Ennio Morricone has died(hollywoodreporter.com)
hollywoodreporter.com
Ennio Morricone has died
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ennio-morricone-dead-prolific-italian-composer-was-91-858358
136 comments
Morricone and Leone were classmates, so it’s not impossible to think they might have watched Kurosawa’s work together. However, it’s more likely that Morricone’s influences were coming from a ‘60s Italy that was in a continuous state of near-revolt, where folk music was explicitly being rediscovered in opposition to the establishment (which, in Italian musical terms, meant opera and prewar songs). Using “the people’s” instruments was a statement as much as a stylistic choice.
> Using “the people’s” instruments was a statement as much as a stylistic choice.
That makes sense.
Another thing I noticed is that the harmonic and melodic language Morricone's early Italo Western music has striking similarities to instrumental guitar tunes of the 60s by artists like The Shadows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ) or Neil LeVang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7fjfqzcOM).
Anyway, like most great artists, Morricone borrowed from various sources to create his own unique style. Even Mozart, whose style many people would nowadays describe as very "pure", was accused by contemporary critics of being too eclectic.
That makes sense.
Another thing I noticed is that the harmonic and melodic language Morricone's early Italo Western music has striking similarities to instrumental guitar tunes of the 60s by artists like The Shadows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ) or Neil LeVang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir7fjfqzcOM).
Anyway, like most great artists, Morricone borrowed from various sources to create his own unique style. Even Mozart, whose style many people would nowadays describe as very "pure", was accused by contemporary critics of being too eclectic.
don't remember exactly if it was a bio, and interview or something else, no ok wait now i remember, it was from the book "Superonda Storia segreta della musica italiana" by Valerio Mattioli (a recent book about the sperimental/pop music scene in Italy, tightly connected with the Darmstadt School and John Cage for the later, influecend by for the second), though in the book it is clear that Morricone and Leone never shared much during their childhood (they saw each other again after 25 years from those school days), and actually they came back together almost by chance also because Leone had different ideas about the music that Morricone provided for another movie, Gunfight at Red Sands/Gringo (Duello del Texas), music he utterly disliked, but probably neither Morricone cared much since he used a moniker.
Actually, in the 1960s Morricone joined the experimental improvisation ensemble "Nuova Consonanza" where he played trumpet and flute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruppo_di_Improvvisazione_Nuov...
He was very well aware of the contemporary classical/experimental music scene and you can hear the influence in his scores.
He was very well aware of the contemporary classical/experimental music scene and you can hear the influence in his scores.
> US-American Western film music used to be lush orchestral scores
Guess that makes "Once Upon A Time In The West" the one where he fused the US-American style with his own
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcg-iCBivbw
Guess that makes "Once Upon A Time In The West" the one where he fused the US-American style with his own
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcg-iCBivbw
Yeah, one of the most beautiful movie soundtracks ever. Sad to say there's nowhere as good composers in modern Hollywood.
Morricone himself addresses this in an old interview (https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2016/12/11/morricone-interview...)
Your first big film success was A Fist Full of Dollars, whose score is very different from that of the Hollywood Westerns. Your cultural perspective is obviously different. What were the stimuli?
The stimulus was the film itself. Leone had made an ironic and, in a certain sense, a grotesque film in that it was funny, a caricature. It was necessary to respect the clarity that Leone wanted for his characters. Besides, I was not, and am not, a specialist in American folk music, so what sense was there in my treating the characters like Americans? If that is required, use an American composer. So, I treated Leone’s characters by attempting to re-invent, in my way, American folk, bearing in mind certain musical and technical data. And then the caricatured treatment of the characters encouraged me to introduce strange sounds into the score so that the character would have the charisma Leone wanted.
Not that I know much about it, but I find music in some old japanese movies very interesting, like Woman In The Dunes (https://youtu.be/UFbJ9iDeZgg) or Kwaidan (https://youtu.be/v_OFoOwzPZY)
Your first big film success was A Fist Full of Dollars, whose score is very different from that of the Hollywood Westerns. Your cultural perspective is obviously different. What were the stimuli?
The stimulus was the film itself. Leone had made an ironic and, in a certain sense, a grotesque film in that it was funny, a caricature. It was necessary to respect the clarity that Leone wanted for his characters. Besides, I was not, and am not, a specialist in American folk music, so what sense was there in my treating the characters like Americans? If that is required, use an American composer. So, I treated Leone’s characters by attempting to re-invent, in my way, American folk, bearing in mind certain musical and technical data. And then the caricatured treatment of the characters encouraged me to introduce strange sounds into the score so that the character would have the charisma Leone wanted.
