SONAFILM – 5th Edition – Festival Summary
SONAFILM – Marina Alta Film Music Festival held its 5th edition from August 18 to 26 in the towns of Ondara, Dénia, El Verger, Teulada Moraira, and Calp, all of them in the Marina Alta of Alicante, Spain (read more).
Frederic Torres and Gorka Oteiza bring us a detailed summary of the concerts and events of the festival.
Friday 18/8/23 – Concert Games & Symphonies Pocket - Teulada Moraira (by Gorka Oteiza)
On Friday, August 18, the 5th edition of the SONAFILM festival began with a concert of video game music by Games & Symphonies Pocket, held at the Auditori Teulada Moraira.
The concert offered two hours of music performed by an ensemble of six artists, where with great arrangements and a fun and very friendly performance, they brought us the soundtrack of legendary games such as Pokémon, Pacman, Bubble bobble, Tetris, Metal Slug, Mega Man, Golden Sun, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Sonic, Ori, Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, Hollow Night, Cuphead or Mario among others.
And if that wasn’t enough, the concert was spiced up by the funny comments of one of the musicians and presenter of the evening. Great way to start a new edition of SONAFILM!
Video-summary:
Saturday 19/8/23 - Concert Made in Spain - Calp (by Frederic Torres)
After five editions, SONAFILM, the film music festival of the Marina Alta (Alicante), returned in August, making an important and significant qualitative leap both in extension and in pretensions, given that the dates have increased to no less than nine days of celebration of various and diverse concerts, conferences, book presentations, and documentary screenings related to the specialty. Last year we began to experiment in this regard, and this has been the year of the consolidation of this effort that Javier Gil Pérez, the alma mater of the event, has managed to carry out with determination and hard work. The fact of having reached a collaboration agreement with FIMUCITÉ, the veteran and prestigious film music festival of Tenerife, and with its artistic director, the composer and conductor Diego Navarro, who culminated and put an end to the celebration of SONAFILM on August 26 with a spectacular concert dedicated to James Bond films (although it was left halfway for reasons beyond the control of all), in addition to having extended the festival, joining it, among several towns of this colorful and touristic region of Alicante is proof of this leap, so that not only Ondara and Denia have been the venues of the festival, but also Teulada / Moraira, El Verger, and Calp.
In the latter locality precisely, and with the Ifach Rock as a witness, took place one of the most anticipated concerts of the current edition, the one dedicated to Spanish film music, baptized as “Made in Spain”, in which through five thematic blocks the audience tasted a program composed of music signed by Arnau Bataller, Vanessa Garde, Manel Santiesteban, Iván Lacámara, Diego Navarro, and Luís Ivars, also representative of Musimagen, collaborator along with the various municipalities and sponsors of SONAFILM, as was SoundTrackFest, being all the composers present during the celebration of the concert. Such was the expectation raised, that the organization was overwhelmed by the request for tickets to the event, managed by the local council, which decided to set free RVSP invitations, thereby causing them to run out in a very short time. This in turn generated some confusion among fans interested in attending from other parts of the Valencian Community, and even from various parts of Spain, who could not find by any means the way to secure the precious invitation without being present in the previous days in the town to do so. Despite everything, and this initial confusion, which could easily have been avoided by putting a symbolic and affordable price to acquire them, the organization did everything possible so that no one was left without being able to enter the Auditorium of Calp, who lived, it must be said, an unforgettable night.
