Editorial
Just like foreign languages, music is also a language. To understand, comprehend, and appreciate it, one also needs to study diligently. Meanwhile, it is also a special artistic language, Although its letters There are only 7 notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, but with the changes in pitch, value, intensity, timbre, and sound speed, as well as the combination of different means of expression such as melody, rhythm, mode, and harmony, it can create a long-lasting and endless variety of music. Moreover, unlike the limitations of a country or ethnic language, it is a high-level language that transcends borders, ethnicities, and religions, and even explanations are no needed to resonate with human emotions, which can be widely spread worldwide and loved by the general public
Unfortunately for fans of Morricone's music, most are not yet professionals in the art. Therefore, it is very important to read carefully the articles of many excellent critics and learn more. British critic Jonathan Broxton has written a large number of excellent critical articles on 123 film scores scored by Morricone from 1997 to 2022. As the president of the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) and the film music consultant of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Broxton has rich knowledge and profound insights into the theory and practice of film music in many countries. His own famous website contains thousands of reviews of various types of music. His articles are broad in content but understandable in simple terms, rich in knowledge but with the finishing touch. Rarely involves esoteric music theory,It focuses on analyzing and introducing the connotation of music, the relevant historical background, the use of various musical instruments, the relationship between various genres, the characteristics of Morricone's works, etc., with special emphasis on the analysis of music and orchestration. While commenting on Morricone's works, he introduced a lot of musical knowledge related to Morricone's works, orchestration breakdown, musical figures, music history... For example, a large number of musicians: Domenico Modugno,Herb Alpert,Nino Rota,Burt Bacharach,Edda dell'Orso, Alessandro Alessandroni,Basil Poledouris,Max Steiner、Alfred Newman,Basil Poledouris,Bernard Herrmann, Wojciech Kilar, Chiara Ferraù, Henry Mancini,John Barry,Herbie Hancock,Howard Shore,Hans Zimmer,John Williams,Georges Delerue, Lisa Gerrard,(the western scores of Moross and Bernstein…..;Many specialty instruments other than those commonly used in symphony orchestras, e.g.:jaw harp,vibraphone,Hammond organ,arimbas,sitar, cimbalom, tabla drums, tambura, bansuri flute….;Various musical genres and performance techniques, e.g.:Bach style,Baroque flavored music,impressionistic orchestral,Dixieland jazz,Indian raga,Dies Irae,Scottish reels with marching,highland jig,bossa nova,Ragtime,jazz, Samba dance, Tijuana jazz,country-bluegrass fiddle, hoe-downs,sampled--whale song,sweeping strings,sampled,plucked bass,rock percussion,horse-gallop percussion,water percussion.....If you read his comments carefully, you can not only gain a deeper understanding of Morricone's works vertically, but also see a broader and more closely related musical world horizontally. After completing the translation, reading and editing of these articles, I can say that most of Morricone's film music works are either pearls or wonders, and each of them is worthy of careful listening and in-depth understanding. Many people will also have a feeling of blooming vision and looking far into the distance: "Ah, Morricone still has so many good works (including some strange and weird works) that need to be listened to and understood!" This leads to a more comprehensive understanding of Morricone's works, as well as his life and events , and a stage of deeper understanding. I hope to share these gains with more fans. There seems to be a lot to say, but it may not suit the needs of every enthusiast. The best way is to ask everyone to read carefully, listen, compare and draw their own conclusions. In order to save everyone's time and facilitate everyone's reading. I tried to put together a summary of the comments in an outline style to facilitate everyone's overall reading. If you have any feelings after reading that you would like to share with everyone, you are also welcome to contribute to this site (qilingren@hotmail.com) and publish them in your personal column. Thanks
Summary of Broxton's review 41-80
|
I Marziani Hanno Dodici Mani is an Italian science fiction comedy directed by Franco Castellano and Giuseppe ‘Pipolo’ Moccia. It tells the story of three aliens from a faraway planet, who arrive on Earth in Italy the early sixties. They have the ability to shape shift into any form, and once they arrive they decide to take on human identities so that they can study the species incognito. However, the more time they spend on Earth, and in Rome in particular, the more they fall in love with “la dolce vita” – and so they decide to hatch a plot which will allow them to stay on Earth forever.
The only available piece of Ennio Morricone’s music from this score is called “Marcia dei Marziani,” and is a short 82-second piece that begins with a snare drum tattoo, but eventually picks up a circus-like orchestral accompaniment with oompah brasses, trilling flutes, and a quirky percussive beat that sounds like a variation on traditional big top music. Beyond that, in terms of what the rest of the score sounds like, your guess is as good as mine – but you can listen to the March on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KKxVLTUFjc.
Focus on: oompah brass band, snare drum, orchestral music, vibrato flute, percussion |
Marcia del marionette (02:12) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/ns-images/ns-music/listen-new4.jpg) |
|
|
The only two pieces of score music ever released from Ennio Morricone’s score for In Ginocchio Da Te are the title track “In Ginocchio Da Te” and “Se Puoi Uscire Una Domenica Sola Con Me”. The title track is a sultry piece for solo saxophone and orchestra, with a light pop beat and a sweeping, lounge music sound that is appealing and very much typical of the time. “Se Puoi Uscire Una Domenica Sola Con Me,” translated as ‘If You Can Go Out One Sunday With Me’ and also known as ‘Blondes On Parade,’ is a cheerful throwback big-band jazz piece full of lively beats, swooning strings, muted brasses, and brushed snares , enlivened by what sound like playful variations on military cavalry charges. In the film the title track had lyrics by Bruno Zambrini and was performed as a song by lead actor Morandi with backing by Cantori Moderni di Alessandrini, and became a hit in its native country . 关注词:萨克斯管, 复古大乐队爵士乐曲,铜管, 拉丝军鼓 ( brushed snares) |
in ginocchio da te (03:14) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/ns-images/ns-music/listen-new4.jpg) |
|
|
I Due Evasi di Sing Sing is an Italian comedy directed by Lucio Fulci, who would later go on to direct numerous influential giallo horror films including Una Lucertola Con la Pelle di Donna, Zombi 2, The Beyond, and City of the Living Dead. Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia star as the Bacalones, two Sicilian cousins who are imprisoned in New York state’s notorious Sing Sing prison and are due to be executed in the gas chamber. As the date of their execution draws near, Franco starts the process of writing his memoirs – and so unfolds the tragi-comic tale of how they ended up in the slammer, which all began when the two of them unwittingly saved the life of a Mafia boss (Arturo Dominici) during an assassination attempt at a Turkish bath house, several years previously.
The only available piece of Ennio Morricone’s music from I Due Evasi di Sing Sing is the main title track, a 3-minute piece which alternates off-kilter arrangements of American patriotic standards like The Star Spangled Banner and Anchors Aweigh, with Italianate caper music, snare drum riffs, and bustling jazz licks for xylophones, muted brass, plucked bass, and a percussion combo.
Focus on: plucked bass,arrangements of American patriotic standards, snare drum, xylophone, brass, percussion
|
I due evasi di Sing Sing |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/ns-images/ns-music/listen-new4.jpg) |
|
|
Non Son Degno Di Te is an Italian romantic comedy directed by Ettore Maria Fizzarotti, and was the third star vehicle for the popular singer/crooner Gianni Morandi. It’s a sequel to the 1964 film Ginocchio Da Te, and its follow-up Se Non Avessi Più Te, and continues the story of the singer/soldier Traimonti. After the exploits of the first two films he has finally settled down with Carla (Laura Efikain), the daughter of his commanding officer. However, while Traimonti’s music career starts take off and he signs a new recording contract, Carla starts to feel neglected – until the suave and sophisticated Giorgio (Stelvio Rosi), a wealthy businessmen, comes in and threatens to sweep her off her feet and away from her husband. What will Carla do? Hilarity (and lots more 1960s romance) ensues.
The only piece of score music ever released from Ennio Morricone’s score for Non Son Degno Di Te is an instrumental arrangement of the title song, a lush and romantic piece of lounge music Euro-Pop that has a vivacious piano line backed by swooning strings, and wordless vocals courtesy of Cantori Moderni di Alessandrini. The song itself, which had lyrics by Bruno Zambrini, was performed by the film’s star, and was released as a 45RPM LP Single by RCA Italiana in combination with another song, “Per Una Notte No,” from the film La Mia Signorina which was scored by Armando Trovajoli. You can listen to the instrumental on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLr2YZBlc8c, and I recommend you do so because it’s quite lovely.
Focus on: Piano, strings, wordless vocals |
Non son degno di te (03:00) Bernardo Zambrini 谱曲, Ennio Morricone 改编,指挥 |
|
|
|
Thrilling is an Italian dark comedy anthology film featuring three distinct segments: L’Autostrada del Solo directed by Carlo Lizzani, Il Vittimista directed by Ettore Scola, and Sadik directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro. It tells the loosely inter-linked stories of three men (Alfredo Sordi, Nino Manfredi, and Walter Chari) who unwittingly become involved in violent crimes.
Two tracks from Ennio Morricone’s score for Thrilling were released as bonus tracks on the soundtrack for the 1968 film Danger: Diabolik, specifically the one released by Recording Arts Records in 2014 as part of a 2-CD set with the score for For a Few Dollars More. The two tracks are two versions of the same theme, “La Regola del Gioco,” with one being an instrumental and the other one a song. The instrumental is actually pretty cool, a laid back electric guitar riff with a smooth solo trumpet melody, soft rock percussion, strings, and a small group of vocalists intoning the word ‘thrilling’ and cooing wordlessly. The whole thing gives of an air of dispassionate moodiness, one part slightly seedy, one part slightly intoxicating. The song version is performed by vocalist Rita Monico, singing in Italian, who gives the whole thing a smoky-voiced sultriness, breathy and enticing.
Focus on: electric guitar, trumpet, rock percussion,Strings |
Thrilling (La regola del gioco) (02:51) Ennio Morricone composer,
Sergio Bardotti Lyrics,
Musy Lyrics.
Rita Monico Vocals |
|
|
|
Seven Guns for the MacGregors is an Italian spaghetti western directed by Franco Giraldi, who was Sergio Leone’s assistant director on A Fistful of Dollars. The film stars Robert Woods as Gregor MacGregor, the patriarch of a family of horse ranchers who have emigrated from Scotland to Texas to start a new life in the wild west. However, when they are robbed of their horses by a gang under the control of a corrupt local sheriff, the MacGregors hatch a plan to get them back and dole out some revenge – which they begin by trying to infiltrate the gang via the eldest son Peter (Nazzareno Zamperla).