Not that I know much about it, but I find music in some old japanese movies very interesting, like Woman In The Dunes (https://youtu.be/UFbJ9iDeZgg) or Kwaidan (https://youtu.be/v_OFoOwzPZY)
The Soundtrack Show podcast had an interesting three episode series on Morricone and the making of the Leone movies themselves:
https://pca.st/episode/21779b37-f458-496a-a3c8-3828e1dec912
https://pca.st/episode/21779b37-f458-496a-a3c8-3828e1dec912
Thanks for sharing this,but I found there are only two episodes,did I have missed episode III?
You're right, my old eyes inserted an extra 'I' looking at the phone :).
Thanks for that interview link!
BTW, the film music for both movies you've linked has been written by Tōru Takemitsu, one of the most important contemporary classical composers of Japan in the 20th century. He is also quite well known outside of Japan (at least in New Music circles).
BTW, the film music for both movies you've linked has been written by Tōru Takemitsu, one of the most important contemporary classical composers of Japan in the 20th century. He is also quite well known outside of Japan (at least in New Music circles).
Thanks, I didn't connect the dots.
Claudia's theme from Once Upon A Time in The West is as good as it gets.
https://youtu.be/AHe07HT5NQA
Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone has to be one of the greatest partnerships in film history, so many unforgetable moments:
https://youtu.be/qwb3P0fuM1c
Here is a very good old interview, with several references to their collaboration:
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2016/12/11/morricone-interview...
Their last film together:
https://youtu.be/Jj5Xczethmw
https://youtu.be/AHe07HT5NQA
Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone has to be one of the greatest partnerships in film history, so many unforgetable moments:
https://youtu.be/qwb3P0fuM1c
Here is a very good old interview, with several references to their collaboration:
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2016/12/11/morricone-interview...
Their last film together:
https://youtu.be/Jj5Xczethmw
> Claudia's theme from Once Upon A Time in The West is as good as it gets.
Hear hear, one of the most evocative pieces ever written, sends shivers down my spine every time. A real masterpiece.
Hear hear, one of the most evocative pieces ever written, sends shivers down my spine every time. A real masterpiece.
https://youtu.be/qwb3P0fuM1c That's awesome. So many crappy movies these days. 50+ years old, its amazing to me the quality is so high as well. I'm going to have to rent this.
You should. The visuals are stunning, the score is highlights galore, and Henry Fonda is the ultimate villain.
This movie for me is the ultimate proof that less talking is often better. The picture itself can speak volumes, I mean first 15 minutes of the movie there are like 10 sentences being said altogether, yet the story is well laid out.
This was one of few movies from the west that was allowed behind iron curtain, it became part of my childhood. I've seen it at least 15 times, it never gets boring even for a second. Timeless story, character, and the music... Leone/Morricone understood (in similar vein as George Lucas and others) that music can make one hell of atmosphere for the movie, much better than just awesome visuals and something mediocre in the background.
I like it even better than rest of Leone's movies, maybe a bit sentimental remainder from my childhood.
This was one of few movies from the west that was allowed behind iron curtain, it became part of my childhood. I've seen it at least 15 times, it never gets boring even for a second. Timeless story, character, and the music... Leone/Morricone understood (in similar vein as George Lucas and others) that music can make one hell of atmosphere for the movie, much better than just awesome visuals and something mediocre in the background.
I like it even better than rest of Leone's movies, maybe a bit sentimental remainder from my childhood.
7 years ago Bruce Springsteen in Milan used this song as the intro theme for his concert and it was the best thing ever. Still get shivers looking at the video
https://youtu.be/Qm3lYTtJ8gs
https://youtu.be/Qm3lYTtJ8gs
Morricone scored most of the films that Elio Petri and Gian Maria Volonté made together... that's another iconic film partnership that Morricone was part of, though less centrally in this case.
I have a spotify playlist with a bunch of Morricone's pieces on it, and oddly I discovered him as a teenager listening to a super weird goth band called Fields of the Nephilim, whose schtick was basically dressing up as vampire cowboys, and they sampled Morricone as a leitmotif throughout a whole bunch of their songs. Most familiar will be this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcg-iCBivbw
It's easy to miss that there was a lot of truly great art wrapped up with what we were taught was kitsch, camp, and schmaltz.
It's easy to miss that there was a lot of truly great art wrapped up with what we were taught was kitsch, camp, and schmaltz.
Can you share the playlist?
Sure, there's a bunch of other stuff in it for classic guitar as well since I assembled it essentially as workout music for schooling horses in the summer with some guitar repetoire: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5nFrK21I8wIZin0T7i71zH
YMMV, but there is a Morricone highlight reel in there, along with some other epic stuff. If you are a Quentin Tarantino fan, you'll recognize things like L'Arena and others from Kill Bill, with a bunch of other homages.
YMMV, but there is a Morricone highlight reel in there, along with some other epic stuff. If you are a Quentin Tarantino fan, you'll recognize things like L'Arena and others from Kill Bill, with a bunch of other homages.
> It's easy to miss that there was a lot of truly great art wrapped up with what we were taught was kitsch, camp, and schmaltz.
