Film Music By Ennio Morricone

by Ennio Morricone, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Overview

The Film Music collection of movie themes, all composed by Italian soundtrack god Ennio Morricone, differs in two very distinct ways from the countless collections of his music licensed by doddering budget houses or performed by hack orchestras and ensembles: one is that Morricone himself produced, arranged, and conducted each selection on this collection, and the second is that these themes were all recorded for this album. This is not a compilation of any kind, but an orchestral review by the composer of his own work in collaboration with Rome's National Academy Orchestra and the Roman Sinfonietta. Like Debussy conducting his own pieces in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this music takes on an entirely different meaning when conducted by its composer. "The Mission" becomes an impressionistic work based on a Roman folk melody, "Once Upon a Time in the West" is not so much a dirge looking back over the wreckage of a place in time but a futuristic gaze into the vastness by a seeker, and "Cinema Paradiso" is a series of statements about the transcendent emotions experienced while inside the cinema. In Morricone's own hands, this music leaves the big screen and enters into the canon of a classical music that could only have been composed in the 20th century. "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon a Time in America holds within it all the promise, regret, pathos, and destruction the time symbolized. A brief listen to the theme from "Lolita" offers the listener an intimate view of Morricone's own manner of hearing strings as they are played in harmonic striation over the piano's melody and then interchanged, creating a feeling of memory, loss, and regret. Film Music is a fine, stunning collection by the maestro himself, and a must for anyone interested in how Morricone's music sounds to him when he is composing. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	02/23/2004
Label:	Virgin Classics / Emi / Virgin
UPC:	0724383901326

Tracks

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo), film score~The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
2. Le Clan des Siciliens (The Sicilian Clan), film score~The Sicilian Clan
3. The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, television film score
4. Once Upon a Time in the West, film score~The Man With The Harmonica
5. La Califfa (Lady Caliph), film score~La Califfa
6. The Mission, film score~Gabriels Oboe
7. Gi¿¿ la testa (Duck, You Sucker), film score (aka "A Fistful of Dynamite")~A Fistful Of Dynamite
8. Once Upon a Time in the West, film score~(Main Theme) Once Upon A Time In The West
9. Once Upon a Time in America, film score~Cockey's Song
10. The Mission, film score~The Mission (Remix)
11. Maddalena, film score~Come Maddalena
12. Moses the Lawgiver, television film score~Moses Theme
13. The Mission, film score~The Falls
14. Il Mio Nome ¿¿ Nessuno (My Name Is Nobody), film score (aka Lonesome Gun)~My Name Is Nobody
15. Joss, Il Professionista, film score (aka Le Professional)~Le Vent, Le Cri
16. Once Upon a Time in America, film score~Deborah's Theme

Album Credits

Performance Credits

City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra   Primary Artist
Ennio Morricone   Primary Artist,Conductor

Technical Credits

Ennio Morricone   Composer,Orchestration,Performer
Gordon Lorenz   Liner Notes
Enrico de Melis   Producer