Once upon a Time in the West [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

by Ennio Morricone

Overview

After deconstructing the classic American Western by way of The Good, the Bad & the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars, director Sergio Leone distilled his intentions with 1968's Once Upon a Time in the West, arguably a milestone for both Leone and his musical cohort, Ennio Morricone. For his part, Morricone framed Leone's meditative camera work 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"). And whether sounding upbeat or stark, Morricone informs it all with the dry and windswept vacancy of the West. Beautiful and stunning. ~ Stephen Cook

Product Details

Release Date:	07/17/2020
Label:	Btf / Gdm Music
UPC:	8018163265039
Rank:	36299

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ennio Morricone   Primary Artist,Conductor
Modern Singers of Allessandroni   Primary Artist,Vocals
Edda Dell'Orso   Vocals
Franco DeGemini   Harmonica
Alex Alessandroni   Whistle (Human),Whistle (Instrument)
Alessandro Alessandroni   Director,Choir Director,Whistle (Human)
Alessandroni   Whistle (Human)
Edda   Vocals
Franco de Gemini   Harmonica
Cantori Moderni   Choir/Chorus
Ennio Morricone Orchestra   Orchestra
Modern Singers of Alessandroni   Ensemble,Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Chick Crumpacker   Producer,Digital Producer
Dick Baxter   Digital Engineer
Sergio Marcotulli   Engineer
Ennio Morricone   Composer
Daniel Baumgarten   Series Producer,Release Preparation
Elena Manzo   Graphic Design
Yoshio Tatebayashi   Liner Notes
Fred Binkley   Liner Notes
Guido Podesta   Executive Coordinator
Don Wardell   Coordination,Series Coordinator
Sergio Bassetti   Production Supervisor
Paolo Venditti   Remastering
Laurent Perret   Liner Notes