I had a similar revelation seeing Don Rickles perform about 12 years ago. I went to see Rickles with a friend, but my primary motivation was to feel superior by basking in the kitsch of a dinosaur comedian from my parents' generation.
What I ended up seeing was a remarkably talented man who could sing, dance (in his 80s!), tell a joke, and hold the audience in the palm of his hand.
* edit: I also love this song by Morricone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G54OHh8lib0
I had a similar revelation seeing Don Rickles perform about 12 years ago. I went to see Rickles with a friend, but my primary motivation was to feel superior by basking in the kitsch of a dinosaur comedian from my parents' generation.
What I ended up seeing was a remarkably talented man who could sing, dance (in his 80s!), tell a joke, and hold the audience in the palm of his hand.
* edit: I also love this song by Morricone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G54OHh8lib0
I remember Fields of Nephilim - listened to them again recently & they actually hold up pretty well. Psychonaut is a good one..
Didn't think I'd ever see The Fields of the Nephilim mentioned on HN :) I first saw them live at the Glasgow Rooftops club when they released Dawn Razor back in 1987. As you mention the music basically riffed off of the Spaghetti Western genre and took it to a darker place. That first Neph gig was a genuinely unsettling but amazing event...the lighting, the band's sartorial schtick with the long "dusters" coated in flour (I believe), the thumping beat and McCoy's growl. Add to that, the Rooftops was a bit of a shadowy seedy joint littered with shady customers and the gig not starting until after midnight.
The first track on the Dawnrazor album is a cover/rework of Morricone's "The Harmonica Man" which sets the album up quite nicely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLkqtb_AVjQ
As an aside from the Morricone thing, they were one of the best live bands I've seen in all my gig going history having been to see them aroun 10-12 times over the years.
The first track on the Dawnrazor album is a cover/rework of Morricone's "The Harmonica Man" which sets the album up quite nicely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLkqtb_AVjQ
As an aside from the Morricone thing, they were one of the best live bands I've seen in all my gig going history having been to see them aroun 10-12 times over the years.
He toured with live performances very frequently, only retiring from live music last year, at age of 90. I saw him twice and both were filled with really serious fans of all ages.
While he was prolific (350+ movie scores credits on imdb), I really feel as I am re-experiencing the movie while listening to Morricone's soundtracks, more than from any other composer, especially for "Cinema Paradiso", "Frantic" and, I think, the most meaningful Spaghetti Western, "Duck, You Sucker" (!).
While he was prolific (350+ movie scores credits on imdb), I really feel as I am re-experiencing the movie while listening to Morricone's soundtracks, more than from any other composer, especially for "Cinema Paradiso", "Frantic" and, I think, the most meaningful Spaghetti Western, "Duck, You Sucker" (!).
Another name for “Duck you sucker” is “Fistful of Dynamite”.
I don't know most of his work, but I've had two channels into it in my life.
1. I have distinct childhood memories of the score from Once Upon a Time in the West from when my dad watched it (and then watching it myself). It still stirs something deep, that's not just nostalgia.
2. Following Mike Patton's musical journey and finding the haunting version The Ballad of Hank McCain in collaboration with John Zorn - from an album composed entirely of covers of Ennio Morricone tracks (The Big Gundown).
I'll need to educate myself further.
1. I have distinct childhood memories of the score from Once Upon a Time in the West from when my dad watched it (and then watching it myself). It still stirs something deep, that's not just nostalgia.
2. Following Mike Patton's musical journey and finding the haunting version The Ballad of Hank McCain in collaboration with John Zorn - from an album composed entirely of covers of Ennio Morricone tracks (The Big Gundown).
I'll need to educate myself further.
I'm a very big fan of him. It's so sad but we all knew he was in the late stages of his life.
He was for me the biggest composer of the second half of 20th century, which just happened to do music for films (also for some Italian pop music, but it was less prolific there).
Requiescat in Pace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3SAOQfMA44
He was for me the biggest composer of the second half of 20th century, which just happened to do music for films (also for some Italian pop music, but it was less prolific there).
Requiescat in Pace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3SAOQfMA44
> He was for me the biggest composer of the second half of 20th century, which just happened to do music for films (also for some Italian pop music, but it was less prolific there).
My thought exactly. He actually made film music a genre by itself - even though I like to think of film music the other way round and tend to consider that it's actually the last refuge of well-written, and in that sense "classical", music. Come to think of it, it's actually film music that unifies the wildly different, highly creative, rich and thoughtful music from Glass to Legrand, from Vangelis to Morricone, from Sakamoto to Metheny.
My thought exactly. He actually made film music a genre by itself - even though I like to think of film music the other way round and tend to consider that it's actually the last refuge of well-written, and in that sense "classical", music. Come to think of it, it's actually film music that unifies the wildly different, highly creative, rich and thoughtful music from Glass to Legrand, from Vangelis to Morricone, from Sakamoto to Metheny.
