Concetta Seila Mammoccio: Crafting Maledictus Sigillum – Innovation and Artistic Vision in the Digital Music Era
- WOMCO
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Concetta Seila Mammoccio, from Italy, received the First Prize and the Great Creativity Special Prize in the 2025 Season 3 World Melody Music Competition for her composition Maledictus Sigillum, presented through an artistic video production. The competition took place from 15 May to 15 August 2025, with results announced on 3 September.
Could you please introduce your award-winning Composition Maledictus Sigillum? When and under what circumstances was it composed? Could you share the inspiration behind the composition and the message you hope to convey through it?
Concetta Seila Mammoccio:
"Maledictus Sigillum is a soundtrack, conceived in its final form as film or video game music in the thriller/horror genre, with a very unique and surprising genesis story. Ironically, its compositional debut was committed by the director of a nursery school, a nun, for a music education project for children. More specifically, they needed a rap soundtrack for an end-of-year play, in which they were to sing a nursery rhyme. Now, watching the video, it seems absurd, doesn't it? The nursery rhyme's original title was "Lullaby," so the audio track I was asked to create was about a minute long. It obviously had to have a simple but repetitive, almost obsessive, refrain to help the children sing the lyrics, and it also had to be performed with instruments the students could reproduce during the play. Therefore, the very first version of the composition, which I left in its entirety as the basis for the composition, also as a bit of a lucky charm, consisted of creating a short, effective tune that would immediately stick in your head, with a recognizable identity from the very first listen. In fact, I performed the first musical phrase on the piano, enriching it with other instruments, including the triangle, handle bells, maracas, egg shakers, sand shakers, to recreate the typical rap gunshots. At the end, I used all children's instruments, but I immediately sensed a much more visceral nuance, with an evolutionary musical potential and sonic flexibility that hadn't yet manifested itself to me but were in the air. After the recital, I put the composition in a drawer, but I kept the audio track, setting it as my phone's ringtone. And it was precisely here that, hearing it again with every call, I was curious to return to my composition and attempt an orchestration of a track that wasn't, so to speak, mono-instrumental. You could say it was my own composition that called me back! Yes, I'm aware that the starting and ending points of this work are incredible! Gradually, it was a personal challenge to bring an orchestral composition to life. I gradually developed it, adding more and more instruments, from bongos to strings: violins, cello, and carillon, creating counterpoints to the initial musical cell, and concluding with my own voice, which vocalized the primary melodic phrase. From a simple rap beat, through the rock of the drums, I shaped the piece into a darker atmosphere, basing it on fear, on the sense of anguish, in its purest dynamics, which intensifies with climaxes not only in terms of expression, understood by the fortissimo piano passages, but also in the journey from inner peace to the tumult of agony, with an almost tribal undertone, from the roots to the explosion of evil."
What was your creative process like while composing Maledictus Sigillum? How did you approach the structure and dynamics of the piece?
Concetta Seila Mammoccio:
"Maledictus sigillum originates from an almost buzzy motif, consisting of firt part, a development, and a coda lasting just one minute. In the first version was initially performed on piano alone, inserting a trill ad ibidem into the long notes, and punctuating each piano bar with handbells, intended to evoke an echo and a mysterious call, and from the "shh," the onomatopoeia for silence created with my voice. Furthermore, to make the rap genre more impactful, I recreated the sound of a gun magazine, with a counter-rhythm of egg shakers and sand shakers. Subsequently, from an almost mono-instrumental musical formula, I developed the idea of an orchestral structure, performing transitions from one refrain to another with marching and tribal sequences with bongos and arco, obtaining more evolved forms in the refrains by introducing octaves in the piano phrasing of the initial melodic line, through cadenced refrains embellished with mordents, aimed at retracing the moments of greatest timbral and expressive intensity. And to a rock development provided by the drums, I inserted purely classical counterpoints of pizzicato strings, violins, viola, cello and double bass, imbued with climaxes. To enhance the typically terrifying, dark atmosphere, I superimposed a muted dreaming bell chant over the piano, creating a high-tension finale. I sang the octave melodic line of the piano cadence myself, using my soprano voice. I also formed a chorus, in unison, further formed by duplicating my voice an octave lower and an octave higher, with intervals created by the sound of the pistol's reload. In the introduction, middle, and closing sections, I recorded the turning of keys in locks, the sound of high-heeled shoes during a short walk, the creaking of doors opening and closing, and, as a special highlight, the voice of my father calling me in the distance, for added narrative emphasis. Being a musician first and foremost, unlike the usual work of any composer, I created my composition, not by writing it down, but by imagining it sonically, immediately starting to play sequences, assembling different instruments, studying the bars to be performed in front of the keyboard and strings, and only finally, once the composition was assembled and completed, transcribing my work into sheet music. An undoubtedly artisanal art form, derived from my personal harmonic taste, from the musical and cultural influences of my favorite cinema, which have shaped me over the course of my life."