The complete score for Seven Guns for the MacGregors has never been released but the main title piece, “Marcia dei MacGregor,” has been included in numerous Morricone spaghetti western compilations over the years, including the 1995 album Spaghetti Western from BMG Ariola, volume 2 of the 1992 French compilation album ‘Il Etait Une Fois Morricone’ from BMG, the 1999 album ‘Spaghetti Westerns Vol.3’ from DRG Records, and the 1988 2-CD set ‘I Western – The Italian Western’ from RCA Records.
Focus on: Scottish reels with marching,highland jig,English Drinking Songs, Percussion, Brass, Whistles, Bagpipes, Flute
|
SETTE DONNE PER I MACGREGOR (2:47) |
|
|
|
The score is bookended by two versions of a song, “Man for Me,” performed by vocalist Maria Cristina Brancucci – better known as Christy – a frequent Morricone collaborator who here is clearly trying to be Shirley Bassey but has neither the vocal pipes nor the charisma. Morricone’s score is a thinly-veiled parody of John Barry’s spy scores of the period, from the muted brasses and brushed snares of the title cue “Connery,” and subsequent pieces like “Missione Segreta,” “La Preda,” and the actually quite terrific pair “Contrabbando” and “Turbinosamente,” which reprise the main theme as a rollicking action motif.
There are several pieces of fun and upbeat period dance and Europop music (“Allegri Ragazzi”), a lovely lush love theme for acoustic guitar and a sultry string section (“Primo Amore,” and its playful pizzicato variation in “Fiori Galli”), a couple of frantic and aggressive jazz Latin-flavored action sequences (“Varco Nel Muro,” “Verso Il Mare,” “Connery Congiura”) and extended sequences of authentic sounding jazz which makes frequent use of plucked basses, hi-hat cymbals, and more Bond-esque brass to add to the sense of mystery and intrigue. Perhaps the weirdest tracks are the florid bits of French burlesque that play under a comedy action sequence in “Can Can Delle Amazzoni,” and the completely bonkers “Gatto Partante,” which begins with comedy French farce music, ends with a flourish of Dixieland jazz , and has a seductive female vocalist meowing in the middle. Yes, I said meowing.
Overall, though, this is a lesser work from Morricone compared to some of his more ambitious efforts of the period, especially in terms of how much it draws from John Barry’s signature sound. Fans of his more psychedelic bongo-tropicana scores may get a kick out of the more flamboyant sequences, but others will likely want to look to his other better scores in the genre before heading here. The score for OK Connery was fairly obscure until fairly recently; it not was released on CD until 2004, when it finally came out from the Italian label Digitmovies, and then released again as a collectors edition vinyl LP in 2011. Fellow composer Bruno Nicolai is credited as a co-composer on the CD cover, but its not clear which cues he contributed to.
Focus on: John Barry,brushed snares,plucked bass,,Brass, Acoustic Guitar, Pizzicato Variations, Latin Jazz, Authentic Jazz, Hi-Hats, Bond Brass, Dixieland jazz
|
Man for Me (Italian Version) |
|
Can Can Delle Amazzoni |
|
Allegri Ragazzi |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for La Cina è Vicina is ironic and sardonic, using unusually phrased marches and variations on a pompous main theme to comment on the social and political machinations inflicted on the family by the duplicitous Carlo. The main theme, “La Cina è Vicina,” is a bulbous piece for throbbing drums, pseudo-militaristic muted brass, and an oddly-timed tinkling harpsichord, which occasionally switches places with a, comedic dance that ripples around the orchestra almost like mickey mouse music, and little interludes of soft and gentle classical music that illustrate the genteel surroundings of the Gordini-Malvezzi family villa. Several variations of the theme offer interesting commentary; “#2” is aggressive and shrill, with more prominent metallic percussion and laughing bassoons; “#5” focuses on dainty and flighty flutes, little pizzicato textures, and frothy classical dance rhythms; “#6” features a more wholesome-sounding accordion “#13” arranges the piece for a funereal church organ; and so on.
There are also several performances of the theme “Ninna Nanna 1968,” which uses honking woodwinds to cut through a delicate, enigmatic string and harp the theme, like a stain on silk, and later arranges the same melody like a music box. The unusual juxtaposition of these lovely, pretty themes against a series of broken, agitated strings, harsh pianos, and irritating woodwinds, clearly represents the notion of the family’s idyllic life being constantly undermined by the toxic presence of Carlo, and is very clever.
The score for La Cina è Vicina has been released a couple of times over the years, but the best release is probably the one by GDM Music from 2012, a limited edition CD which pairs just under 30 minutes of music from the film with three cues from the 1968 film Partner.
Focus on: Marches, variations, ball music, drums, militaristic soft brass, harpsichord, percussion, bassoon, flute, pizzicato, classical dance, accordion, pipe organ, woodwinds, piano
|
la cina e' vicina (02:40) |
|
ninna nanna (01:40) |
|
inedit 2 |
|
|
|
La Ragazza e il Generale – The Girl and the General – is an Italian comedy war film directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile. It stars Virna Lisi as Ada, a beautiful young woman who teams up with a young soldier named Tarasconi (Umberto Orsini) to deliver an Austrian General (played by Rod Steiger) to Italian forces during World War I, and in doing so collect a 1,000 lire reward. However, as the three unlikely travelling companions make their way to the rendezvous, circumstances conspire to make them all question their opinions about each other, as well as their views on the conflict as a whole.
The complete score for La Ragazza e il Generale has never been released but the main title piece has been included on several Morricone compilations over the years, most notably the 3-CD set Ennio Morricone Gold released by GDM/Edel Italy in 2005. The theme is a peculiar, pompous little march for brass and rapped snares that is bright and militaristic and oddly cheerful. Of course it wouldn’t be a Morricone score if he didn’t do something completely bizarre to the theme, and on this score that thing is to include a chirpy, high pitched little recorder motif, and an equally high-pitched male vocalist intoning an unintelligible word that sounds like ‘lasso’ over and over again.
Focus on: Brass, rap snare drum march, clarinet |
La ragazza e il generale (01:41) |
|
Suite (03:39) |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for Danger: Diabolik is one of his most popular of the period. It is based mostly around two recurring themes: the ‘Diabolik’ theme, which is an unusual combination of light strings and breathy vocals, and variations on the melody from the song “Deep Down,” which is performed by Italian vocalist and frequent Morricone collaborator Maria Cristina ‘Christy’ Brancucci. The song itself is a slow, sultry, jazzy ballad with a languid string motif and a slightly exotic, enigmatic sound.
Variations on the Diabolik theme include a fast-paced version for psychedelic disco beats and operatic vocals in “Filatura,” an experimental electronic version for freaked-out sounding organs in “Ritagli,” a piece of harpsichord renaissance fluff in the charming and whimsical “La Collana di Lady Clarke,” a beautiful vocal version in “Bollicine,” and a second dance version in “Subaquei” which revisits the wa-wa-wa vocals from The Good the Bad and the Ugly, courtesy of Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.
Meanwhile, variations in the Deep Down melody include a chipper, upbeat classical version for strings and clarinet in “Conducenti in Attesa,” a version with a hint of the kasbah in “Nella Grotta,” a version underpinned with an Indian raga in “Nascondiglio” and more straightforward recapitulations in “Baci,” “La Piscina,” and others. Perhaps the most unique cue is the 6-minute “Commando di Notte,” an extended piece of orchestral dissonance in which banks of agitated strings play off worried-sounding woodwinds, tinkling harpsichords, and dramatic percussion, to create a sense of unease and mystery.
I like the score for Danger: Diabolik a great deal, but to be honest I’m not quite sure how it has managed to attain such an enormous and influential reputation over the years; the film itself likely deserves it, but the music just seems very ‘middle of the road’ for Morricone, an hour’s worth of extrapolations on two recurring themes that seem to contain many of his usual tics and techniques from the period. The score for Danger: Diabolik has been released several times over the years; the version I have reviewed here is the one released by Recording Arts Records in 2014 as part of a 2-CD set with the score for For a Few Dollars More. A longer version of the score, which has a slightly different order and includes dialogue tracks, was released by Sycodelic Records in 2001, and then again by the Italian indie label Pallotta Foro later that same year.
Focus on: Indian raga, Psychedelic disco beat, operatic vocals, harpsichord, Renaissance, classic version of clarinet, strings, woodwinds, harpsichord, percussion
|
main theme |
|
deep down (main title english) |
|
bubbles / (Bollicine) (extracting au from h2o) |
|
|
|
The main theme, “Viva La Revolucion,” is a wonderful piece of traditional Mexicana, but is actually quite conventional compared to some of the other western themes in the Morricone canon. It builds from a slow, pastoral, almost lullabyish melody for woodwinds and guitars, but becomes increasingly grand and expansive as it develops, making excellent use of larger orchestral forces and a more prominent piano as it grows. The theme for “Tepepa e Price” comments on the initially positive and fraternal relationship between the pair with a pretty, intimate flute melody, but also has a slight sense of uncertainty underneath it from the banks of accompanying guitars, which cleverly alerts listeners to Price’s duplicity before the movie does. Incredibly, the guitar part of this theme reminds me very much of the one in “Ancora Qui,’ the original song that Morricone wrote for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained in 2012 – 44 years later!
As the score develops several other pieces stand out for their extensive use of Spanish guitars. Both “Tradimento Primo” and “A Meta Strada” have a wonderful nostalgic air, guitars backed with quiet orchestrations for warm strings that help convey Tepepa’s quiet resilience and deep affection for his nation. This continues on into “Al Messico Che Vorrei,” is a folk song performed by Maria Cristina Brancucci, which layers her vocals against a bright, quintessential Morricone trumpet solo. “Consegna Delle Armi” and “Una Povera Casa” are suspense cues for tight, nervous orchestrations, which convey the urgency and determination of Tepepa as he continues to fight for justice. The rest of the album comprises a series of extended variations on these core thematic ideas, as is often the case with Morricone scores of this type.