This has made me sad :(
Metallica introduced me to his music and then I explored a lot. Had a privilege to witness his performance live once. Ennio Morricone is a legend! RIP Maestro!
Metallica introduced me to his music and then I explored a lot. Had a privilege to witness his performance live once. Ennio Morricone is a legend! RIP Maestro!
Metallica always called him Maestro:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmtzRo-Qro8
Anyone who hasn't been in a Metallica concert, it is totally worth it, especially their (always the same) intro!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hmtzRo-Qro8
Anyone who hasn't been in a Metallica concert, it is totally worth it, especially their (always the same) intro!
I didn't realize he composed Ecstacy of Gold. Thanks for sharing: https://youtu.be/ZNGe7iK1O-4
I know Morricone's name due to the beginning of Metallica's S&M album with the San Francisco Symphony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKypYslGEA8
Although it was enough to get me to pick up "Yo-yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone" that I also recommend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQCGvfBc-oI&list=PL2D68C2EE4...
Despite the huge list of movies he has composed for, the only one I might have seen is "Lorenzo's Oil", and I'm not sure if I actually saw it or just heard the name quite a bit due to living in Pittsburgh at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Ennio_...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKypYslGEA8
Although it was enough to get me to pick up "Yo-yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone" that I also recommend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQCGvfBc-oI&list=PL2D68C2EE4...
Despite the huge list of movies he has composed for, the only one I might have seen is "Lorenzo's Oil", and I'm not sure if I actually saw it or just heard the name quite a bit due to living in Pittsburgh at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Ennio_...
Yup that's how I knew of Ecstacy of Gold originally. First album I ever had. Our walk out song in HS basketball was to the S&M version. I also went to the second showing of S&M^2 in SF.
I couldn't help but smile when the vocals came in.
I believe Hardwired Tour did not use this intro.
From Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ecstasy_of_Gold
"American metal band Metallica has used "The Ecstasy of Gold" as the introductory music for its concerts since 1984."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ecstasy_of_Gold
"American metal band Metallica has used "The Ecstasy of Gold" as the introductory music for its concerts since 1984."
they did use it
He never had the public recognition he deserved unfortunately. I'm still surprised at how many people can whistle many of his pieces without knowing who he is.
Are you sure about that? At least in Europe, Morricone has long been recognized as one of the great.
My statement is biased by my own experiences I admit. Maybe the honorary Oscar he received in 2007 is somewhat a more objective illustration of what I meant.
He did get an Oscar for The Hateful Eight in 2015, though.
He should have gotten one for 'the good, the bad, the ugly'. Didnt check though who else got it that year.
This one did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Free (original score by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barry_(composer) )
Fun fact: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly did not receive an academy award nomination in any category.
Fun fact: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly did not receive an academy award nomination in any category.
Leone’s movies were consistently discounted by US critics.
He should have gotten one for The Mission. Gabriel's Oboe is, I think, his most beautiful theme.
My impression is that he's very well known here in Europe. Sure, not as much as whoever the year's pop sensation is, but Morricone is one of the few modern composers many people know by name.
His death is now a major headline on news sites from several different countries, too.
His death is now a major headline on news sites from several different countries, too.
In France at least (and in Italia I guess) Morricone is very well known. If you would ask people to cite at least one famous score composer Morricone would probably be cited amongst the first, closely followed by Vladimir Cosma.
Actually it is not Morricone public recognition that we should worry about since it is already quite wide, but the fact that he's almost the only Italian composer to get all the fame, while there is so many of them that deserve better recognition, including Morricone collaborators such as Bruno Nicolai and Allessandroni which is responsible for the infamous whistling in Morricone scores.
Actually it is not Morricone public recognition that we should worry about since it is already quite wide, but the fact that he's almost the only Italian composer to get all the fame, while there is so many of them that deserve better recognition, including Morricone collaborators such as Bruno Nicolai and Allessandroni which is responsible for the infamous whistling in Morricone scores.
I don't agree. Maybe not so much in the US, Morricone is recognized world wide.
We had practically a whole semester on his work in my music undergrad degree for the film composition module.
I suspect it's a cultural and generational thing. These days many Americans can't name the modern composers who score the films they watch.
For the generation who grew up with the Fistful series, they probably know Ennio Morricone is extricably linked to Sergio Leone, much in the same way my generation knows John Williams and George Lucas are linked.
For the generation who grew up with the Fistful series, they probably know Ennio Morricone is extricably linked to Sergio Leone, much in the same way my generation knows John Williams and George Lucas are linked.
I don't know about you, but he's one of the few composers I knew by name, so he was well-known
In Chile at least he was huge. His concerts there sold out quickly.
He is such a genius he probably opened his sincere mouth with whoever issue official recognition.
He probably never cared for public fame.
He probably never cared for public fame.
Not about fame, but he definitely cared about the money: his work has been constantly (ab)used in advertising since forever.
