When producer Carlo Ponti and director Vittorio De Sica, both giants of Italian cinema, sought out Henry Mancini to score their 1970 film I Girasoli (or Sunflower, in English), the American composer jumped at the opportunity.  Though creative differences between producer and director plagued the production of the film starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, Mancini turned out one of his strongest, most romantic scores.  Thanks to the team at Quartet Records, Mancini’s absorbing work on Sunflower has recently been issued on CD in its first complete version.

Arguably no other classic film composer was as well represented in 2012 than Henry Mancini, and luckily 2013 could very well follow suit.  Last year alone, Intrada premiered the original film tracks to Charade and Hatari! for the very first time on an audio release and teamed with Disney for Condorman on CD; Kritzerland reissued the long out-of-print Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation in remastered sound; Quartet dedicated three CDs and nearly 3 hours to Mancini’s epic work on Santa Claus: The Movie, and also unveiled the funky Revenge of the Pink Panther and the rich Sunset. La-La Land got into the Mancini act with his classy score to Mommie Dearest.  For 2013, Real Gone Music has already announced a straight reissue of the Warner Bros. LP for Mancini’s 10 (1979).

Hit the jump for all the specs on Sunflower, including the full track listing and order links!

Quartet’s 2-CD edition of Sunflower includes the complete original film score in mono on its first disc, with the stereo Avco Embassy/Ampex soundtrack LP appearing on the second disc.  All of Disc One is appearing on CD for the first time; the soundtrack album has previously been released on CD in Japan, where the film and its score made a strong impact.  For De Sica’s filmed tale of ill-fated lovers set against the backdrop of World War II, Mancini provided a sprawling, epic score, recording it in Italy.  His lyrical, haunting theme for lovers Antonio and Giovanna recurs throughout the picture, introduced with piano, harpischord and orchestra over the main title.  He also provided a tense, foreboding military-style march, a stirring yet disconcerting waltz introduced as Giovanna searches for her husband in Russia (where the film, in part, was shot), and a secondary, melancholy love theme for “the other woman” who saves Antonio’s life.  Further adding to the score's rich colors, he even provided a humorous, up-tempo cue not too far away from his work on the Pink Panther pictures and a jovial dance number, too.  Mature, dramatic, diverse and atmospheric, Mancini’s score surely ranks as one of his finest and most melodic.

Henry Mancini received Sunflower’s only Academy Award nomination, though he lost to Francis Lai for Love Story.  It was actually one of three nominations for Mancini that year; he received the other two for work on Blake Edwards’ World War I-set musical Darling Lili.  The music of Sunflower lived on, though.  Bob Merrill (Funny Girl, Carnival) provided lyrics to the evocative central theme, giving it the title “Loss of Love.”  The song was then recorded by luminaries including Scott Walker, Johnny Mathis, Petula Clark, and more recently, Mancini’s daughter Monica.  A rare demo of “Loss of Love” performed by an uncredited singer is among the bonus material on Disc One of Quartet’s release.  Mancini’s piano demo of the lyric-less theme has also been added.

Sunflower's full-color 20 page booklet includes new liner notes (an essay as well as track-by-track annotations) from John Takis, and the discs have been remastered by Claudio Fuiano.  It’s available now, and can be ordered directly from Quartet or from online retailers such as Screen Archives.

Henry Mancini, Sunflower (Quartet Records SCE057, 2013)

CD 1

1. Main Title
2. Love in the Sand
3. The Wedding Night
4. Last Memories
5. The Retreat
6. The Photo of Antonio
7. The Search
8. Son of the Search
9. The Cemetery
10. Tu Sei Italiano
11. Without Hopes
12. Masha
13. Masha Finds Antonio
14. The Station
15. The Broken Photo
16. Giovanna’s New Life
17. The Visit of the Mama
18. Antonio’s Flashback
19. New Home in Moscow
20. Masha and Antonio
21. The Appointment
22. The Invitation
23. The Parting in Milan
24. End Titles
25. Love Theme from Sunflower – Demo – Henry Mancini, piano (Bonus Track)
26. Loss of Love (Vocal) (Bonus Track)

CD 1, Tracks 2 & 7 feature some previously unreleased material not in film
CD 1, Tracks 3, 11-12, 16, 18, 22 do not appear in final film
All tracks on CD 1 previously unreleased as part of complete score presentation.  Some cues appear on original soundtrack recording (CD 2).

CD 2

1. Love Theme from Sunflower
2. Masha’s Theme
3. Giovanna
4. The Search
5. Love in the Sand
6. New Home in Moscow
7. Two Girls
8. The Retreat
9. The Invitation
10. Masha Finds Antonio
11. The Parting in Milan