I like the score for Tepepa a lot; it doesn’t have the anarchic or bizarre qualities of some of Morricone’s other western scores from the period, and is instead a much more respectful and straightforward work that pays homage to this enduring Mexican folk hero. The excellent main theme is usually included on Morricone Western soundtrack compilations, while the score itself has been released numerous times on vinyl LP and CD over the years, often paired with another score, usually either La Resa dei Conti or Vamos a Matar Compañeros. This release reviewed here is the limited edition from GDM/Legend that came out in 2012.
Focus on: Maria Cristina Brancucci,woodwind, guitar, lullaby, flute, piano, spanish guitar, trumpet, mexican folk hero
|
Tepepa e price (00:58) |
|
Tradimento promo (02:17) |
|
A meta' strada (01:51) |
|
Al messico che vorrei (Maria travia) (04:52) Sung by Christy |
|
Consegna delle armi (01:20) |
|
Una povera casa (01:03) |
|
|
|
Il Mercenario is one of the most acclaimed of Morricone’s non-Leone western scores, and has been rightly lauded over the years as one of his most vivacious, authentic, and enjoyable. As is always the case, the score is extrapolated from a series of recurring themes, the most prominent of which is the main title, “Bamba Vivace,” often labeled as “Titoli di Testa”. It begins a scintillating passage for call-and-response brasses and yelping voices, before eventually emerging into a galloping Mexican-flavored march anchored by flashing mariachi-style strings, bright trumpets, and vocals singing in Spanish.
Other cues of note include the evocative combination of church organ, guitar, and whistles in “Estasi,” which introduced the whistling theme that acts as a recurring motif for Tony Musante’s character Paco; Paco’s theme features strongly as the score develops, amid lush and evocative writing for strings and guitar in “Il Mercenario (Ripresa),” and electric guitars and dramatic percussion in “Il Mercenario,” among others. Later, “Suspense” reprises the brass flamboyance of the opening cue as part of an action sequence, while “Paco” offers another statement of the main title’s second half. Not only this, there are several Spanish-language songs, some of which are accented by pseudo-comedy sound effects from vocalists, a couple more authentic pieces of festive Mexican celebration music
However, even with all this, the most famous piece of the score is theme that first appears in “Liberta”. This is one of Morricone’s most iconic melodies, a slow, stately, noble piece for strings, trumpets, and guitars, which becomes grander and more emotional as it develops, especially once the voices are added. It reaches its zenith the finale, ‘L’Arena,” which takes the theme heard earlier in “Liberta” and turns it into a masterpiece by blending it with Paco’s whistle motif, re-orchestrating parts of it for electric guitars and rapped snare drums, and increasing the choral element significantly; it’s just superb. Contemporary soundtrack fans might know this theme from its prominent inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol.2 from 2004, but this is where it comes from.
Focus on: One of Morricone's most acclaimed non-Leone Western scores. Brass, Mexican march, trumpet, vocals sung in Spanish, church organ, guitar, whistles, dramatic percussion, pseudo-comedy sound effects, whistles, electric guitar, rap snare
|
Bamba Vivace (Titoli de Testa) |
|
Estasi |
|
Il Mercenario (Ripresa) |
|
Liberta |
|
Il Mercenario (L'arena) |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score is equally quirky, jumping around from style to style and incorporating everything from classical motifs and pretty romantic themes, to musical nursery rhymes, vibrant bossa nova rhythms, disturbing moments of abstract experimentalism, and more, all of which are intended to – as the CD liner notes state – ‘embrace all the psychological and environmental nuances of alienation and paradox that mark the plot of the film.’
The main theme, “Eat It,” jumps around from style to style, beginning with an oddly calming and pleasant piece for orchestra and chimes, but which then quickly becomes a poppy and pretty arrangement for a guitar-harpsichord-percussion combo, and a keyboard which seem to be playing the melody from Frere Jacques. Much of the rest of the score is based on variations on these core ideas, with added jazz textures and tropical grooves that are great to listen to, but seem to be completely at odds with the film itself.
I especially like the way the quirky harpsichords and keyboards are underpinned by lush strings in “Notti di Pace,” the dream-like textures of “Amami,” the strident tango rhythms of “Ballami,” the hypnotic tribal beats and fuzzy electric guitars in “Africami,” the honkytonk piano jazz in “Pianofortecciami,” and the wonderful combination of contemporary church music stylings and prog rock in “Falsa Sacrilita,” especially when the unmistakable choir I Cantori Moderni di Alessandro Alessandroni comes in at the end.
Eat It is an odd score, to be sure, and when you first listen to it you’re never sure exactly where Morricone is going or what he’s doing from one cue to the next. However, the fact that it contains so many of Morricone’s great 1960s stylistics and little idiosyncratic hallmarks means that fans of his will love it, especially the ones who are more attuned to his experimentations with psychedelia and Euro-pop. The version of the score reviewed here is the one released as a standalone album by Digitmovies in 2010, and contains 45 minutes of music. Shorter releases are also available in 2-for-1 releases; usually on the CAM label paired with the score for the 1975 score Macchie Solari.
Focus on: Morricone's score is equally eccentric, Frere Jacques (Editor's note, Frere Jacques, a song sung by Disney), classical themes, romantic themes, musical nursery rhymes, bossa nova, abstract experimentalism, guitar - big Harpsichord-percussion combo, jazz, tropical grooves, harpsichord, tango, tribal beats, fuzzy electric guitar, piano jazz, contemporary church music, progressive rock, choir
|
Eat It (Tema) |
|
II Variazione (Notte Di Pace) |
|
Falsa Scralita |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score is based around several recurring themes which are reprised numerous times over the course of the film and the soundtrack. The most famous of the five is “Guerra E Pace, Pollo E Brace,” a highly unusual rhythmic piece for a ferocious, rock-jazz drumbeat and oddly-pitched chanted choral vocals performed by the Boys’ Choir of Renata Cortiglioni; it’s got a groovy, hypnotic, exotic vibe that is difficult to describe but is quintessentially Morricone.
The title theme, “Grazie Zia,” is a dream-like piece for abstract harpsichord notes, plucked strings, tinkling metallic percussion, and more vocals from the Boys Choir that fade in and out of the piece to create a peculiar, disorienting atmosphere. As the cue progresses it emerges into a livelier melody for more strident guitars and folk-like augmentations, then regresses back to stark, dissonant writing for harpsichord and percussion that sounds quite disturbing, like a broken music box. Later, both “Amore Col Cuore” and “La Guerra, La Pace” extrapolate on the music box ideas with gentleness and fragility, but the former offsets this with a dour and imposing slow march for church organ and piano chords in what sounds like a dry run for his famous march “Rabbia e Tarantella” from the 1974 film Allonsanfàn.
Focus on: Male choir by Renata Cortiglioni, rock jazz drum beats, abstract harpsichord notes, plucked strings, metallic percussion, guitar, folk song, harpsichord, Alonso Fangzhong's famous march "Rabbia e tarantella"
|
guerra e pace, pollo e brace (04:07)(Lyrics by Audery Stainton Nohra) |
|
grazie zia (03:39)(Lyrics by Audery Stainton Nohra) |
|
|
|
The “Main Title” is a friendly, laid-back theme for acoustic guitar and Alessandro Alessandrini’s iconic whistling, and initially it has a lot in common tonally with things like Burt Bacharach’s Butch Cassidy score; eventually it transforms into another one of those wonderful galloping main title marches for multiple layered guitars, hoofbeat tapped snares, a flurry of vibrant horns, and a country-bluegrass fiddle which runs through the entire piece and allows it to stand out from others of its type. It is, as always quite outstanding.
“The Mermaid” is a light, jaunty piece for guitars and flute; cues like “Friends” and “Riding Together” reprise the whistled theme from the first half of the main title; “Bill & Harry” fight offers a chirpy honkytonk variation on the same theme featuring prominent banjos, a style which continues later in the upbeat and comical “Circus Tricks”. “Insegumento All’Alba” is the first of several scintillating reprises of the second half of the main theme, the others of which include the bombastic but brief “Military Escort” the exciting “Chased,” and the tremendous “Attack on the Ranch,” which impresses with its addition of screaming, agitated brass and more imposing, threating aura. And there are the usual saloon piano pieces, hoe-downs, and elements of source music that Morricone often writes for movies like this.
The longest piece on the score is “Harry’s Ranch,” a pastoral and occasionally poignant variation on the main theme for slower, more introspective strings and brasses that is at times quite lovely. The “Finale and End Titles” sums up most of the score’s most important thematic content, offering subdued and emotionally heightened statements of the whistled theme, and the Harry’s Ranch theme, before finishing on a high with a final statement of the march.
The best soundtrack release for E Per Tetto Un Cielo di Stelle is this one, released by Hexacord in 2002, although the vintage sound quality does leave a more than a little to be desired at times, and often comes close to being annoyingly poor. The Japanese label Avanz also has a CD release, combined with music for other scores, which is a digital re-pressing of the original 1978 vinyl LP, and also includes numerous outtakes.
Focus on: Burt Bacharach‘s Butch Cassidy, country-bluegrass fiddle , hoe-downs,Acoustic guitar, Alessandro Alessandrini's signature whistle, multi-layered guitar, hoof-beat snare drum,, honkytonk, banjo, brass, salon piano, strings, brass, Pastoral, introspective strings and brass
|
Main Title |
|
Inseguimento All'alba |
|
Harry's Ranc |
|
Finale & End Titles |
|
|
|
The score for Ecce Homo is based around a single theme, called “Venuta del Mare,” and the soundtrack contains sixteen variations on it, plus various bonus cues, and a performance of a 14-minute suite. Ecce Home gave Morricone the first real chance for him to incorporate into his film music the concurrent work he was doing with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, a composer collective dedicated to musical avant-gardeism. As such, the score is an eerie, dissonant, abstract musical soundscape that has drawn comparisons with Jerry Goldsmithh’s Planet of the Apes, which was released the same year.
The score contains lots of writing for solo voices, quivering flutes, offbeat rattling percussion, and oddly-phrased chromatic string textures which sound agitated, urgent, slightly insane. There’s one repetitive motif that runs through the score – a four note idea that staggers up and down scales – but none of the thematic brilliance or orchestral extravagance for which he is more commonly known and lauded. It’s perfect for creating an atmosphere of desolation, isolation, and desperation, as the film intends, but it’s a challenging listening experience, and will really only be of interest to those who gravitate towards Morricone’s more experimental and peculiar side.