So did the beatles songs. I'm not sure licensing creation to ads is a sigh of loving money. Could even be the opposite: his songs may have been the most affordable quality melodies licensed for ads.
Of course his soundtrack work is immortal. However, he also composed some iconic Italian pop songs! His most famous one is probably Mina's "Se Telefonando". [1]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6fpSiE953w
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6fpSiE953w
Once upon a time in the West has probably the best soundtrack ever made.
Great cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIipUjO2ckk
Great cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIipUjO2ckk
A couple random things:
1. How did Adam and the Ants never get sued over "Jolly Roger"? [1] The melody and even the arrangement are pretty much a straight copy of Morricone's "The March of the MacGregors" [2] from the movie "7 Guns for the MacGregors". Morricone should have at least got songwriting credit on "Jolly Roger", but it is just credited to Marco Pirroni and Adam Ant.
2. There are some interesting covers of Morricone songs. The Ramones did "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" in some of their live shows. Their version was pretty straightforward...if you heard it in isolation you would not have thought "Ramones".
Wall of Voodoo did "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly". Their version sounded like a Wall of Voodoo song.
Great music stays great even if arranged for and played on instruments quite different from what it was written for. An example of that is the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's version of "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" [3].
3. If all that comes to mind when you hear the name Ennio Morricone is a bunch of great spaghetti western music, it is worth getting a compilation or two of his work and listening to it.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4n-oo32Jg
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peGmy_oRz38
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgJ7pk0X-s
1. How did Adam and the Ants never get sued over "Jolly Roger"? [1] The melody and even the arrangement are pretty much a straight copy of Morricone's "The March of the MacGregors" [2] from the movie "7 Guns for the MacGregors". Morricone should have at least got songwriting credit on "Jolly Roger", but it is just credited to Marco Pirroni and Adam Ant.
2. There are some interesting covers of Morricone songs. The Ramones did "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" in some of their live shows. Their version was pretty straightforward...if you heard it in isolation you would not have thought "Ramones".
Wall of Voodoo did "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly". Their version sounded like a Wall of Voodoo song.
Great music stays great even if arranged for and played on instruments quite different from what it was written for. An example of that is the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's version of "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" [3].
3. If all that comes to mind when you hear the name Ennio Morricone is a bunch of great spaghetti western music, it is worth getting a compilation or two of his work and listening to it.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4n-oo32Jg
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peGmy_oRz38
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgJ7pk0X-s
One of my favorite Morricone creations is main theme for one of the greatest horror films of all time, John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing.[1]
I can't find it now, but in an interview Carpenter said something like that when he first worked with Morricone on this film, the latter came up with a very flowery, melodic theme, and Carpenter went to visit him but had trouble getting his ideas across to Morricone because of the language barrier, so he just said (through a translator): "Less notes"[2], and this is what Morricone came up with.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfcc9U35hPY
[2] - Which reminds me of the "too many notes" scene from Amadeus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_eqxh-Qok), but unlike Mozart, who took offense, Morricone seems to have taken the suggestion in stride and come up with a classic.
I can't find it now, but in an interview Carpenter said something like that when he first worked with Morricone on this film, the latter came up with a very flowery, melodic theme, and Carpenter went to visit him but had trouble getting his ideas across to Morricone because of the language barrier, so he just said (through a translator): "Less notes"[2], and this is what Morricone came up with.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfcc9U35hPY
[2] - Which reminds me of the "too many notes" scene from Amadeus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_eqxh-Qok), but unlike Mozart, who took offense, Morricone seems to have taken the suggestion in stride and come up with a classic.
I am such a big fan. Ecstasy of gold in the final scene of the good bad and the ugly was so good.
You may like this then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajM4vYCZMZk
So very sad :( One of my all time favourite composers. Such emotive music that bring back so many memories, not least my wife walking down the aisle to me to Gabriel's Oboe. RIP.
That piece gives me gooseflesh every time I hear it.
This is a wonderful and hilarious short interview with Morricone in the 80s: http://sdarchive.com/premiere2.html
I’ve listened to Morricone scores more often than I can count. This is very sad news. He was still working too.
I’ve listened to Morricone scores more often than I can count. This is very sad news. He was still working too.
This is great:
Fagen: But isn't it true that the Leone films, with their elevation of mythic structures, their comic book visual style and extreme irony, are now perceived as signaling an aesthetic transmutation by a generation of artists and filmmakers? And isn't it also true that your music for those films reflected and abetted Leone's vision by drawing on the same eerie catalog of genres - Hollywood western, Japanese samurai, American pop, and Italian Opera? That your scores functioned both "inside" the film as a narrative voice and "outside" the film as the commentary of a winking jester? Put it all together and doesn't it spell "postmodern", in the sense that there has been a grotesque encroachment of the devices of art and, in fact, an establishment of a new narrative plane founded on the devices themselves? Isn't that what's attracting lower Manhattan?