The program was as follows:
Thus, presented by the indefatigable Gorka Oteiza, founder of this website and impenitent traveler to all the film music festivals in the world, who was making his debut in these matters and who, as the night progressed, became a sort of Spanish Billy Crystal, as some audience members commented. The Universal Symphony Orchestra, conducted with the usual energy and conviction of its director, José Martínez Colomina, began the concert with an extensive suite entitled “10 Anys de Música per a la Imatge (2011-2021)”, consisting of four works signed by Arnau Bataller, namely El Elegido, La Sombra Prohibida, Mediterráneo, nominated for the Goya for best music last year (2022), and Sé Quién Eres. An energetic and powerful start in which the orchestra gave the measure of what was expected of it, more than fulfilling its task, as well as demonstrating once again that the Valencian composer is one of the greatest talents in Spanish film music today. A tense block, which highlighted the themes of La Sombra Prohibida, the sequel to The Valdemar Inheritance, a magnificent score at the height (and more) of this gothic diptych inspired by Lovecraft, as was the emotional and organic tearing of his work for Mediterráneo, a brave and necessary film that has as a burning issue the tragedy of immigration in our known and close Mediterranean Sea. Also noteworthy was the participation of vocalist Saray García, who was present with her suggestive “scats”, in this suite as well as throughout the concert.
Next, and to relax somewhat the atmosphere achieved with Bataller’s fabulous block, it was the turn of Vanessa Garde, who prepared a couple of suites from two comedies of familiar characteristics, such as son A Mil Kilómetros de la Navidad, y ¡Vaya Vacaciones! The music transmuted into lighter sonorities and meanderings, following the “gold standard” of the maestro John Williams in his referential score for John Hughes’ old comedy, Home Alone, in which the relaxed tone provided by techniques inherited from “mickeymousing” relaxed the audience and made them enjoy themselves to the fullest. And it is not that Garde does not have works in another line, as could perfectly have been included in Bataller’s previous suite of works as tense as Tarde para la Ira, which she composed with Lucio Godoy in 2016, demonstrating her eclectic know-how. But on this occasion it was aligned with comedy. It may be that having programmed her block in reverse, making it the opener, would have given a better measure of her work, for after the start of Bataller’s suite, the music might have seemed to have a less dense scope. Although it is obvious that the intention was to alternate thematic blocks to offer a sense of versatility. That goal was certainly achieved.
The next one, starring Luís Ivars, was devoted to it. The veteran composer was playing at home, as the Alicante native he is, and provided an unpublished suite, entitled “Expedición Balmis”, based on the film 22 Ángeles, with an adventurous content as the theme of the same revolves around the expeditionary journey of this group of boys and girls selected from an orphanage in A Coruña in the early nineteenth century, who carry in their young bodies the antivirus of smallpox to the Americas, with the aim of eradicating the disease. A dramatic and descriptive score, with Ivars himself at the piano, which was pleasant to discover for the general public, who continued to enjoy the suite of the no less stupendous music for Captain Thunder and the Holy Grail, an adaptation to real fiction of the adventures of the well-known Spanish comic book character created by Víctor Mora & Ambrós. A film that did not live up to expectations, quite the opposite of Ivars’ music, provided with a spirited central fanfare inspired by those played in the festivities of Moors and Christians of some towns in Alicante as Alcoy (also hovered the shadow of the classic and huge El Cid, by maestro Miklós Rózsa), which reignited the orchestral brio and with it the public.
Oteiza continued his work in a relaxed manner in the second part, giving way to the music of Diego Navarro from Tenerife, who presented two very different suites, with the first dedicated to El Fotógrafo de Mauthausen, with the famous extermination camp very present in the memory thanks to the string soloist performance, Herminio Ortega, which in part recalled, as it could not be otherwise, the canonical and recognized score by Williams for the heartfelt Schindler’s List. However, Navarro did not shrink from the challenge, and without detracting from the Williamsian reference, he provided dramatic work of the highest order. The same is true of the suite from the animated film Catch the Flag, with music in the key of “Americana” (namely, American nationalist music), in which Williams is also a master, as he made evident in films of the caliber of Born on the Fourth of July. Once again, Navarro, starting from certain obligatory references, takes his own path and manages to build his work in a spectacular manner, with descriptive results that are simply brilliant and stimulating for the increasingly dazzled audience.