Focus on: Jerry Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes, Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, Weird, dissonant, abstract musical soundscapes, trembling flutes, rattling percussion, chromatic string textures,
|
Venuta dal mare (main title) |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for the film ranges from highly classical to highly experimental and abstract, with a few killer Europop dance tracks thrown in for good measure. The main theme, “Escalation,” is a pretty and florid melody for harpsichord, strings, and woodwinds, enlivened by some unusual but effective variations on the wa-wa’s from The Good the Bad and the Ugly, performed by a high pitched solo male vocalist.
Other cues of note include a terrifically dirty, groovy, sweaty-sounding disco dance version of the famous Latin liturgical chant Dies Irae in “Dies Irae Psichedelico,” light and effervescent classical pastiche in “Collage No. 1,” dark and twisted choral music in “Matrimonio” which is made to sound quite desperate and deranged via the inclusion of ragged bursts of percussion and fiddle cacophony, and pretty glockenspiel music in the decidedly un-erotic “Carillon Erotico”. On the abstract side of things, “Luca’s Sound” is literally someone making popping noises with their mouth for 90 seconds, “Senza Respiro” and the subsequent “Luca, Casa Londra” is a bank of guitars making like sitars in an Indian raga, and “Collage No. 2” further takes the Dies Irae to the limits of madness with bursts of cha-cha-cha and ‘Happy Birthday.
。关注词: Focus on: Dies Irae,sitar , Highly classical, highly experimental and abstract, harpsichord, strings, woodwinds, solo male singer, disco dancing, percussion, violin, glockenspiel, guitar,
|
Escalation |
|
Dies Irae Psichedelico |
|
Luca, Casa Londra |
|
|
|
The main theme, “Comandamenti Per Un Gangster,” is a deliciously dark piece that starts with a powerful explosion of voices, brass, and swirling strings, that eventually emerges into a propulsive, turbulent sounding theme for an exotic-sounding woodwinds, ancient keyboards, tolling bells, and more vocals courtesy of Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. Much of the rest of the score is dramatic and at times quite oppressive, built around little rhythmic motifs that jump around from electric guitars and muted horns to organs, all underpinned with a bold timpani motif that drives everything forward. Cues like “Primo Comandamento: Spara,” “Terzo Comandamento: L’Oro,” and the shockingly abrasive and emotionally heightened finale “Ultimo Comandamento: Uccidi i Traditori,” are good examples of this.
The main love theme, as heard in “Uno Squarcio Tra Le Nuvole,” is a hesitantly romantic piece for strings and breathy vocals that picks up a mellow solo trumpet element in its second half, and is partially reprised with a more lyrical sweep in “E’ Soreno l’Orizzonte”. “Secondo Comandamento: Non Perdonare” is a very clever bait-and-switch cue which starts with a church organ motif and slowly add layers of glorious strings and vocals as though it is going to climax with something grand, but ends with a series of broken minor key chords that indicate something has gone terribly wrong.
The album also includes a lovely chill-out song, “Solo Nostalgia,” co-written by Morricone wity lyricist Audrey Stainton Nohra, performed by Jane Relly, and which gets a vocal-less instrumental reprise at the end of the score. The score for Comandamenti Per Un Gangster has been released a few times over the years, most notably by the Italian label CAM in 1992. This review is of the 2011 release by GDM Music, which added a couple of bonus tracks to CAM’s original programme; unfortunately, the vintage sound quality is quite poor by today’s standards, which may put some people off.
Focus on: Vocals, Brass, Rotating Strings, Woodwinds, Vocals, Electric Guitar, Horns, Organ, Timpani, Romantic Strings, Breathed Vocals, Solo Trumpet, Church Organ
|
comandamenti per un gangster |
|
secondo comandamento non perdonare |
|
solo nostalg |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for Guns for San Sebastian is yet another entry in his terrific series of Spaghetti westerns, although this one acts as something of a bridge between the more anarchic tones of his earlier work, and more operatic style he would later adopt in Once Upon A Time in the West. The whole thing is anchored by a sweeping main theme, which is introduced in the opening “Overture,” a mass of soaring voices, strings and pianos, and rousing percussion, accented with Spanish guitars, lilting oboes and one of Edda dell’Orso’s legendary haunting wordless vocal performances. There are several restatements of the main theme throughout the score, with notable performances coming in the brilliant “Building the Dam,” and in a more introspective and downbeat arrangement for male voices and stark orchestrations in “The Villagers Prepare to Blow Up the Dam.”
Considering the nature of the film there is a lot of action music too. “The Chase” is a blistering piece, blending harsh fluttering recorders, pounding percussion, powerful triumphant brass, and the choir as only Morricone could. Later cues like “The Assault,” the uncompromisingly dissonant “Leon Fights Teclo,” “The Burning Village,” and the sensational “The White Stallion,” are equally excellent; Edda dell’Orso extremely powerful vocals in “The Assault” have to be heard to be believed.
The score’s recurring Love Theme is a truly stunning piece of romance scoring for strings, guitar, and choir, and may be closest Morricone ever got to the religioso sound of Miklós Rósza; it’s statements in “Kinita’s Plea,” “Leon Tells His Love,” “Leon Leaves Kinita,” and finally in the ecclesiastically-flavored and occasionally quite stark “End Titles,” are all equally sublime; the merest hints of a tolling bell really adds to the epic scope of it all. Also of note is “The Long Trek,” an abstract piece of suspense and tension that uses layered strings interesting ways to convey the sensation of a harsh burning sun on a desert landscape, while also containing a sense of stark beauty, mostly from the woodwinds.
Guns for San Sebastian is yet another terrific Morricone western, featuring a superb sweeping main theme, one of his most lush love themes, and some terrific violent action. The version I have reviewed here is the hour-long version released by Film Score Monthly, but there are shorter versions that focus on the highlights that may provide listeners with a more concise listening experience.
, Focus on: Voice, Strings, Piano, Percussion, Spanish Guitar, Oboe, Wordless Vocals by Edda dell'Orso, Victory Brass, Religious Sounds by Miklós Rósza, Bells, Layered Strings , woodwind instrument,
|
overture |
|
love theme (leon leaves kinita) |
|
the long t |
|
end title |
|
|
|
Large parts of the score sees Morricone engaging in some of his most challenging classical scoring, writing music for layers of strings, woodwinds, the unique voices of I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, harpsichords, and numerous different percussion sounds in complicated, atonal, disorienting ways. Both the opening “Teorema” and the subsequent “Frammenti” are really challenging, and usually this sort of thing would turn me off, but the alienating soundscape Morricone creates is actually quite fascinating, especially considering how much is stands in tonal opposition to the rest of the score.
Both “Fruscio de Foglie Verdi (Cantato)” and “Beat N. 3” have an infectiously upbeat Europop aesthetic, John Barry-esque sultry strings, rock guitars, and lively percussion. The vocals in “Fruscio de Foglie Verdi” are performed with silky smoothness by Trio Junior and, really, they couldn’t be more different from the first two cues. They are almost from another world. It’s also fun hearing the whooshing wind effects in the background of “Fruscio de Foglie Verdi,” further illustrating how Morricone often worked with musique concrete-style real world sounds to add different dimensions to his scores. Similarly, the Spanish-inflected “L’Ultima Corrida” blends more Euro-pop beats with mariachi trumpets, electric guitars, and castanets, creating a fascinating and entertaining blend of styles.
The score for Theorem is completely schizophrenic, but superbly entertaining, and if you can get your head around a score which is a combination of super-challenging 20th century classical scoring with light pop beats and songs, then this might beone worth checking out. The score has been released many times over the years; due to its short running time it is usually combined with other scores as a 2-or-3-for-1 compilation. Other albums include it as part of a longer standalone release that also usually includes several classical pieces by Mozart. The version I have reviewed here is the one released by Japanese label King Records in 1994, which includes the Mozart excerpts. There is also a release from Swedish label Fin de Siècle Media from 2008, which combines the same tracks from Theoreom with music from the scores for the 1969 films La Stagione dei Sensi and Vergogna Schifosi.
Focus on: Strings, woodwinds, Alessandroni's unique voice as a modern vocalist, harpsichord, percussion, alienated soundscapes, sultry John Barry-esque strings, rock guitar, lively percussion , music concrete style, Spanish colors, European pop music, mariachi trumpet, electric guitar, castanets
|
Theoreme (04:15) |
|
Frammenti (02:30) |
|
Fruscio Di Foglie Verdi cantato (02:25) |
|
L'Ultima Corrida (02:40) |
|
|
|
|
|
Partner is a political drama film written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, adapted from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, 1846 novella The Double: A Petersburg Poem, transposed to Italy and updated to relate to the pro-Vietcong student protests that took place all over Italy at that time. The film stars Pierre Clémenti, Tina Aumont, and Sergio Tofano, and follows a college student named Giaccobe who has a routine life – until he encounters a twin, a dopplegänger, he is not related to. As the two get to know each other Giaccobe discovers that his twin-friend has many appealing qualities he doesn’t have, which inspire him to change his life… but not necessarily for the better.
There have only ever been a handful of tracks from Ennio Morricone’s score for Partner ever released; the most being four, which were included as bonus tracks at the end of the GDM release of the score for La Cina è Vicina in 2004. The first cue on the album, “Splash” is actually a song, written by Morricone with lyricist Audrey Nohra, performed by Peter Boom; the vocals are dreamy and a touch loopy, while the orchestral backing includes a dancing harpsichord, a modern drum kit, and a choir making pigeon noises whispering ‘splash, dash, flash’ in an unexpectedly creepy way. The whole thing seems to be a love letter to soap and bathing, and was clearly written while under the influence of a hallucinogen (actually, one of the characters in the film was a detergent salesmen, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this wasn’t his jingle)
The score proper begins with “Povero Claudio,” a gentle theme for pianos which is a little wistful and old-fashioned, but ends on a shockingly violent note. The subsequent “Vecchia Hollywood” is a surprisingly lush and romantic piece with an old Hollywood sheen, a touch of Alfred Newman in the languid strings, and brushed snares in the background. The final cue, “Roma Sospesa” is a rhythmic, insistent pulse for choppy strings and hooting woodwinds, that actually reminds me of some of the percussive cello music he would later write for The Untouchables.