As Maledictus Sigillum was presented through an artistic video production, could you tell us about the process of creating the visual component? How did you approach the relationship between the music and the imagery, and what role did the visuals play in expressing the essence of the piece?
Concetta Seila Mammoccio:
"From the concept of fear that my composition expresses, the inevitable association arose with the creation of a video that would represent and be represented not by a simple transcription of musical notation, but by a true short film in the purely thriller/horror genre, of which I am a fanatic. I took care of the direction and the set design, while still leaving room for the viewer's imagination and personalization of the narrative, providing only the story's input. From the now orchestral soundtrack, I revisited an old script of mine that based the plot on the seal of a ring—specifically, my own, featuring the noble coat of arms of my family. The plot, revisited for this short, seeks to portray on screen the story of a ruthless assassin, played by me in the video, who feels the urge to kill when directly summoned by a seal, a cursed ring, through telepathic and paranormal contact. In fact, she goes to retrieve the seal, which, once worn, she uses to commit the massacre, where the person becomes one with the spirit of the seal, becoming its personification. She kills with the seal's hand, and this is where the gloves make sense. The murderer's hand becomes merely the instrument of death, once the gloves with the seal are worn, and a curse and possession are in place. By overseeing the filming, the positioning of the lights and cameras, I can say that images are always crucial. They set the pace, the speed of the musical and narrative passages, they impact the details, they tell the story, everywhere, in a fascinating contrast created by a static environment and the unstoppable musical frenzy. A single room is enough to create an irrepressible story and imbue it with atmospheres, from suspense to mystery, from curiosity to horror, keeping the viewer glued to the action. A pair of stiletto heels, the creaking of a door, is enough to immerse a man in the otherworldly world. Indeed, often the set itself gives shape to unexpected ideas, given by a particular camera position, or unrepeatable chiaroscuro effects due to the refraction of light, which create shadows and suggest the key turning points."
Could you talk to us about yourself, your journey in music, and your future goals? Could you also share your perspective on what defines a great composer in today’s digital age, and what you consider to be the most significant artistic or professional challenges facing composer today and in the coming years?