After this second and powerful start of the concert, it was time for Manel Santisteban, who offered two suites of two Spanish cinema hits, very significant among the teenage audience, such as Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo, and its sequel, Tengo Ganas de Ti, based on the novels by Federico Moccia and starring Mario Casas, who has become a national star since then. The music of Santisteban, one of the members (pianist) of the well-known group La Década Prodigiosa, founded in the mid-eighties, and responsible for the music of more than twenty television series, offered his music of a romantic nature, although notably invested with great drama, thanks above all to the participation of the aforementioned vocalist Saray García, who with her “scats” once again moved the audience. Among these television works, there was also the successful La Casa de Papel/Money Heist, whose incidental music is signed by Iván Lacámara, and of which an exceptional suite was offered that touched on all the aspects of this international work, especially focused on its fifth and last season, until ending with the well-known song composed by Santisteban and interpreted by Cecilia Krull, “My Life Is Goin On“, which made the series popular, with Santiesteban at the piano.
The Auditorium burst into applause that was rewarded with a well-prepared and studied encore when Oteiza presented as the last card of the evening the emblematic “Bella Ciao”, sung on this occasion by Pascual Andreu (who along with García, are usually the regular vocalists of other projects of the Universal Symphony Orchestra), the famous hymn of the Italian communist partisans popularized during the Second World War in their fight against the Nazis, and that became so important in the television series when the protagonists sang it as a symbol of resistance. The Auditorium enthusiastically accompanied the anti-fascist chant with rhythmic clapping until the end of the interpretation.
Brilliant and witty finale to a concert of Spanish film music that demonstrates on the one hand the abundant talent that the discipline currently has in these parts, with the ability to address any genre with guaranteed quality and know-how, as well as the aforementioned qualitative leap that SONAFILM has made for the immediate future, let alone if the bet made in this edition is consolidated.
For the time being, the cards are on the table, and if the proposal comes together after polishing some of the issues mentioned in previous paragraphs (the controversial access through invitations), the festival can become one of the great proposals of national film music. The success and the sensations provided during the event were as notorious as palpable, emotionally speaking, and this was attested by the composers themselves, overwhelmed by the public’s recognition. It is only a matter of waiting impatiently for next year to celebrate the second “Made in Spain“, and check it out.
Sunday 20/8/23 - Conference Let’s talk about Film Music - Dénia (ny Frederic Torres)
The following day, Sunday 20th, still with the hangover of the success of the concert in the body, the guest composers had the opportunity to share with fans, specialists or simply curious people, their impressions and experiences in this complicated world of film music in the space called L’Androna-Baleària, located in the port of Denia, with free access for anyone who wanted to come and listen to their words, moderated in a serene and professional manner by the omnipresent Gorka Oteiza, who gave way to each other so that everyone had their own time to comment on their personal experiences.
Several delicate themes were talked about, such as the rights of composers over their works, on which Luís Ivars, in his capacity as interested party and representative of Musimagen, and later Iván Lacámara and Manel Santiesteban were also involved when asked by me about the non-existent edition of the soundtrack of the TV series La Casa de Papel/Money Heist, probably the biggest international success in the history of Spanish television, who responded by alluding to the loop between producers, rights, and lack of concreteness in the good intentions declared between one and the other.
Ivars himself introduced arduous issues such as the complications inherent in the discipline, in which the composer must be chameleon-like in order to know how to interpret the requests of those responsible for the projects, sometimes contradictory to his own intentions. He also commented amusingly, as an example of this ability to camouflage and adapt, his experience composing the anthem of the soccer club Hercules of Alicante.
