Nik Comoglio Composer

There’s no getting around it: rock operas and musicals are all the rage nowadays – even a quick browse through the websites dedicated to this art form is enough to see the plethora of these works on the bill in Italian auditoriums and in theatres big and small. Rock in particular has been pursuing theater for years now – think The Who, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Tito Schipa Jr., PFM in “Dracula” or the new musical based on “Profondo Rosso” (Deep Red) with The Goblins. And there’s an Italian composer who expresses this connection very well – he’s been pursuing his expressive choice for some time now, and deserves a bit more attention than he’s getting. We’re talking about Nik Comoglio.

The Turinese musician, whom you might remember from the progressive band Syndone in the 90’s, after completing his work on Ithaca and the Tarot, returns with a new rock opera dedicated to Colludi’s immortal Pinocchio. “Anima di Legno” (Wooden Soul) is a meaningful title, because the composer starts from a reflection on the first lines of the book, wondering about that tiny voice that emerges from a simple piece of wood. And the same reading of Collodi’s work – as with the Tarot – goes well beyond the story and literal facts, taking on a symbolic – I would even say, esoteric – value; Nik reflects upon the grand themes of life:journey, experience and growth, presenting Pinocchio as a sprite, a spirit of the forest.

The result is a mature and compelling rock opera, structured in 9 movements, and in bringing together singers, chorus, orchestra, rock band and jazz octet, a particular stylistic feature emerges which breaks away from the usual style of rock operas enough to come out fluid and never bombastic. In particular, it is the expressive strength of the whole which captures the listener: for example, the rich, turbulent moments alternating with more meditative and acoustic ones in “Bosco” (Forest); the very 70’s-sounding “Mangiafuoco” (The Puppetmaster Mangiafuoco) and “Orecchie d’asino” (Donkey’s Ears); echoes of Genesis in “La quercia grande” (The Big Oaktree). And “Sulle ali” (Taking Wing) is, without a doubt, one of the highpoints of the album.

“Anima di legno” is an evocative and fascinating work, rich with meaning and musically very ‘present’. Very highly recommended.

Nik Comoglio - Anima di Legno

Nik Comoglio’s past work in progressive music is well-known: in particular, two albums with the group Syndone and “Il Sogno di Itaca” (The Dream of Ithaca – 2005), all of which have been extensively reviewed in these pages. But in the world of progressive music, his other works – theatrical productions, musicals and soundtracks – are less well-known. Anew theater piece, “Anima di Legno” (Wooden Soul), has just come out – inspired by that fairytale of all fairytales, Collodi’s Pinocchio. Orchestra, chorus and percussion plus a jazz octet are the basic elements of the musical treatment of the work, which is divided into 30 movements, from the “Overture” to the “Finale”.

The musical score is quite varied, ranging from classical to jazz, to ballad, to rock, to progressive to pop – from catchy tunes to moments which are decidedly more elaborate and pleasing. In all of it, however, the thing that catches the ear most is a certain calmness of the language, sometimes even subdued, with a massive use of minor harmonic scales that builds a sense of general affliction and drama, which in effect already pervades the text of the original work.

Even so, there’s no lack of more symphonic and melodic movements. It would be too complex to treat all 30 movements here, especially if we want to avoid generating pages and pages for a review that would end up being almost unreadable. Let’s see what we can do with the first three movements, starting with a light, melodic touch on the piano leading into a pastoral orchestral movement made up of horns and strings, a bit in the style of Anthony Phillips. “Voce della Foresta” (Forest Voices) is one of the work’s best tracks, with taut jazz, musical nods to Frank Zappa and hints of Zeuhl choirs.

“Anima di Legno” (Soul of Wood) is a narrative and melodic joy right from the start: chamber music evolves into a piece that some people would give their eye teeth to be able to take to the pop musical festival in San Remo. Then there is the triptych of the marionettes and the puppetmaster Mangiafuoco, which, thanks to the stentorian voice of baritone Paolo Servidei and the musical lines poised between classical and jazz, stand out for their originality.

The orchestral treatment of the Cat and the Fox, and also of the Fairy – where the vocal qualities of Cristina Lo Russo really stand out – is more linear and simpler; also notable is the subtle weaving together of different plotlines using strings, harps and flutes. Things get lively again with the 6/8 tempo of “Sulle Ali” (Taking Wing), with the electric bass taking center stage, then ceding the spotlight to an arpeggio weaving together the musical lines of“Lucignolo” (Lampwick), again sung by Lo Russo, somewhere between pop and opera.

The orchestral jazz band explosion that makes up the 50 seconds of “La città” (The City) carries us straight into the jazzy drama of “Orecchie d’Asino” (Donkey’s Ears) and the Ravel-esque “Marcia dei Ciuchi” (March of the Donkeys). Rapid steps, dominated by a dynamic, precise piano, carry us toward the finale, accompanying us through the tragedies of the little puppet tossed between surging waves and the “Pescecane” (Shark), right up to the intervention, melancholy but decisive, of Mother Nature, who, thanks to a soul-wrenching violin, makes way for a return of the initial theme in waltz-time. The circles closes and the fairytale ends.

This is a complex work; don’t expect something classically progressive: the intentions, methods and dexterity of execution are often a far cry from what we’re used to hearing as ‘progressive’. And there’s this variegated stylistic texture; this concealment of elaborate compositions under a veil of apparent simplicity; and, above all, this strong, dynamic, iridescent component of a fusion concept album, that keep us intrigued by and involved in this work – even though the story is a bit corny, “Anima di Legno” knows how to tell it with its own strong personality. The effort required to accomplish this was, I imagine, considerable – but also justified: the result is seriously positive.

“Tarot” is bold, complex – but certainly worth it: we’re really curious to see the live theatrical version that the composer had in mind originally.

There’s also no lack of very light episodes, like the San Remo pop festival-esque “Quasi miti” (Nearly Myths), in which father and son finally find each other, or sparkling cabaret interludes like “Odori chimici” (Chemical Scents), which trips happily along to a bossanova beat. As stated before, it’s a light album, but full of good taste, whose songs certainly match the scope for which they were written, even if they haven’t yet been brought to the stage.

This musical experiment, if one can call it that, is quite successful; it should also be said that, despite the use of an orchestra, the sound isn’t overly stately or gaudy, but rather very delicate, and the instruments never play completely in unison and are never used all together in the same piece. Thus we have many small individualities that interact with each other, and often there is only the delicate hint or outline of the music to give support to the voices of the singers: the sound of a harp, soft notes of the piano, strings and so on. The episodes are, in any event, very different from each other, based on the personality of the various characters. This album confirms Comoglio’s great inidividuality; he’s shown us once again his creativity and artistic sensibility. If you find his idea intriguing, we suggest you try listening to “Tarot” – you won’t be disappointed.