Quartet Records presents a double-bill of Spanish horror films from the 1970s with two “witch-themed” scores composed and conducted by Fernando García Morcillo (Cannibal Man, No One Heard the Scream, Howling of the Devil).
La noche de los brujos (The Night of the Sorcerers) (1974), directed by the popular Amando D’Ossorio (responsible for the “Blind Dead” tetralogy), is probably one of the most enjoyable movies in the genre, set in a wild and mysterious Africa that allowed the director to introduce fantastic elements such as zombies and leopard women born of strange rituals. Fernando García Morcillo mixes pleasant and psychedelic African rhythms with a stylish and soft easy listening style, reminiscent of bossa nova music and the Italian giallo sound.
El monte de las brujas (The Witches Mountain) (1975), directed by Raúl Artigot and starring Patty Sheppard and John Caffari, is a more restrained film than was usual in the genre. It was undoubtedly intended as a serious approach to the subject of witchcraft. García Morcillo’s score features variations on the religious chant Dies Irae, both in an easy-listening pop rhythm and a vocal version (with a deliberately and intentionally grotesque English pronunciation) that gives rise to strange and disturbing songs that would be typical of the innumerable Satanic movies that followed all over the world after the success of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. The voice of mezzo-soprano Alicia González works very well in Maestro Morcillo’s composition, giving the soundtrack a unique sound.
Both scores are here making their premiere release in any form, with sound mastered by Nicolás Tsabertidis from original master tapes. The package includes a 12-page booklet with liner notes by Juan Sánchez that discuss the films, the scores and the composers. This release is strictly limited to 300 units.