Arnau Bataller also spoke about the recording process and the new existing techniques, and advocated the unification of criteria of the triumvirate formed by director-scriptwriter-musician, as did Garde and Navarro, who also explained his experiences as an orchestral conductor at various international festivals, including, of course, FIMUCITÉ. Bataller commented, again in response to a question from the author of this text, that fortunately things have changed a lot since he publicly complained decades ago about the lack of support for studying filmmaking here and abroad, something he had to pay for out of his own pocket at the time, although he recommended above all to budding musicians to go abroad to study with expert teachers, the best example being the presence of two of his two former students in the hall, given that the composer combines his creative work with his pedagogical work.
There was also time for reflection and creativity, as everyone wanted to offer their opinion, after being questioned one last time by yours truly, about the search for their own channels of expression despite the obstacles that stand in their way (diffuse proposals from directors and producers, time constraints, temp-tracks, etc., etc.), This was of great interest to some of those present, among whom were students and new creators of the specialty, such as Ana Beyron, a very young multidisciplinary artist (with numerous projects already behind her as a screenwriter, director, editor, scriptwriter, and composer), whose effort and interest in coming from Madrid was rewarded with the recognition of the professionals present, who welcomed her with true affection and interest. She had time to ask to the speakers if they preferred to join in the preparation of the film (in team meetings or script readings) or directly in post-production, with the editing already done. Garde answered that the sooner she knew the project the better, a preference that was joined by the rest of his colleagues. As a culmination, we were all able to chat harmoniously thanks to the great mutual company and the wines served by Bodegas Aguilar, one of the sponsors of the festival, which proposed a free tasting for the enjoyment of those present.
Video summary:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/314563447601382
Wednesday 23/8/23 - Conference The Music behind the Mask - Dénia (by Frederic Torres)
After the presentation on Tuesday 22 by Diego Navarro of the documentary on the music of James Bond entitled The Sound of Bond, at the Casa de la Cultura of Ondara, with very good attendance, the next day was the turn of the presentation at the Public Library of Denia of my book, The Music Behind the Mask. The Superheroic Era (Vol. 1) (read more).
I was able to perform the event live with an exceptional companion as was Navarro, who was in charge of prologuing the event after the previous introduction of Javier Pérez, who showed a special interest by SONAFILM to cover a wide and diversified number of events, beyond the rewarding concerts that usually monopolize the maximum interest as the main destination of the festivals. In this case, I had the satisfaction of being invited to star in this initiative, which given the circumstances, in the heat wave and being a working Wednesday in a coastal town famous for its prized beaches, was a public success according to the attendance, which was attentive and interested during and after the exhibition (for which the employees of the Library, especially Ani, turned selflessly and I thank them for their professionalism).
Thus, Navarro talked with the audience about what happened this year at FIMUCITÉ, with this double concert dedicated to superhero movies, both from “Marvel” as those belonging to Warner/DC, and as a good connoisseur of the genre he declared his love for the great score by John Williams for Superman, the Movie, confessing that it was one of the main culprits of his exclusive dedication to the world of film music. In addition, he was gracious enough to highlight the style in which the book is written, beyond, according to him, offering a complete descriptive and functional analysis of 20th century superhero films and all those of the Marvel label.
This is something for which I am deeply grateful, because apart from the more or less solid arguments, the context and the field work carried out, at no time have I neglected, or at least I have tried to do so, the literary qualities inherent to the objective of making my voice clear in front of the very broad field of study and its purposes, which have been none other than to draw a general overview of film music from an anthological point of view, gathering from the first adaptations made in serials in the early forties to the latest Marvel blockbuster.
For this purpose, during the conference I had half a dozen edited clips to offer examples, something that the audience always appreciates for the showiness that the presentation acquires and for its didactic and illustrative load. After answering several questions from the audience (directed mainly to the continuity of the project, now in the writing phase) and dedicating a few copies, the presentation came to an end, but not before thanking everyone, audience and author, for the presence of the composer, as well as his lively and eloquent son, Eduardo, whose curiosity enlivened the dinner that followed.