Focus on: Vocals, orchestra, harpsichord, modern drums, choir, piano, Alfred Newman
|
Splash (02:51) |
|
Povero claudio (01:18) |
|
Vecchia hollywood (01:05) |
|
Roma sospesa (00:5 |
|
|
|
Roma Comme Chicago is a gritty and hard-boiled crime drama directed by Alberto de Martino. It stars John Cassavetes as Mario, a professional hitman who takes a young, ambitious partner named Enrico (Nikos Kourkoulos). Before long it becomes apparent that Enrico doesn’t have the same code of ethics that Mario does; he makes advances towards Mario’s wife, and then takes over his life by framing Mario for, irocnically, a crime he genuinely didn’t commit. With Mario out of the picture Enrico is unleashed on the city, leaving a trail of deaths behind him. To stop him, Mario teams up with a prison commissioner (Gabriele Ferzetti) to stop him.
Morricone’s score for Roma Comme Chicago has never been released in any format but two cues – “Titoli Movente” and “Una Storia Finita” – have been floating around the secondary market for some time, and can be heard on Youtube. “Titoli Movente” is a masculine driving piece for orchestra and electric guitar, underpinned by a driving percussive groove full of menace and strength; when the harpsichord comes in during the piece’s second half, the effect is superb. On the other hand, “Una Storia Finita” is actually quite lovely, a light, wistful, pseudo-romantic melody for solo trumpet, orchestra, and harpsichord that has a sense of finality and warmth to it, especially when the melody switches to sweeping strings.
Focus on: Orchestra, electric guitar, harpsichord, trumpet, sweeping strings |
Roma come chicago (01:46) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
|
|
The main thematic idea in the score is an original song, “La Ballata di Hank McCain,” written by Morricone and Audrey Nohra, and sung in English by Jackie Lynton. It’s a dramatic, punchy, hilariously serious song sung with impressive an earnestness that verges on the ludicrous. Morricone had a wonderful knack for writing great music that ultimately gets turned into something ridiculously over-the-top in song form, and this is another one of those – it’s very much in the same vein as “A Gringo Like Me” and others. I love it, but others may find it profoundly ridiculous, and the three different versions of it on the soundtrack may be a little too much
The rest of the score is surprisingly low-key, often comprising smooth jazz instrumentals arranged in a lush orchestral style that occasionally reminds me of 1960s John Barry or Henry Mancini. Cues like “Irene,” “Defilée,” and “Come Quando Fuori Piove” are really quite lovely, blending strings with harpsichords, muted brasses, and shuffling percussion in the former, and featuring semi-tropical rhythms for a prominent marimba in the latter. Later, “Come Lei,” “Sogno Dopo Sogno,” “Senza Parole,” and “Rosemary” all continue with the softly enchanting jazz, each featuring a different lead instrument playing the main melodic line – a bluesy electric guitar in the first track, muted trumpets in the second, piano in the third, and so on.
The one piece that stands out as being very different is the title track, “Gli Intoccabili – Titoli,” a vicious and volatile piece of action-oriented orchestral writing for jazzy cymbals, frantic electric guitars, stabbed piano clusters, and shrill strings, all performed at a rapid, often disorienting pace. It’s a shame that there isn’t more of this in the rest of the score, because it really is quite excellent.
Focus on: John Barry, Henry Mancini, jazz instrument, orchestral music, harpsichord, brass, dragged percussion, subtropical rhythms, marimba, jazz, blues electric guitar, trumpet, piano, jazz cymbals, electric guitar, piano cluster
|
La Ballata di Hank McCain |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Come Lei |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Sogno Dopo Sogno |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Senza Parole |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Rosemary |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
|
|
Arguably one of the greatest westerns ever made, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West – C’Era Una Volta Il West in his native Italian – was his eagerly awaited, and ultimately critically acclaimed follow up to the Clint Eastwood “Dollars” trilogy that he completed with The Good the Bad and the Ugly in 1966. It’s a tale of murder, death, betrayal, and revenge, and focuses on three individuals: Frank, played against type by Henry Fonda; Jill, played by Claudia Cardinale; and a man with no name, played by Charles Bronson, whose defining feature is that he plays the harmonica. Frank is a gunslinger, who has just killed an entire family so that he and his gang can take over the land and exploit the railroad, which is intended to be built nearby. Jill is the new wife of the man who Frank has just killed, and has arrived in town to be with him – only to find her life in ruins thanks to Frank’s ruthlessness. Meanwhile, Harmonica has a vendetta against Frank that goes back years, and intends to exact revenge in any way he can. The film also stars Jason Robards as Cheyenne, another local gunman, and features Gabriele Ferzetti, Woody Strode, Jack Elam, and Lionel Stander in supporting roles. It has a screenplay by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento – a holy triumvirate of Italian filmmaking talent if ever there was one – and of course features one of Morricone’s most beloved scores.
Leone had Morricone compose the score before shooting started, and played the music in the background for the actors on set to inspire them – and What an inspiration that must have been! The score is based around four main themes for the four main characters, as well as an overarching theme for the film as a whole, and several spectacular one-off set pieces that underscore the violence and betrayal at the heart of the story.
Jill’s theme is the most famous, a glorious and soaring melody that rises from a soft and gentle duet for dulcimer and flute to incorporate a wordless solo soprano by the incomparable Edda dell'Orso,, and eventually the full orchestra. It’s a theme of great fragility and beautify, but is also underpinned by a strength and determination that captures her character perfectly; its performances in the opening “C’Era Una Volta Il West,” the sweeping “Arrivo Alla Stazione,” the wistful “L’America di Jill,” the peaceful “Un Letto Troppo Grande,” the sad, almost lost-sounding “In Una Stanza Con Poca Luce,” and the operatic “Finale” remain among the best things Morricone ever wrote, and that’s saying a lot.
Frank’s theme is, naturally, the most sparse and restrained, a tight and uncomfortable melody that uses a repetitive electric guitar motif alongside a harpsichord to convey his brutal, single-minded ruthlessness. It first appears in “L’Uomo,” and then grows to near-operatic heights of tragedy in “Il Grande Massacro,” when Frank and his gang calmly slaughter the entire McCain family in a scene filled with gratuitous slow-motion and uneasy close-ups. Later statements in the regretful, bittersweet “Epilogo” also leave positive impressions.
Harmonica’s theme, as one might expect, is built around that instrument in combination with undulating strings and an electric guitar, but Alessandro Alessandrini's performance of it is sparse, dissonant, and antagonistic, the flip side to the romantic American west. The harmonica performances bookend a remarkable middle section for choir and orchestra. The theme is most prominent, naturally, in “Armonica,” in “L’Ultimo Rantolo,” and of course in the standout “L’Uomo dell’Armonica,” where the voices really soar.
Finally, Cheyenne’s theme has an almost comedic edge, with percussion items that mimic the hoofbeats of a horse, accompanying a plucky banjo tune. Cues like “La Posada 1,” the eponymous “Cheyenne,” “Sul Tetto del Treno,” and “Addio a Cheyenne” feature Cheyenne’s theme prominently, but Morricone is careful to never let the music – or the character – turn into parody, instead adding a level of uneasiness with minor key strings and frequent glittering harpsicord notes.
While the highlights of The Good the Bad and the Ugly are arguable superior, Once Upon a Time in the West is probably a more well-rounded overall score, and as such it is always in the conversation regarding best western scores, best spaghetti western scores, and the best scores of Morricone’s career. It’s certainly an absolutely vital work that belongs in every self-respecting fan’s collection. The score has, naturally, been released dozens and dozens of times over the years, on alums of varying length and varying sound quality. I have chosen to review the 2014 2-CD limited edition release of the score from GDM/Intermezzo Media, which pairs over an hour of score from this film with almost 40 minutes of music from that other legendary work, A Fistful of Dollars.
,Focus on: Edda dell'Orso, Alessandro Alessandrini, dulcimer, flute, orchestra, electric guitar, harpsichord, opera, harmonica, electric guitar
|
Cera Una Volta Il West / Once Upon A Time In The West (3:43) |
|
Armonica / Harmonica (2:27) |
|
Jill (1:47) |
|
Frank (1:52) |
|
Cheyenne (1:16) |
|
Morton (1:36) |
|
Addio A Cheyenne / Farewell To Cheyenne (2:38) |
|
Finale (4:08) |
|
|
|
Il Grande Silenzio is a critically acclaimed Spaghetti western directed by the great Sergio Corbucci. The film is set in a snow-bound Utah town in the 1890s and stars French actor Jean Louis Trintignant as a gunslinger named Silence, who has dedicated himself to protecting the weak and downtrodden after witnessing his parents being murdered by bandits as a child; he survived the attack, was rendered mute by the experience, hence his name. Silence gets the opportunity to avenge his past many years later when Pollicut (Luigi Pistilli), the corrupt official who hired the bandits that killed his family, hires a new and even more vicious bounty hunter named Loco (Klaus Kinski) to kill the Utah townspeople as part of an illegal land ownership plot. It’s a complicated story, filled with political undertones, which Corbucci said were intentional commentaries on the then-recent deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X.
Morricone’s score for the film is one of his most conventional efforts in the western genre, playing more like a fairly straightforward dark drama without all the quirky ideas and offbeat instrumentation. Perhaps the film’s snowbound location had something to do with it; there is a vein of icy desolation running through much of the score, reflecting both Silence’s isolation and his desire for revenge.
The main theme, as presented in the opening cue “Il Grande Silenzio (Restless)” is actually quite lovely, with a pastoral tone and a lilting melody carried by strings, guitars, and almost imperceptible finger-cymbals like sound like dripping icicles. The vocals that come in during the second half of the piece, adding a layer of warmth and humanity, which is recapitulated later in the lovely “Viaggio”. However, all this warmth this is stripped away later in cues like “E l’Amore Verra,” “Voci Nel Deserto,” and the melancholy “Gli Assassini e la Madre,” which present the theme with a sense of bitterness that matches the film’s bleak, wintry setting. The poignant vocal version of theme in the second of those cues is especially impressive.
The action music in cues like “Passaggi Nel Tempo,” “Barbara e Tagliente,” and is bold and spiky, using offbeat rhythmic ideas, unusual howling vocals, trilling trumpets, and shrill, stabbing woodwinds to raise the tension and create a sense of suspense and imminent danger. There are elements of the main theme in here too, ensuring that Silence’s presence is marked.
