Arguably a milestone for both director Sergio Leone and his musical cohort Ennio Morricone. After deconstructing the classic American western by way of The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars, Leone distilled his intentions with 1968's Once Upon a Time in the West. For his part, Morricone framed Leone's meditative camerawork and mythic narrative with a mix of hauntingly spacious pieces and reconfigured snatches of old-timey tunes. Just within the stretch of the first four pieces here, Morricone evokes the endless expanse of the West with a Copland-esque aria (the main title theme), weaves some twisted grit into the showdown theme with loads of guitar fuzz ("As a Judgment"), ingeniously combines whistling and a clippity-clop rhythm for a respite piece ("Farewell to Cheyenne"), and conjures the surreal end of the cowboy mythos via a wonderfully disjointed serial-style number ("The Transgression")…
Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer whose credits include the "spaghetti" Westerns that made Clint Eastwood a star, has died in Rome aged 91.
According to Italian news agency Ansa, he died in hospital having fractured his femur in a fall some days ago.
The prolific composer also wrote music for Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables and Cinema Paradiso.
Having received an honorary Oscar in 2007, he went on to win one in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.
Morricone, who was simply known as "Maestro" in his home town of Rome, scored more than 500 films over seven decades.
Music from "A Fistful of Dollars", "The Missio", "Ship Hunters", "To Forget Palermo", "City of Joy", "Once Upon a Time in America", "My Name is Nobody", "Casualtes of War", "Gott Mitt Uns", "Maddallena").
Ennio Morricone is probably the most famous film composer of the 20th century. He is also one of the most prolific composers working in any medium. No exact figure is available, but he's scored over 500 films over several decades, plus many dozens of classical works. While his film scores have been in almost every imaginable musical style (and for almost every imaginable kind of movie), he is most identified with the "spaghetti Western" style of soundtracks, which he pioneered when providing the musical backdrop for the films of director Sergio Leone…
The Compost crew gets their hands on Ennio Morricone for some major remix efforts. On Remixes Vol. 1, International Pony kicks things off with a silly homage ditty, but Alex Attias and Swell Session quickly get things into house territory with their mixes. If you've ever wanted to dance to the harmonica of "Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo," now's your chance! And, as expected, Hakan Lidbo goes tech-house blippy on "Alla Serenita." Leroy Hanghofer brings some bright, ringing tones to "Beat N. 3," while Needs offers "Amore Come Dolore" some mellow jazz. Kabuki puts some speedy breaks to "Dal Mare," and the Butti 49 give "Rivoluzione" an Afro-jazz vibe…
The Wild West meets the soulful sound of Italy. Fearless New York gangsters meet cowboys from the dusty prairie. Godfather meets Taxi Driver. And the magic of cinema meets the rich sound of a first-class symphony orchestra.
A genuine première and, over and above that, starring the biggest motion picture composer of the present day: Ennio Morricone. Morricone is well-known to moviegoers his soundtracks are invariably warmly melodic and superbly suited to the films they grace. The program contains a representative sample of his rich creative output and features a selection of his most famous film music including “Il Buono, il brutto e il cattivo” (“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”), “C’era una volta il West” (“Once Upon a Time in the West”, “Giu la testa” (“A Fistful of Dynamite”), “C’era una volta in America” (“Once Upon a Time in America”, “The Mission”, “Cinema Paradiso”, “The Life and Death of Richard III”, “Investigation Of A Citizen Under Suspicion”, “The Untouchables” and lots more. Including short film clips!
‘Morricone 60’ is the first album of Ennio Morricone’s greatest hits conducted, recorded and curated by Morricone himself – and aims to create a legacy for his fans to enjoy. It sees the celebrated Maestro performing some of his greatest film music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to his recent Academy Award-winning score for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (released earlier this year on Decca). The album marks Ennio Morricone’s 60th anniversary as a composer and conductor and features brand new recordings with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, with whom he’s collaborated on major international movie scores.