Concetta Seila Mammoccio:
"I am, first and foremost, a performer with a significant, almost obsessive, piano technique in my hands, but also in the mindset with which I produce work that is meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail. Despite having completed and matured through traditional training and studies (conservatory, master's degree, postgraduate studies, a career in competitions and concerts as a pianist, and in chamber music and orchestral ensembles), I recognize the preservation of a less traditionalist flair, with a clear predilection for experimenting with repertoire, for exploring complex, dynamic compositional structures, and "noisy" sounds. Above all, I possess a visceral capacity for interpretation and internalization of identification, far removed from classical canonization. I certainly invest in a perspective aimed at merging music with a visual trajectory. Music must not be heard but seen, reflecting not only the face of its composer but also shaping the body and sensations of everyone. Images have a preferential path and a potential for dissemination that is highly suited to this. One of the great hurdles to overcome in the digital age is making the public understand the quality of one's work. While market liberalization has empowered everyone, bringing reduced costs and immediate dissemination, to produce and publish their work without manipulative intervention from third parties or intermediaries, on the other hand, it has led to a lack of discernment among the audience when it comes to discerning whether a product is valid and of high quality. Today, I see the public being fooled by fake geniuses, who perhaps only had a hunch and ride the wave of success without solid content, with improvised equipment and cultural inexperience, but with an impressive following. Today, all that glitters seems gold, even though it isn't. Everyone improvises, arranges other people's works, remixes, limiting themselves to mere copying just to gain fame. And this relegates professionals to niche production with little demand, who struggle to gain recognition because they are considered elite. The creator's intellectualization becomes a veto on the marketing of their work, snubbed because it is a priori considered expert and specialized. With the advent of autotune, synthesizers, MIDI, and AI, a discoverer, a craftsman, no longer makes sense. Rhythms, percussion, and speeds become standardized, voices all sound the same, devoid of authenticity and individual identity, with their own flaws and vocal imperfections, mere memories of past recordings. We are witnessing a technical and aesthetic perfectionism in the recording and video industry, granted to us by the digital age we live in, which is frightening. Since the advent of technological evolution, and we are a good twenty years into it, we listen to music without being able to recognize the author of the song, sometimes confusing the artists, due to a prevailing standardization of composition, vocals, and instrumentation, not to mention the aesthetic aspect aimed at nudism, devoid of any narrative perspective. If we look back at history, however, we can see immense changes in compositional forms over the course of several twenty-year periods, recognizable in their uniqueness by listening to just the first few notes of a piece. A great composer, in my opinion, is someone who manages to remain true to himself, with his own artistic vision, his own signature style, open to criticism for his human imperfection, but unclogable in a sea of androids."
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and anyone you'd like to thank?
Concetta Seila Mammoccio:
"Yes, participation in any event that showcases quality and ingenuity is always to be appreciated and supported. I always thank all those who dedicate part of their time to listening to what I have to offer, which may perhaps serve as an incentive for future generations to be tenacious in their goals."
Biography
Maestro Concetta Seila Mammoccio is a concert pianist, video producer/filmmaker, director of the Department of Music and Visual Arts, and founder of the Norman Academy's "Meritum Honoris et Magni Meriti" award. She graduated with the Ministerial Abbreviation for Merit and earned a Master's Degree with 110 cum laude in composition-interpretation, specializing in performance practice and piano repertoire. She performs regularly in the world's most renowned theaters and concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Bozar in Brussels, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. A master of the virtuoso repertoire, renowned in Italy and abroad for her acrobatic performances, reviving masterpieces by Cziffra, Ginzburg, Liszt, and Rachmaninov, she currently holds over 70 victories in prestigious international music competitions in Vienna, Moscow, Turin, Los Angeles, Como, Berlin, London, Florence, New York, Padua, Amsterdam, Milan, Brussels, Salzburg, Bari, and Paris. As a certified video producer/filmmaker, she is a mark of excellence, with over 1,500,000 views on her YouTube channel from over 100 countries. Her video production has also received global awards in New York, Los Angeles, and London, including Best Video, Film, and Web Production, from the Telly Awards, W3 Awards, Davey Awards, Communicator Awards, Global Music Awards, Golden Classical Music Awards, Music & Stars Awards, Global Genius Music Competition, World Artistry Music Award, and more, in multiple categories: Best Instrumentalist, Best Classical Piano Soloist, Best Solo Instrumental Performance, Best Live Event, Best Sound Impact, Best Online Entertainment, Best Online Video, Best Editing, Best Originality and Creativity, Best Chamber Music Ensemble, and Best Composition. Formerly Director of the Department of Music and Visual Arts at the Norman Academy, in 2024 she founded the prestigious "Meritum Honoris et Magni Meriti" award, the Merit of Honor and High Merit, aimed at honoring the merits of their fellow citizens at home, brands of export and undisputed artistic excellence around the world. A criminologist and writer, she teaches at Lumsa and Upter. She has published numerous poetry collections, novels, and scientific, legal, and criminological volumes with leading Italian publishing houses (Montedit, Pagine, Fondazione Mario Luzi, Pacini Giuridica).