There is a love theme too, which first appears in the cue “Invito all’Amore (Silent Love)”. This isn’t your typical romantic love, however; Morricone’s love theme for Silence is anchored by a solo violin accompanied by nervous piano textures, and has a bitter, haunted quality, as if acknowledging that Silence’s disfigurement means he will never truly know that emotion fully. Its performance in the conclusive “L’Ultimo Gesto” begins with a series of sound effects – tapped pianos, shrill strings, gurgling percussion – and gradually increases in intensity before emerging into a shattering variation at around the 3:20 mark that ends the score on an operatic, tragic note.
Focus on: Che Guevara, Malcolm X, Vocals, Strings, Guitar, Finger Cymbals, Howl, Vibrato Trumpet, Woodwinds, Violin Solo, Piano Texture, Piano, Percussion
|
Il Grande Silenzio (Restless) (02:27) |
|
Viaggio (01:53) |
|
Passaggi Nel Tempo (02:24) |
|
Invito All Amore (03:59) |
|
L Ultimo Gesto (04:25) |
|
|
|
The score is one of Morricone’s lively 1960s pop scores, most of which is based around several light, breezy, jazzy arrangements of a recurring main theme, naturally called “L’Alibi”. The five ‘shake’ versions of the theme are effortlessly groovy, and often feature Hammond organs and electric guitars backed by a choir, rocking and dancing to the beat, while others are arranged like a samba, an ‘interludio romantico,’ or a ‘marcetta grotesca’.
Others pieces embrace a different light pop/lounge jazz style that is infectious as it is so much of its era. “Immagini del Tempo,” for example, has an unmistakable bossa nova style which Morricone blends with very classical orchestrations for strings, harpsichord, and doo-doo voices. In the various versions of “Belinda May” the choir croons the name of the girl in the title. “Canzone Della Libertà” is an unusual but superbly memorable song performed by the legendary vocalist Sergio Endrigo and I Cantori Moderni di Alessandro Alessandroni, which includes snippets from famous speeches about freedom, and has a bouncy brass-led refrain. “Sognando” even brings out the whistlers.
A few cues do break the mold; “Pennellate” uses harpsichord, strings, and percussion in decidedly unconventional ways to make for an uneasy 2 minutes of listening. Similarly, “Guardando Nel Vuoto” is an off-kilter suspense piece, spiky and agitated, using the same orchestrations as the earlier cue to throw the listener off-balance. “Delicatamente” is a pretty, fragile duet for harpsichord and piano, while “Lo Libero” is an unsettling combination of rumbling timpanis and high, agitated string sustains. Most unusually, “Animaletti” is a tribal piece for electric guitars and jungle drums, with a vocalist repeating the phrase ‘tookoo tookoo tookoo’ over and over again! It’s all very interesting, how it all comes together.
Focus on: Jazz, Samba dance , bossa nova, Sergio Endrigo, Alessandro Alessandrini, Hammond organ, electric guitar, choir, light pop/lounge jazz, strings, harpsichord, brass, whistles, percussion, timpani, electric guitar, jungle drums
|
Immagini Del Tempo (02:26) |
|
Canzone Della Liberta (03:04) |
|
Animaletti (01:39) |
|
|
|
Galileo sees Morricone as his most dramatically ecclesiastical, using a large orchestra and an imposing male voice choir to carry the weight of the Catholic church. The wide, open enunciation of the choir are really quite spectacular, and the way Morricone arranges them with deft support from a bank of rich brass, slapping percussion, and sharply stabbed pianos and strings is very impressive. “Galileo Nel Circo” and the conclusive cue, “Galileo,” is probably the best example of this style.
Elsewhere, Morricone cultivates an eerie, mysterious atmosphere that appears steeped in medieval church music and plainsong, using church organs, tolling bells, and voices alongside some quite avant-garde writing for strings and horns; cues like “Sogno Primo,” “Sogno Secondo,” and “Sogno Terzo” are very impressive in this regard. Furthermore, Morricone creates several settings of the ‘new’ medieval hymn “Eresia Defunta Sia,” which features new words by the director Liliana Cavani, and is arranged in a variety of ways that range from romantic to mysterious.
Galileo is a challenging score, but one which I personally admire for its marked difference to other Morricone scores from the period – the classicism, the references to and excerpts from medieval church music, and the adherence to avant garde writing stylistics, are as far away from spaghetti westerns and pop dance grooves as it is possible to be. The score has been released several times over the years – often paired with Morricone’s 1970 score I Cannibali – but this version, released by Digitmovies in 2014, is remastered from the original stereo master tapes, and includes six previously unreleased tracks approved by the composer himself.
Focus on: Large orchestra, male choir, brass, percussion, piano, strings, medieval church music, church organ, bells, voice, horns, classicism
|
galileo nel circo |
|
galileo |
|
sogno primo |
|
eresia defunta sia |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for the film is built around one of his most haunting main themes, “La Monaca di Monza,” which builds out of some eerie scene-setting in the opening ‘Titoli’ to become a deep, lush, but slightly twisted-sounding viola melody underpinned with nervous piano chords, strings, and a harpsichord. It’s a theme which wants to be rapturously romantic, but never quite gets there, held back by Leyva’s scheming nature. The same melody is arranged as a piece of liturgical choral music for a cut-glass female vocalist ion “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is then expanded further in the second and third “La Monaca di Monza” cues, which have a more tragic sound to them, again featuring weeping violas and cellos.
Other cues of note include the swooning, but oddly unsettling “Svegliarsi Pensando,” which uses the same instrumental textures as the main theme but carries a different melody, and the more conventionally attractive “Falsa Tranquillitá,” which initially uses a prominent harp to convey a slightly more warm and appealing tone, and then becomes quite expansive during its lush and sweeping finale.
“Quel Giorno” is quite forceful, with a touch of Baroque-flavored action music to represent Leyva’s pursuers from the Spanish Inquisition, while the two “Dopo la Notte” cues feature a variation on the main melody that acts as a lovely pastoral theme for the couple’s ill-fated and ill-conceived child. Finally, in the conclusive “Titoli di Coda,” lets all his melodies sing at their most tender, allowing them to convey the brief romance but ultimate tragedy of the nun of Monza’s life.
Focus on: ,Baroque flavored music, viola, piano, strings, harpsichord, cello, harp
|
La Monaca di Monza (02:35) |
|
Svegliarsi Pensando (01:42) |
|
Quel Giorno (02:00) |
|
Titoli Di Coda (02:27 |
|
|
|
Ruba Al Prossimo Tuo – released internationally as A Fine Pair – is an Italian crime-comedy film directed by Francesco Maselli starring Rock Hudson as Mike Harmon, a New York cop who unwittingly gets duped into helping a beautiful thief named Esmeralda (Claudia Cardinale) into carrying out a jewel heist at an Austrian villa.
Morricone’s score for the film is a mostly monothematic work, with that theme being a sweet, romantic Europop lounge melody that captures the playful and sexy relationship between Mike and Esmeralda at the core of the story. As introduced in the first cue, the piece’s defining trait is the dreamy, jazzy vocals I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni, which croon and scat with effortless cool.
The theme is reprised with several variations throughout the score, including one featuring harpsichord, organ, and mandolin; a slow and dreamy version featguring vocals by the legendary Edda dell’Orso, a samba version, a mysterious rhythmic take, a slower variation featuring whistles by Alessandro Alessandroni. In addition to this main theme there is also a classically-inflected minuet for keyboards and strings, enriched again with the operatic vocals of Edda, and a peculiar orchestral samba that begins with the sound of a typewriter and slow increases in scope to encompass the whole orchestra and choir.
Focus on: I Cantori Moderni di Alessandro Alessandrini, Edda dell'Orso,Europop lounge melody, jazz vocals, harpsichord, organ, mandolin, samba, orchestra, choir, classical tune minuet, orchestral samba, typewriter
|
Ruba al prossimo tuo (Titoli- Seq.1) (02:30) |
|
Ruba al prossimo tuo (Finale-Seq.17) (03:44) |
|
|
|
This score, ladies and gentlemen, is Ennio Morricone at his most inaccessible. It’s a score made up almost entirely of string experimentations and improvisations, inspired by the work he did with his colleagues in Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, namely Franco Evangelisti, Mario Bertoncini, Egisto Macchi, John Heineman, and Walter Branchi. While I’m sure that, from a musicologists point of view, this score contains all manner of intellectual and complicated harmonies and patterns and performance techniques, I really don’t have the vocabuilary or intellect to grasp them; it genuinely sounds like 30 minutes of random noise and dissonance, plucked and struck and scraped with nary a melody to speak of. I’m sure it captures the essence of the film perfectly, creating an alienating and increasingly horrifying atmosphere, but as a standalone listen it virtually impossible to connect with.
If you want to listen to anything, listen to the seven-minute opening cue “Musica Per Undici Violini,” which essentially an overarching compilation of everything else in the score. Of the other cues, “Vuoi Essere Felice?” has a little more tonal consonance, with a hallucinatory dream-like sound; “Il Fantasma di Wanda” and “I Sogni dell’Artista” enhance the strings with moaning, wailing, ghostly voices; they become almost orgasmic during the middle section of the disconcerting but mesmerizing “Fantasma”. Later, “Delirio Primo,” “Frenesia,” and “Delirio Secondo” add rumbling percussive sounds to the pre-established palette.
The soundtrack album for Un Tranquillo Posto di Campagna has been released several times over the years – it’s apparently very popular with musical mashochists – and the version I have is the one released by the Spanish label Saimel in 2003, which includes the entire 30 minute score, plus an additional 34-minute single track titled “Un Tranquillo Posto di Campagna Suite,” and which is credited to the entire Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, which is weirdness taken to the most extreme levels possible. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Focus on: The most incomprehensible, no melody at all, random noises, moans, wails, ghostly sounds, percussion
|
Musica Per Undici Violini (06:51) |
|
Il Fantasma Di Wanda (01:59 |
|
|
|
|
|
Cuore di Mamma is an Italian dark comedy-drama directed by Salvatore Sampe (with whom Morricone previously worked on Grazie Zia in 1968), starring Philippe Leroy, Beba Loncar, and Carla Gravina. Gravina plays Lorenza, who divorced from her rich husband, and has an unfulfilling life hampered by her three restless children. When her mentally unstable eldest son kills the youngest son, tortures the housekeeper, kills his little sister, and tries to frame his mother for the crimes, Lorenza finally snaps – using her membership in a group of political revolutionaries as a cover to exact a violent revenge.
