New Trolls
Concerto Grosso per i New Trools

In 1971, the "experiments" of fusion between classical music and rock had been numerous and varied: think of the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, the works of the Nice and subsequently Emerson, Lake & Palmer, where the instruments are purely rock, but the fusion with classical music consists of rearranging "classical" pieces in a progressive-rock style. Even more often, classical pieces entrusted to the guitar alone become a "must" in many prog albums.
This, and more, in England. But naturally, this trend also arrived in Italy and was not just imitation.
In this year, one of the most important albums in the prog scene, and not only in Italy, was released: "Concerto Grosso per i New Trolls", where the Genoese musicians, together with composer L. Bacalov, created a highly successful example of fusion between classical and rock. This band had already been active for several years, their debut, as very young artists, dates back to 1968. They would have a very long career, with numerous lineup changes and even name changes, with ups and downs and always teetering between melodic and more rock tendencies. "Seven Season's" has recently been released, effectively "Concerto Grosso" number 3, which will necessitate revisiting.
Let's return to the album in question.

Originally created as the soundtrack for a film (now considered by some as a "cult") featuring T. Milian (still not widely known) directed by Maurizio Lucidi titled "La vittima designata", this album quickly gained a life of its own, enjoying great critical acclaim and, not surprisingly, excellent sales.
In '71, the New Trolls comprised Nico Di Palo (electric guitar, lead vocals), Vittorio De Scalzi (electric guitar, vocals, flute), Gianni Belleno (percussion, vocals), Giorgio D'Adamo (guitar) with the addition of Maurizio Salvi on keyboards. In the future, the lineup would undergo numerous splits and new additions, but this would surely be one of the best.
The album's structure mirrors that of the baroque period concerto grosso, the music is composed by Bacalov but also bears the group's "touch", and the lyrics are inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet (... to die, to sleep, maybe to dream...). The "concerto" consists of three movements, Allegro, Adagio, and Cadenza - Andante con moto, and then we find a fourth part titled "Shadows", dedicated to Hendrix. The album closes with a long improvisation (over twenty minutes) by the Trolls alone, without the orchestra.
The album opens with "Primo Tempo - Allegro", and within the first few seconds, we realize we are in front of an actual orchestra that will soon see the band "counterpoint": the harmony is - as in all other movements - in a minor key, the string-flute-electric guitar dialogues are very successful.
It will be difficult for anyone who confronts this type of classical-rock fusion to achieve such balance. No forcing, a lot of naturalness, the sounds, and the mix are perfect. Nico Di Paolo's guitar solo, very personal, with an acidic yet never cold sound and a decisive vibrato, preludes the full orchestra, "baroque-like" just right, with themes reminiscent of 18th-century arias.
We then move on to "Secondo Tempo - Adagio", the central theme of this concerto grosso. The theme is immediately presented by the solo violin, then quickly echoed by the electric guitar. The first "sung" part of the album then arrives, the New Trolls' choruses have few equals, though here they don't overdo it, everything is calibrated. Now the central theme returns, with the full orchestra, but the electric bass and drums give it a more rock touch, extraordinarily natural and homogeneous. The theme is beautiful, dramatically rich in pathos: it invites Di Palo, who then delivers a tense, nervous, beautiful electric guitar solo. It is one of the highest moments in Italian music.
Then we move on to "Terzo Tempo - Cadenza - Andante con moto": the violin is the protagonist of the piece, with a cadence reminiscent of a perpetual motion, dramatic, tense. The rest of the orchestra and the group's other instruments will then join in. The melody portends Bacalov's class as a composer. Towards the end, the return of the "Trollsian" choruses.
The first side of the album - but from a certain perspective the true concert - concludes with the reprise of the second movement "Shadows", dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, performed by the group alone, indulging in "improvisations on the theme", commendable and with all the characteristics of the group: Nico Di Paolo's unique guitar and voice, De Scalzi's flute and voice, the choruses, the sure instrumental technique, the taste for melody and the more rock vein, elements also present on the second side of the album, a twenty-minute long improvisation by the group alone entitled "Nella Sala Vuota".

This album will leave its mark on Italian music (and beyond): the following year, Bacalov would try again with Osanna (with the release of "Milano
Calibro 9"), with Il Rovescio della Medaglia ("Contaminazione") with the same New Trolls five years later with "Concerto Grosso per i New Trolls n°2". But even though some of these are excellent albums, none would manage to recapture the magic, the originality of the first "Concerto Grosso".