAmazon
10 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 01:53 SpotifyAmazon
11 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 04:12 SpotifyAmazon
12 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 04:22 SpotifyAmazon
13 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 01:38 SpotifyAmazon
14 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:29 SpotifyAmazon
15 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 03:22 SpotifyAmazon
16 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 06:11 SpotifyAmazon
17 Paul Bateman / Crouch End Festival Chorus / City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 02:04 SpotifyAmazon
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