Innocence and Grace

L’albero degli zoccoli, by the Italian director Ermanno Olmi, polyphonically narrates the lives of peasant families in late-nineteenth-century Italy. The soundtrack prominently features works by J.S. Bach, mostly for the organ, performed by the celebrated Italian organist Fernando Germani. This article recounts the genesis of Olmi’s musical choices, discussing his views on music, on Bach, and on the interaction with musicians. Moreover, it is argued that Olmi purposefully employed some specific pieces in conjunction with particular characters and situations; it will be demonstrated that Olmi considered Bach’s music a symbol for God’s Grace, underpinning the film’s most significant moments in a liturgy of life, of fecundity, and of love. Bach’s music transmits the pervasive religious sentiment of the peasants to present-day audiences, asserting the holiness and the miracle of life.