Anna and Emilio, the souls of the Emian project , open the doors of their creative laboratory to us, telling us how they gave voice, through music, to the " Battle of Sarno, Challenge to the Aragonese Court" . A journey through folk, cinematic suggestions and the magic of sounds.
The Birth of an Epic Sound
Your roots are deep in folk tradition, but your sound transcends time. How did the music for the Battle of Sarno come about?
We are Anna and Emilio, founders of the Emian project. For 14 years, we've been touring with our musical vision, rooted in pagan and other traditions, both in Northern Europe and, above all, the Mediterranean. Being both from Southern Italy, we care deeply about this aspect, which has allowed us to conduct historical and folkloric research on legends, events, and unique musical instruments, sometimes collected during our travels. We're also avid film enthusiasts, and soundtracks deeply inspire us. Composers like Danny Elfman, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, James Horner, and Bear McCreary have shaped our musical imagination. It's from this background that the pieces for the Battle of Sarno were born, perhaps "outdated" in style, but that's how we like them.
How do you compose a soundtrack for such a theatrical live event? How important was the consultation with the artistic director?
«Without the initial directives of Ennio Molisse, the Artistic Director, we couldn't have attempted it! He contacted us over a year ago, when the event was still a small project. Initially, he hired us as musicians for the first part, "Memories of a Storyteller," but he wanted to entrust us with the original music for the July 12th reenactment. Despite his busy schedule, enthusiasm prevailed over the fear of not being able to make it. Ennio was crucial not so much for the musical selection, although he did provide us with some references, but for helping us enter the mood of the reenactment and the historical context, even though our compositions weren't intended to be philologically accurate. We specifically asked him to send us the lyrics he was working on, and from there we created the soundtrack: the words were the key to capturing the characters' moods, especially for the pieces about the harquebusiers, the trombonist, and the fire in the village.
Besides your musical background and your collaboration with the artistic director, is there anyone you'd like to thank in particular for making this project possible?
Absolutely! We want to sincerely thank Ennio [Molisse] for the trust he placed in us, entrusting us with such an important task. And a special thanks also goes to Marco Ruggiero, our trusted sound engineer, for his great help in making this project a reality.
Giving Voice to the Battle
Your music doesn't just accompany the scene, but is an integral part of the narrative. How do you write music to give voice to characters who don't speak, but fight?
As we were saying, words were incredibly important, even in choosing the titles. For Anna, the author of many of our songs, words are "little magical acts of evocation." Furthermore, we visualize a lot while we create.
The opening track, “The Shadows Fall”, is deliberately simple to convey the sense that something terrible is coming from the quiet and darkness. A few instruments are chosen, to create a contrast between the sweet sound of the flute and the metallic clang of the strings and chains, reminiscent of the sound of marching armor.
With “No Fear”We tried to empathize with the emotions of a sovereign in battle, who cannot appear weak. The sound of the duduk, an Armenian instrument we love, accompanied by a warm and melancholic background of strings, conveyed the idea of a lament, a soft song, evoking a sense of expectation and uncertainty.
For “Dust and Bones”, we visualized a clash between enemies, trying to imagine the mix of fear and adrenaline. The orchestral ostinato recalls gunshots and heartbeats.
The penultimate piece, “Post Fairy Resurgence”, which accompanied the fire in the village, embodies the power of the flames and the symbolism of the reborn phoenix. The melodies of the strings and children's voices intertwine and rise upward, symbolizing the rebirth of Sarno.
The last song, "Epilogue", It's a concession from our friend and sound engineer Marco Ruggiero, who composed it years ago with Stefano Argenziano; it fit perfectly into the general atmosphere."
Local History and Great Challenges
How did local history inspire you? What struck you about the Battle of Sarno and the reenactment project?
"As for the local history, aside from what Ennio and our friend, the videographer Elio De Filippo, told us, we didn't know much, because in this case we only needed to know the facts to delve deeper into the action. Maybe in the future we can delve deeper into the story."
What was the biggest challenge in creating music for such a historically significant event?
The biggest challenge was time! The composition was entrusted to us at the end of May, and we had many commitments, so we only started working on the songs at the end of June. We brought the soundtrack to life in record time, considering that a project like this usually takes at least a year. The other challenge was not to disappoint the expectations of the artistic director and those who had placed their trust in us, and to be able to properly bring the evoked context to life.
The Sound Heart of Battle and Memory
Is there a song that for you is the essence of the “Battle of Sarno”?
We both believe the song in question is "Post Fata Resurgo." It embodies feelings of destruction, redemption, and rebirth. Furthermore, it's the song that required the most creative effort, being the longest (a full 10 minutes!) and the one that made us question the direction the most. For this reason, we listened to it and refined it the most. We love the final result!
What does the concept of “sound memory” represent for you?
Music has been a source of evocation and memory since we were born. The first sound we hear is our own crying, but even before that, the sonic vibrations of our parents' voices. Certain types of music evoke primitive parts of us, bringing us back to something familiar and comforting. In music, there are archetypes that evoke specific emotions, but in this case, the process was the other way around: our emotions gave birth to the melodies. For example, for "Dust and Bones," we were looking for something that imitated the sound of a harquebus. In a moment of despair, Emilio began to strike the keyboard, and from there, the piece's orchestral ostinato was born. It's a gesture that children often make when they're first learning an instrument, or that we do when we're angry. As we were saying, some soundtrack composers manage to imprint their sonic signature on us on a universal level. More than sight, hearing functioned as an alarm bell in primitive man, because sound is more effective in impressing itself on the memory than images.»
Is there anyone you would like to thank in particular?
We would like to thank Ennio Molisse , who placed his trust in us and Marco Ruggiero , our trusted sound engineer for the great help he gave us.
I found the article about Anna and Emilio and their Emian project very interesting. The music for the Battle of Sarno seems truly evocative and rich in meaning. It would be nice to know more about the composition and how they drew inspiration from local history.