The score for Cuore di Mamma mostly plays against type, and is a gentle, intricate, delicate, if a little peculiar, exploration of the encroaching madness that slowly overtakes Lorenzo as her world unravels. The two “Ricreazione Divertita” cues in the main and end titles initially have a pretty, music box feel, but are then intentionally spoiled and taken over by a series of stylistic clashes, including performances by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni and vocal soloist Renata Cortiglioni, an unusual rock music interlude, and a finale that oscillates between rich strings, militaristic marches, and sampled machine guns. This idea of odd juxtaposition continues throughout the score: for example “La Sveglia” is a mournful duet for a solo trumpet and a boinging Jew’s harp, while “Marcia del Generale Graziosi” blends the harsh military theme with longing, romantic strings .
Probably the highlight of the score is the gloriously lush and melodic “Ouverture del Mattino,” which builds from a slightly hesitant opening featuring little piano and harpsichord motifs, pizzicato textures, and string washes, to become quite florid and impressive, with classical, almost Mozartian solo violin stylings. I’m also quite taken by the straightforward classical string melodies in “Giorno di Lavoro” and “Quartetto,” which are really lovely, as well as the beautifully idyllic and dream-like vocal track “Ninna Nanna Per Adulteri,” and the wistfully delightful harpsichords in “Suoni Per Un Clavicembalo”.
Focus on: Vocal soloist Renata Cortiglioni, rock music, strings, militaristic marches, machine gun sound excerpts, solo trumpet, Jew's harp, baby piano, harpsichord, pizzicato textures, Mozartian solo violin style, classical strings
|
Ricreazione Divertita |
|
Ouverture Del Matt |
|
Giorno Di Lavoro |
|
Ninna Nanna Per Adulteri |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score is based around two recurring themes – the title track “Scusi, Facciamo l’Amore?” and “A Lidia”, Almost every cue is a variation on one of these two themes; “Scusi, Facciamo l’Amore?” is a lilting piece of lounge jazz for flutes, guitars, and percussion, enlivened by a breathy, near-orgasmic female vocalization that one should not listen to in polite company. “A Lidia,” on the other hand, is a more strident but still romantic piece of Euro-jazz for stronger pianos, stronger percussion licks, thrusting strings, and yet more enticing vocals, making da-de-da noises with a come-hither tone of voice.
The best arrangements of “Scusi, Facciamo l’Amore?” theme include the slightly off-kilter harpsichord version in “Between the Sheets,” the heavy rock stylings in “From Bed to Worse,” the dance-like and charming “Take Me Now,” the Mendelssohn-inspired waltz version in “To the Altar and Back,” and the groovy and finger-snapping “The Big One”.
Meanwhile, the subsequent performances of “A Lidia” are almost straight reprises, although the third version does have a sort of reflective, downcast attitude that offers a different tone, and features a prominent marimba. One or two cues do break the mold – “Passion Play” and “Two Cigarettes” feature whimpering noises and shuddering vocalization parts of which border on the obscene, while “Various Troubles” is a little abstract and dissonant, featuring odd sound effects and weirdly-phrased strings
Focus on: Guitar, Percussion, Lounge Jazz, European Jazz, Piano, Vocals, Harpsichord, Hard Rock, Mendelssohn, Waltz, Marimba
|
Scusi, Facciamo L'amore (Original Single Version Side A) (01:56) |
|
A Lidia (Original Single Version Side B) (03:15) |
|
A Lidia (Finale) (03:19) |
|
|
|
H2S is an Italian science-fiction fantasy, written and directed by Roberto Faenza (with whom Morricone previously worked on Escalation in 1968), and starring Lionel Stander and Denis Gilmore. Ostensibly the film is about a student revolt at a university in a futuristic society where individualism is forbidden, but in reality the film is an excuse of Faenza to engage in a series of peculiar, abstract, surreal vignettes which criticize the political and social climate in Italy in late 1960s. The film was banned in its home country upon release, and has rarely been shown since, making is one of the most obscure entries in Morricone’s filmography. (The title, H2S, is of course the chemical compound symbol for hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous and corrosive that eats away at everything it touches – and is a metaphor for the society in Faenza’s film.
There has never been a legitimate soundtrack release of the score for H2S, meaning it is one of the most obscure soundtracks of Morricone’s entire early career. However, oddly the standalone main theme from the film has become quite popular in recent years, as a result of Morricone playing it regularly in concerts, and it appearing on several compilations. I first came across it when it was included on the 1999 album ‘Cinema Concerto a Santa Cecilia’ and I was enormously impressed – it builds from a cheerful, slightly comedic piano riff to encompass renaissance-style brass, dancing strings, and chimes, in an uplifting and uncharacteristically jolly way.
A second cue from the score, called “Luna Canadese,” also appears on several compilation albums, notably the 2005 EMI album Love Themes. The rest of the score, according to people who have seen the film, is quite peculiar, and is filled with abstract and dissonant pieces for strings and keyboards, plus odd musique-concrete style sound effects. Whatever the case may be, I certainly hope the whole thing sees the light of day at some point, because the main “H2S” theme is delightful and deserves to be more widely known.
Focus on: Piano improvisation, musical concrete style
|
Luna canadese (04:04) |
|
H2S (Medium speed) (02:47) |
|
|
|
Gott Mitt Uns, also known as The Fifth Day of Peace in English or Dio è Con Noi in Italian, is a World War II-era drama directed by Giuliano Montaldo, starring Richard Johnson, Michael Goodliffe, and Bud Spencer. The film is based on the true story of two German soldiers, Bruno Grauber (Franco Nero) and Rainer Schultz (Larry Aubrey), who were executed by their comrades in a Canadian-run prisoner of war camp in Amsterdam in May 1945, after being found guilty of cowardice and desertion by fellow POWs.
To capture the terrible circumstances that Grauber and Schultz found themselves in, Morricone decided to score a lot of Gott Mit Uns with harsh dissonance. A large part of the score – one could easily say too much – features harshly abstract noises, stark string marches, machine gun sound effects, martial drums, and plucked guitars all of which come together in a collision of sound that is difficult to like. Numerous long cues feature this music almost exclusively, including the opening “Titoli di Testa,” and subsequent cues such as “Corsa Disperata,” “Un Cielo Senza Aerei,” “Incarcerati,” “Una Questione Di Principio,” All’Alba Del Quinto Giorno,” and the conclusive “Percussioni e Marcia (Titoli Di Coda)”. I understand what Morricone was doing here, but even with the knowledge of what he was aiming to convey with music, I find myself longing to move past these tracks whenever them come on.
Thankfully, the saving grace of Gott Mit Us is the “Lontano” theme a wistful, faraway theme with a regretful undertone that offers a bittersweet memory of home for the German soldiers at the heart of the story. The theme is written for melancholy strings and a prepared piano, and its two performances in “Versione Disco” and “Versione Film” are the most well-rounded concert arrangement of the it. Later, there is a lovely statement in “Nostalgia di Casa”, while the conclusive “Arrangiamento 1974” Morricone adds guitars and steel drums into the instrumental mix, in an odd but compelling choice. Note: the ‘Versione Disco’ thankfully has nothing to do with 1970s dance craze, and jus differentiates between the album and in-film versions of the cue.
One other cue worth noting is “Prigionieri,” an action sequence wherein Morricone underpins the dissonances with a swirling string ostinato and wandering muted brass. “Erika:” and “La Guerra e Finita!” are raucous drinking songs piece sung in German, while “In Cella” is a cue featuring nothing but a man whistling.
Focus on: String marches, machine gun sounds, martial arts drums, plucked guitar, piano, steel drums, raucous drinking songs sung in German, whistles
|
Lontano (Versione Disco) (04:26) |
|
Gott Mit Uns (Titoli Di Testa) (01:08) |
|
Percussione E Marcia (Titoli Di Coda) (01:58) |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for the film falls mainly into two styles: beautiful, classical, elegant romance scoring that relates to the Fräulein Doktor herself, and dissonant, overwhelming music to illustrate the horrors of war. The theme that most people will be drawn to is the Fräulein Doktor theme, which first appears in “Fräulein Doktor on Board the Ship,” and then is re-stated more fully “Fräulein Doktor at the Hotel,” “Champagne and Morphine,” and others. This is truly one of Morricone’s most beautiful themes, in which strings and piano and harpsichord combine in the most gorgeous of ways. Later, “Fräulein Doktor and Dr. Saforet” and “Lesbian Love Scene” underscore the controversial moment when the Fräulein seduces a female chemist so she can obtain a secret formula from her on behalf of the Germans; after some unsettling and hesitant harpsichord passages, the full romance theme emerges again in all its glory, and I especially love how Morricone scored these scenes identically, irrespective of whether the Fräulein was using her guiles on a man or a woman.
On the other hand, the music for the horrors of war sees Morricone at his most challenging and dissonant. Beginning with the “Opening Titles,” Morricone’s music here is unsettling and difficult, filled with nerve-shredding string sustains, rattling percussion ideas, and machine gun sound effects. There are also some moments of tension and suspense too, in cues such as “Disembarking from the Submarine,” “The Watchmaker,” “The Sinking of the Hampshire,” and “The Safe and the Map,” which use string sustains overlaid with nervous tinkling pianos, harpsichords, and snare drum riffs, to underscore the Fräulein as she undertakes the most dangerous parts of her mission.
Other cues of note include “Berlin: At the Restaurant,” an impressionistic, vivid writing for a string quartet, and “Reception at the Embassy,” a lovely piece of classical pastiche.