Morricone: [ shrugs ]
Fagen: But isn't it true that the Leone films, with their elevation of mythic structures, their comic book visual style and extreme irony, are now perceived as signaling an aesthetic transmutation by a generation of artists and filmmakers? And isn't it also true that your music for those films reflected and abetted Leone's vision by drawing on the same eerie catalog of genres - Hollywood western, Japanese samurai, American pop, and Italian Opera? That your scores functioned both "inside" the film as a narrative voice and "outside" the film as the commentary of a winking jester? Put it all together and doesn't it spell "postmodern", in the sense that there has been a grotesque encroachment of the devices of art and, in fact, an establishment of a new narrative plane founded on the devices themselves? Isn't that what's attracting lower Manhattan?
Morricone: [ shrugs ]
Another Morricone score worth mentioning is that for a great film - Cinema Paradiso.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQh4PeB8PE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQh4PeB8PE
Ci vediamo Ennio! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEjaip1ePYM
Another of the great melody writers is gone. He will be missed. His Cinema Paradiso theme is one of my all-time favorites -- not the love theme that's most commonly associated with the film, but the main theme, which plays during the opening. It's so infinitely tender and nostalgic.
https://youtu.be/BvD8EiibPVo
https://youtu.be/BvD8EiibPVo
Here’s the love theme performed by Pat and Charlie https://youtu.be/qEwXcgwzIYE
A lot of people have seen the Clint Eastwood "Man with no name" westerns but if you haven't watched "Once Upon a Time in the West" I would definitely check it out. One of the best movies I've seen and if you're not fan of westerns (which I wasn't) you will appreciate the genre some more after seeing this movie.
So many amazing moments in the Sergio Leone movies alone. One of my favourites is the pocket watch from "A Few Dollars More" which features on its own and also as part of the final duel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JPnR7C8mZQ
Such a haunting piece of music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JPnR7C8mZQ
Such a haunting piece of music.
Our building superintendant had it as his ringtone and spoiled the song for me.
This is where I'm supposed to empty out my HN eggcup, wear it on my head like a hat, and tell you that you're wrong because it's not a song, because it doesn't have any singing , vocal signal or poetry in it.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/song?s=t
But in all seriousness, I'm sorry that happened to you, that's terrible.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/song?s=t
But in all seriousness, I'm sorry that happened to you, that's terrible.
I'm Italian, living in San Francisco, in my 40s.
For essentially every Italian, in Italy or abroad, Morricone is one of these timeless figures.
His work is considered by many so inspirational and innovative in its own way; and if you pick one of the many contributions he made to music or cinema, you will find layers and layers of details to unveil, often to reveal important aspects of Italy's culture of the second half of the 20th century.
As an example: he composed "Se telefonando" [0], performed by Mina and written by Maurizio Costanzo.
Mina is "the female voice" of Italy's economic boom (1950-1970). He was then ostracized by every media outlet (TV, newspapers, etc) because he had a son without being married, and the Church heavily condemned it.
Maurizio Costanzo is one of the most important figures in Italian TV, and has had a show, the "Maurizio Costanzo show", for decades. Think of him as the Italian Oprah.
You can do this hundreds of times with many pieces that Morricone composed or arranged.
He kept performing at concerts until recently, despite his old age. In Italy people often remember his last appearance at La Scala (the most iconic theatre in Milan, considered to be THE place for Opera and high music, among other things), and concerts at Arena di Verona (a smaller Colosseum in Verona, hometown of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), the Colosseum in Rome, and the "Terme di Caracalla" also in Rome (ancient public bath houses, the second largest ever built).
He will be truly missed.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se_Telefonando
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baths_of_Caracalla
For essentially every Italian, in Italy or abroad, Morricone is one of these timeless figures.
His work is considered by many so inspirational and innovative in its own way; and if you pick one of the many contributions he made to music or cinema, you will find layers and layers of details to unveil, often to reveal important aspects of Italy's culture of the second half of the 20th century.
As an example: he composed "Se telefonando" [0], performed by Mina and written by Maurizio Costanzo.
Mina is "the female voice" of Italy's economic boom (1950-1970). He was then ostracized by every media outlet (TV, newspapers, etc) because he had a son without being married, and the Church heavily condemned it.
Maurizio Costanzo is one of the most important figures in Italian TV, and has had a show, the "Maurizio Costanzo show", for decades. Think of him as the Italian Oprah.
You can do this hundreds of times with many pieces that Morricone composed or arranged.
He kept performing at concerts until recently, despite his old age. In Italy people often remember his last appearance at La Scala (the most iconic theatre in Milan, considered to be THE place for Opera and high music, among other things), and concerts at Arena di Verona (a smaller Colosseum in Verona, hometown of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), the Colosseum in Rome, and the "Terme di Caracalla" also in Rome (ancient public bath houses, the second largest ever built).