Thursday 24/8/23 - Concert Metalls de Cinema
Unfortunately, neither of the two SoundTrackFest colleagues: Frederic Torres and Gorka Oteiza, could attend this concert, but here is the official description, as well as a publication with photos of SONAFILM
“El Verger celebrates its second year in the SONAFILM again in an optimal enclosure for the enjoyment of music, this time with a “power multiplied by a thousand”, as noted from the organization. This concert will feature the spectacular Valencia BrassBand and the baton of its Principal Conductor, Enrique Alborch Tarrasó, who will delight the audience with a repertoire that will include some of the most epic compositions from films such as “Rocky”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Indiana Jones” or “James Bond”, among others. With more than 30 professional Valencian musicians, this ensemble “will make you enjoy the fanfare in its purest form”.”
Video summary:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/324662566697849
Friday 25/8/23 - Concert Tarantino Unchained - Dénia (by Gorka Oteiza)
After yesterday’s concert in El Verger, the second weekend of SONAFILM started on Friday, August 25, and it did it in a powerful way at the Teatre Auditori Centre Social of Denia with the special concert ‘Tarantino Unchained’ by the Pop Culture Band of Tenerife.
A very complete concert dedicated to the songs of the films of Quentin Tarantino, with a good review of the music that is so vital in the filmography of the director, executed with great power and life, by a cast of fabulous vocalists and solo musicians. Two hours of concert, without pause or intermission, full of energy and rhythm.
The program was as follows:
Video summary:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/6512965225483970
Saturday 26/8/23 – Concert The Music of Bond - Ondara (by Frederic Torres)
On Saturday 26th, finally arrived the last event of SONAFILM, the long-awaited concert conducted by Diego Navarro in front of the Universal Symphony Orchestra, in which the purpose was to trace a complete tour (according to the program) through the musical career of the most famous secret agent in history. But the weather conditions played a dirty trick on the artists and the spectators, since after having suffered a terrible week of heat, with very high temperatures combined with the relative humidity typical of the coast, the concert had to be suspended due to the rain. It was only a few minutes, but it was enough to take such a drastic decision, because water is one of the worst enemies of the instruments, as well as of the electronic amplification system, which could put the integrity of the musicians at risk.
Anyway, the audience still had the opportunity to enjoy this first part dedicated mainly to the most classic Bond, that of the sixties embodied by Sean Connery, with the exception of the song “All Time High”, belonging to Octopussy, one of the eighties films starring Roger Moore, and brilliantly interpreted by Cristina Ramos, the female vocalist in charge of assuming this challenging role (Esther Ovejero, announced in the program, could not finally be present at the concert), since it was not in vain that it was about covering nothing less than songs interpreted by original artists such as Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever), Nancy Sinatra (You Only Live Twice), or Rita Coolidge (precisely the one from Octopussy).
On the men’s side, Fran León gave a good account of songs as emblematic as “From Russia with Love“, sung by Matt Monro at the end of the movie; “Thunderball“, performed by Tom Jones in the opening credits of Operation Thunderball; the emblematic love song, “We Have All the Time in the World“, performed by Louis Armstrong in 007 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; or the no less successful “Live and Let Die“, which Paul McCartney & The Wings sang in Roger Moore’s debut as Bond in 007 Live and Let Die (which ultimately led to the first Oscar nomination in the musical section for a Bond film).
This was the moment, in the absence of listening to “For Your Eyes Only”, the song performed by the Scottish Sheena Easton (which also meant a nomination for Bill Conti and lyricist Michael Leeson), with which it was intended to reach the end of the first part, when it started to rain and the decision had to be taken to cancel the concert, due to the uncertainty of the weather. In the end, there were only ten minutes of rain, but that was something that no one could have guessed at that time.
As for what we heard, Navarro’s conducting was invested with his usual energy (the body language left no doubt about it) and attention to detail, demanding the best from an orchestra that had to be amplified electronically given the characteristics of the venue (the same bullring in Ondara as in previous years) so that the music could be heard with adequate power. This caused a logical mismatch between the power of some instruments with respect to others, as the pizzicatos of the double basses were noticeable while the brass and strings were somewhat below the drums or the power of the voices of Ramos and León.