The film’s big set piece comes in “The Poison Gas Battle at Ypres,” which is sensational – a huge, unstoppable combination of anguished screeching strings, roiling percussion tattoos, screaming brass, guttural choral outbursts, and multiple moments of stark orchestral dissonance. This all comes together to underscore the final scene where – having successfully completed her mission and given the Germans the chemical formula for poison gas – the Fräulein Doktor witnesses them unleashing a gas attack on soldiers in the opposing trenches, with naturally ghastly results. The aftermath of this event causes the Doktor to see the error of her ways, but go insane in the process, distraught by the horror she had indirectly inflicted. The conclusive “Fräulein Doktor Insanity and End Titles” revisits the gorgeous romantic main theme for the final time; elegant, classical, Morricone at his tender and emotional best
Focus on: Harpsichord, string sustain, percussion, machine gun sounds, piano, snare drum, brass, throat chorus.
|
Fraulein Doktor (Sessions) - 01 - Track 01 |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score for the film is one of his more subtle ones, presenting a series of relaxing lounge music jazz tracks for orchestra, vocals, and jazz combo. The score often makes use of bossa nova, samba, and Euro-pop beats and grooves, giving it a very 1960s style, but it’s very richly textured, often just presenting simple repeated chords in a calm, relaxing manner . It’s also quite clever in the way he often uses little piano and string motifs that just sound a little off-kilter, not quite right, alluding to the rather precarious mental state of the protagonist Laura.
The title cue “La Donna Invisibile,” is gentle and softly romantic, but a little bittersweet, offering strings, piano and a jazz combo featuring a prominent muted trumpet. “Ritratto d’Autore” picks up a more contemporary guitar-led bossa-nova vibe, which plays an interesting staccato piano theme with a very clever, slightly anxious edge. “Silenziosamente” is almost hypnotic in the way it explores the simple music relationship between strings and a plucked bass. “La Moda” is a soft rock/pop intrumental with some terrific writing for trumpet and Hammond organ. The great Edda Dell’Orso lends her unmistakable voice to the seductive trio “In Un Sogn Il Sogno,” “Alla Serenitá,” and “Un Bacio,” the second of which is actually the film’s main title.
Focus on: Orchestra, Vocal, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Samba, Europop, Baby Piano, Strings, Piano, Jazz, Trumpet, More Modern Guitar, Bossa Nova, Staccato Piano, Plucked Bass , Hammond Organ, Edda Dell'Orso
|
la donna invisibile (06:46) |
|
ritratto d'auto (05:04) |
|
silenziosamente (03:15) |
|
la moda (03:30) |
|
un bacio (05:55 |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score is very much rooted in his 1960s jazz style, and offers a series of soft, intimate instrumentals for orchestra and jazz combo, playing in a series of languid and laid-back ways. There’s not much recurring thematic content to speak of, but several cues do stand out as being especially enjoyable. The title trak “L’Assoluto Naturale” is very much like that, a pretty and summery theme that gets passed around between bass flutes, Hammond organ, and strings. The subsequent “Sempre Più Verità” and is a little more urgent, with a introductory rhythmic section that sounds for all the world like the intro to ‘Come on Eileen’ and a prominent staccato piano that eventually establishes itself as the score’s main recurring thematic idea.
Later, “È Facile” is beguilingly romantic, with a soft flute melody at its core. “Studio di Colore” has a more insistent jazz feeling, repeating the main theme, but blending it with a more toe-tapping arrangement for tapped hi-hats and a muted trumpet. This then continues on into subsequent tracks like “Il Profumo Della Tua Pelle,” “Amare Assolutamente,” “È la Solita Storia,” and “I’Estate è Vicina,” where the rhythmic theme is often carried by a piano, and which occasionally grow to quite impressively fulsome heights.
Only the conclusive “Assalito Dalle Rondini” stands out as being markedly different; here, Morricone engages in some quite dissonant writing for layers of aggressive, agitated, anguished strings, underscoring the film’s peculiar and poetically violent finale
, Focus on: jazz, orchestra, bass flute, hammond organ, strings, staccato piano, flute,
|
L'Assoluto Naturale (03:35) |
|
Sempre piг veritЕ' (02:50) |
|
Studio di colore (01:10) |
|
Assalito dalle rondini (06:10) |
|
|
|
Morricone’s score is unusual in that it is comprised mostly of original songs rather than score; three beat/pop songs ( “Gloria”, “Tell Me Tell Me”, and “Laila Laila”) performed in Italian by Patrick Samson in a vocal style that only be described as ‘aggressively constipated’, and two lounge/symphonic compositions featuring the unmistakable vocals of Edda Dell’Orso (“Una Voce Allo Specchio,” the gorgeously ethereal “Sospendi Il Tempo”).
Morricone’s actual score I limited to just three cues: the groovy and enticing “Sytar”, which uses Indian ragas along with romantic orchestral strings to create an unusually compelling sound; “Dinamica Per 5+1,” which is unusual, gloomy, and apparently almost entirely improvised, comprising a series of unusual textures for bass guitar, percussion, piano, and a trumpet that is undergoing some sort of unspeakable torture; and “In Tre Quarti,” a lush and beautiful waltz that cleanses the score like a warm breeze.
My choice for the best release of the soundtrack is the CD release from British label Curci, which pairs is with five tracks from the film Vergogna Schifosi; there is also a 2008 release on the Fin de Siècle label which pairs both scores with music from the 1968 film Theorem. Overall, this is a weird one; good as a curio, and especially worthwhile if you’re an Edda dell’Orso aficionado.
Focus on: Indian ragas , Orchestra, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Trumpet, Waltz
|
Gloria (H.Nohra) (03:40) |
|
Tell me tell me(H.Nohra) (02:5
|
|
Una voce allo specchio (01:03) |
|
Dinamica per 5+1 (04:51) |
|
In tre quarti (02:08) |
|
|
|
Les Clan des Siciliens – The Sicilian Clan – is a French gangster film based on a novel by Auguste Le Breton, directed by the great Henri Verneuil. It stars Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, and Alain Delon, and tells the story of a young and ambitious mobster who plans who an elaborate diamond heist, and then seduces the daughter of a ruthless mob box, all while trying to avoid the attentions of a determined police commissioner trying to end the crime spree.
Morricone’s score is dominated by the recurring main theme, “Il Clan dei Siciliani,” which sounds like it should be from one of his famous Spaghetti westerns rather than a mafia movie, but it’s just as great; a languid, nonchalant, almost insolent theme for electric guitar, Jew’s harp, percussion and a swooning string orchestra. The score features a number of interesting variations, including one in “Dialogo No.1” featuring Alessandro Alessandrini’s iconic whistle, and a couple of slightly more urgent and dynamic ones in “Jeanne e la Spiaggia” “Dialogo No.2” which really enhances the film’s overall noir mood.
When the main theme is not in full prominence, Morricone finds time to also contribute a superb piece of contemporary lounge jazz source music in Snack Bar,” a wonderfully vigorous piece of blistering action chase music in “Tema per le Goff,” and some tension-ratcheting suspense music in cues like “Mostra dei Gioielli,” which also uses the Jew’s harp to excellent effect.
The soundtrack release, on CAM Records, is only half an hour in length, initially came out in 1996 under its Italian-language title Il Clan dei Siciliani, and was re-issued again in 2005, but as far as I can tell has never or expanded in any way, and as such remains oddly under-the radar. The Sicilian Clan is definitely worth investigating, though, for its fascinating blend of styles, and especially for its memorable main theme.
Focus on: Jew’s harp, Electric guitar, percussion, string orchestra, Alessandro Alessandrini's signature whistle, contemporary lounge jazz source music
|
Italian Theme (03:35) |
|
Snack Bar (02:23) |
|
Dialogue No. 1 (03:15) |
|
LeGoff's Theme (03:07) |
|
|
|
The cornerstone of Morricone’s score is, of course, the astonishing opening cue “Abolição,” a Portuguese word which means something like ‘abolition’ or ‘suppression’. The power of the piece of quite amazing – it begins with a church organ playing a simple repetitive melody, but then over the course of five minutes it gradually picks up a mixed voice choir chanting the word over and over, tribal percussion, electric guitar riffs, and even a flourish from a solo trumpet. By the end of the piece the ensemble has almost worked itself into a frenzy, calling for freedom and deliverance from oppression, that is just astonishing. Morricone performed the piece frequently in concert as an encore and it invariably brought the house down – how could it not?
The rest of the score is made up of half of dozen or so recurring themes, many of which receive variations and recapitulations as the score progresses. The Queimada Theme itself is actually a quite lovely piece in itself, taking both the orchestrations and the chanted word from “Abolição” but making it almost laid-back, tropical, and inviting, especially in the opening “Prima,” and later in “Pezzo Classico,” . Many of the other cues which feature the same stylistics are quite restrained, and sometimes tense, combining sinister strings with tribal percussion and vocals to illustrate the knife-edge political climate in the country; “Anche i Portoghesi Muoiono,” “Libertà,” “La Civiltà dei Bianchi,” the vivid “Seconda,” and “William e José” are excellent examples of this.
The “Verso Il Futuro” motif takes the secondary melody from “Abolição” arranges for electric guitars, and combined it with a somewhat bleak-sounding choral lament, although the choral harmonies in “#4” and “#7” are lovely. The theme for “José Dolores” is a simple, rustic piece for guitar, percussion, and Hammond organ, but the lovely string harmonies as the theme develops are really quite beautiful, and speak to his good heart and desire to lead his people to freedom. Later, “Generalissimmo” combines the José Dolores theme with the main Abolição choral element t excellent effect. The final standout piece is “Osanna,” a rich exploration of religious choral majesty interspersed with calm tribal drumbeats and statements of the “Abolição” motif in juxtaposition – again, the clash between the natives, the Portuguese, and the English. It’s quite brilliant.
Given its popularity, Queimada has been released on CD several times over the years, including a well-liked 1996 multi-score release from Vivi Musica which combines nine highlight cues with music from The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Il Mercenario, and La Resa dei Conti, among others. The release reviewed here is the 500-copy limited edition of the standalone score released in 2012 by GDM/Legend, which expands the running time to over an hour. This is an essential Morricone release, if for no other reason than “Abolição” being an all-time great.
Focus on: church organ, mixed voice choir, tribal percussion, electric guitar riff, solo trumpet, chant, strings, vocals, electric guitar, Hammond organ
|
Abolicao (05:05) |
|
Queimada (Pezzo classico primo) (00:44 |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Verso il futuro (Primo) (04:36) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Jose' Dolores (00:43) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Jose' Dolores (Generalissimo) (01:27) |
![](http://morricone.cn/20G/images/listen.gif) |
Osanna (04:18) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|