He will be truly missed.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Se_Telefonando
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baths_of_Caracalla
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra has a great rendition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The guest conductor is Sarah Hicks, of the Minnesota Orchestra
https://youtu.be/enuOArEfqGo
https://youtu.be/enuOArEfqGo
A great interpretation of the main theme of For a Few Dollars More by an Italian street musician: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1IeozjGrck
I loved the soundtrack of The Mission. Might watch it again this week. RIP.
His themes were often iconic for their distinctive instrumentation and perhaps The Mission was the clearest example. It's a crime that he lost the Oscar to Herbie Hancock. Although the surf guitar sounds a bit cheesy or dated today, the main theme for The Sicilian Clan is another underappreciated and original creation of his: https://youtu.be/GwmdscZNTQU
Even smaller works like made-for-TV The Scarlet and the Black were iconic, IMO. One of the few composers who make it so you can recall a movie just by a few notes or one instrument in a song.
I went to see his live performance in Amsterdam a few years back. The show had been postponed due to back injury but it ended up happening a year later, and it was mesmerizing.
I had the privilege of seeing him live a few years ago. It strikes me how, despite his world-wide-acclaimed genius, he managed to remain so humble and reserved.
It took decades for the world to finally recognize his greatness (he only got a honorary Oscar in 2007 and finally in 2016, at 87 years of age, the first Oscar for a soundtrack), but it did finally happen. If you have 2 minutes, look for the video of the acceptance speech. It's difficult to avoid crying.
Once Upon A Time is the first Western I watched and became fan of Leone, Morricone and Bronson for life. I found it slow initially but the background score won't let me leave it. And from then on I binge watched as many Westerns as I could. Btw rendition by Danish Orchestra is also awesome https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=efdswXXjnBA
RIP sir and thank you for the art. Once Upon a Time in America and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly have burned a huge amount of my entertainment time.
He scored "La Bataille d'Alger"[1] ("The Battle of Algiers"), directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, which depicted events that took place in Algiers (specifically the Casbah), Algeria, during the war for independence. Algeria celebrated its independence day yesterday.
So long.
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb-OBWU4qY4
So long.
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb-OBWU4qY4
Bobak Ferdowsi, an engineer who wrote a lot of the operating procedures for the Curiosity Rover was a huge fan as well, and paid tribute in a tweet that encapuslates Morricone's spirit [1].
[1] - https://twitter.com/tweetsoutloud/status/1280043423429345280
Coincidentally, I watched Inglorious Basterds last night and have always loved the end credit music, so I let it run to the end. R.I.P. Ennio
Interesting that the article has attributed "Chi Mai" to a British TV series. But I always thought it was from the 1981
Belmondo movie (Le professionnel). In fact it was written in 1971 for another movie (Maddalena).
Absolutely beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbHP9NtSnB0
Absolutely beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbHP9NtSnB0
The Mission soundtrack was one of my favorites as a kid. And I just learned that his work on The Thing was nominated to a Razzie Award!
I was lucky enough to see him at Radio City about a decade ago, with the entirety of the Roma Sinfonietta playing for him and for us. It was one of the most impressive and moving musical performances I have ever seen in my life.
Seeing a coloratura soprano do The Ecstasy Of Gold right before me was mindblowing.
Seeing a coloratura soprano do The Ecstasy Of Gold right before me was mindblowing.
What also amazes me about his music is that how even some obscure movies he scored for had really great soundtracks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqre0jAq724
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqre0jAq724
I just rewatched The untouchables a week ago and remembered why I loved the music of that movie so much https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu2FekMaTQc
Al Capone's theme is so great.
Legendary composer.
Wish more young people knew his stuff, but kids really get bombarded with John Williams' stuff when they watch Star Wars.
But yeah, Ennio Morricone is every bit as important and influential as John Williams.
Wish more young people knew his stuff, but kids really get bombarded with John Williams' stuff when they watch Star Wars.
But yeah, Ennio Morricone is every bit as important and influential as John Williams.
Morricone did the score for "Treasure of the Four Crowns"; the explicit silliness of a film never seemed to stop him from putting in 100% effort to produce great music for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuOArEfqGo A fitting tribute, I think
I was listening to his masterpieces just yesterday and thought how wonderful his compositions are. I will miss him definitely. RIP
Chi Mai
I regret missing his concert a few years ago. He is amazing!
An amazing composer with a magic sound
[deleted]
collyw(1)
"Prolific" is a bit demeaning. He took soundtracks into mainstream consciousness in the '60s, and "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" is still an absolute masterpiece.
"Prolific" doesn't sound demeaning to me. It just means his oeuvre is large.
In criticism the word prolific is often used in a demeaning manner to imply that the artist under question has not put as much thought and care into their pieces as they might or should have, but instead went for quantity over quality.
