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.
also brought in his father,
Carmine Coppola
, to handle some of the music on both
and
The Godfather, Part II
, with the elder
taking over more extensively on
The Godfather, Part III
, which was produced after
'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
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
's style. ~ William Ruhlmann