When, at the turn of the eighteenth century, the Roman clergyman, Fortunato Santini, played by Italian actor Renato Scarpa, discovers at the age of twenty his fervent passion for music, he decides to dedicate the rest of his life to collecting the manuscript scores of the great composers, either autographs in their own hand or scores written out by professional copyists.
[1] Santini's secret in preserving all these important works from the history of European music is the elaborate network of friends and acquaintances that he builds.
Beginning in the libraries and among the cognoscenti of Italy, its reach extends throughout Europe, stretching from Rome to Vienna, from Paris to London, from Berlin to Moscow.
Then in 1902 this trove was rediscovered and brought to the attention of the public through by the work of Edward Dent, the distinguished British musicologist.
The Soundtrack is composed of musical pieces from Santini's collection, some performed for the first time under conductor Favio Colusso by the Ensemble Seicentonovecento.