I think though this usage has fallen out of favor and at any rate was probably more common among poor critics, I think nowadays it is understood that quantity of output might be necessary for some creators to achieve their best work (by producing some that is not as great as their best)
on edit: so the word is sometimes sort of a snob-whistle, ooh prolific, well they're saying he's not that good then. But I doubt that is the way it is being used here.
I think though this usage has fallen out of favor and at any rate was probably more common among poor critics, I think nowadays it is understood that quantity of output might be necessary for some creators to achieve their best work (by producing some that is not as great as their best)
on edit: so the word is sometimes sort of a snob-whistle, ooh prolific, well they're saying he's not that good then. But I doubt that is the way it is being used here.
It is also very often used of outstanding creators who are incredibly productive. I have seen it used that way many times. If anybody is using it pejoratively they need to stop. I think it would be a terrible shame if we had to tip-toe round our use of language because of misuse by others. I'm firmly against letting a small minority who are abusing language set the linguistic agenda in that way, although I have to say I don't remember seeing that usage myself.
I fully agree. As a lover of both music and cinema, I’ve (thankfully) never come across this linguistic abuse of “prolific”. If I did encounter it, the writer would immediately lose my respect and I’d probably stop reading.
I've never seen the word prolific being used as a demeaning adjective; the term derives from latin "proles" and "facere", as in creating children, in other words being productive. It's completely neutral wrt quality.
Also, I think nobody would use it as their company name if that word was even remotely related to low quality:) http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/index.aspx
Also, I think nobody would use it as their company name if that word was even remotely related to low quality:) http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/index.aspx
You really think people choose company names based on not triggering outmoded critical snobbery?
It's fascinating to me how you consistently produce shitty comments that cause other, possibly good people to waste time. I don't understand what you get out of it, but maybe I'm assuming too much in thinking that you're doing it on purpose?
ok, thanks, person whom I'm not familiar with but evidently has had a negative experience with me.
I just thought it was unlikely that anyone would consider the kind of snobbish attitude that I described as a deterrent to picking their name, or that they would even be necessarily familiar with it, as that would mean spending a lot of time reading somewhat antiquated literary theory.
but I guess I caused good people to waste their time, thereby.
I just thought it was unlikely that anyone would consider the kind of snobbish attitude that I described as a deterrent to picking their name, or that they would even be necessarily familiar with it, as that would mean spending a lot of time reading somewhat antiquated literary theory.
but I guess I caused good people to waste their time, thereby.
Sorry. I was in a bad mood. While I do often disagree with your comments, that's no reason for being mean about it. So again, my apologies!
You may be misunderstanding that word.
No I'm not. It indicates quantity, with little indication of quality. In artistic fields that's often used to describe people whose production was abundant but not necessarily remarkable in qualitative terms. People making jingles for tv ads are prolific. Morricone was more than prolific; he was a genius who changed his field and left a massive legacy.
Contra examples from simply googling "prolific + NAME":
Wikipedia on Mozart:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[a] (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,[b] was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.
British Library on Beethoven:
Ludwig van Beethoven was a very prolific composer, producing many symphonies, concertos, piano sonatas, violin sonatas, an opera, masses and several overtures.
NY Times on Bach:
If any measure of quality is applied to such a comparison, as it must be, Bach was one of the most prolific composers who ever lived; that meager output from Cöthen, for example, includes the “Brandenburg” Concertos, the orchestral suites, other concertos and the astounding solo works for violin and for cello.
Wikipedia on Mozart:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[a] (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,[b] was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.
British Library on Beethoven:
Ludwig van Beethoven was a very prolific composer, producing many symphonies, concertos, piano sonatas, violin sonatas, an opera, masses and several overtures.
NY Times on Bach:
If any measure of quality is applied to such a comparison, as it must be, Bach was one of the most prolific composers who ever lived; that meager output from Cöthen, for example, includes the “Brandenburg” Concertos, the orchestral suites, other concertos and the astounding solo works for violin and for cello.
> It indicates quantity, with little indication of quality.
So you agree that it's not an indication of quality, but claim that it's pejorative. Why?
> Morricone was more than prolific;
But he was prolific.
So you agree that it's not an indication of quality, but claim that it's pejorative. Why?
> Morricone was more than prolific;
But he was prolific.
The day to day and dictionary definitions of prolific contain no indication of quality. Mozart is probably the best known prolific composer. In all the artistic fields I'm aware, prolific is a complement, and orthogonal to quality. There are both prolific geniuses and prolific hacks.
You do not even take the time to look at a dictionary. Prolific means producing a lot. No mention of quality.
It's also used to describe artists like Picasso and Rubens.
However, I can see a similar approach in Masaru Satō's music for Kurosawa's Samurai movies with its sparse instrumentation and inclusion of jazz elements. The whole score is in stark contrast to the music of earlier Jidai-geki movies, which also favoured large sweeping orchestral music.
Given the fact that "A Fistful of Dollars" was basically a remake of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo", I have been wondering if Morricone had been influenced by Satō in any way.