Nevertheless, the arrangements turned out to be very faithful to John Barry’s original scores both in terms of the songs and the instrumental fragments performed, such as the inevitable “James Bond Theme”, in Barry’s arrangement (although the theme was actually composed by Monty Norman, who ended up in court litigation with Barry, who claimed his authorship), or in the glamorous “Into Miami/Alpine Drive”, a sequence belonging to Goldfinger describing the arrival of Bond to the tourist city par excellence of the USA in the initial mission of the film. It was also very enjoyable “Sky Chase“, from 007 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a vibrant theme of the one considered by critics as probably the best score ever written for a 007 film. Although from that time it was somewhat missed the theme called “007”, which Barry composed to “avenge” Norman’s James Bond, and with which the orchestra would have shone with intensity. All in all, it was a really intense first part, in which the audience was delighted with the brilliant musical expression and the effective light effects proposed overprinted on the white stands at the back of the bullring.
The incidental fragments composed by David Arnold, the British composer who succeeded Barry when he retired from the franchise, were left out at the second part. It would have been very stimulating to listen to them to establish the difference in tone between Barry’s classical sound, in which strings and brass ostensibly predominated, and Arnold’s, an avowed admirer of the former (especially his work for You Only Live Twice), but as can be easily anticipated, a composer of much more contemporary sonorities, which include synthesizers in a way that is as integrative as it is ostensible. Quite a challenge for the Universal Symphony, which surely had worked on these differences in rehearsals in order to make them evident in their interpretation, within the continuity of the so-called “Bond sound” (with the aforementioned predominance of brass and strings so characteristic). A real frustration that the public, however, was able to understand and cope under the circumstances, thus demonstrating their communion and commitment to the festival. A concert that was also attended by exceptional guests, such as Marco Patrignani, director of the Rome Film Music Festival, or composers like Luis Ivars himself, one of the protagonists of the previous weekend’s concert, as well as the chief conductor of the Universal Symphony Orchestra, José Martínez Colomina, and, of course, also Gorka Oteiza, creator of SoundTrackFest, a collaborating partner since the first edition of SONAFILM. Now we just have to wait a year and check the consolidation of the qualitative leap that the festival has taken with the promise of more concerts, guests, and events. Javier Gil is already working on it and I’m sure that future editions will bring many pleasant surprises.
IN SUMMARY
The enormous level of this annual event is very clear; always an indispensable reference in terms of film music and an outstanding level of spectacularity, as well as a great professional team. This year has also drawn attention to the increase in the number of sponsors of the festival, as has been shown in the official poster of the event, as well as the improvement of the situation regarding the pandemic, which had complicated the organization of the two previous editions. We can therefore expect a great line-up for 2024. We will be eagerly awaiting it… but always with our eyes on the sky! – Frederic Torres.
SONAFILM has once again given us an exceptional edition, surpassing both the qualitative and quantitative threshold set by its 4th edition, adding new cities as festival venues, as well as a new variety of events: book presentations, conferences with composers, and a concert dedicated to Spanish cinema ‘Made in Spain’ with the presence of its composers, which turned out to be the highlight of the festival. Now they “only” have to continue working hard in the direction set, to consolidate a project that emerged most humbly 5 years ago in Ondara, and that, from the hands of its director, Javier Gil, with the support of the municipalities of the Marina Alta and especially Ondara (Rakel Mengual), have managed to bring SONAFILM to European standard quality levels. We hope that in 2024 the festival will surprise us once again, as it has shown that it is capable of doing year after year – Gorka Oteiza.
Artricle by Frederic Torres & Gorka Oteiza
Pictures by Roberto Romero, Gaby Contreras, Frederic Torres & Gorka Oteiza
