Ennio Morricone - The Ecstasy Of Gold (via The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
“’How does a film-maker make sure his music is heard? Let me give you an example. If someone has not been invited to a party, but wants to go, what does he do?’ [Ennio] Morricone acts out some noisy Italian bonhomie: ‘Hello everybody, hello.’
He pauses.
‘He doesn’t do this. He knocks at the door, asks for permission to come in, enters the house and then starts meeting people. The music in a film must enter politely, very slowly. The composer does not have to write music at the actual moment a character enters a room - it might be too much. So there is this slow, delicate entry, with a simple sound that allows the film-maker to lower the other, naturalistic sounds.
The human ear can distinguish no more than two sounds of different quality at the same time. Some very nice music doesn’t work because of that: if it is too strong, it can become an element that disturbs the film, rather than giving something to it. Yet in some cases the music must be very, very strong, when it is necessary to give a particular dynamic to the storytelling course of the film, rather than, say, a person’s feelings.”
-excerpted from Morricone profile “Screen Saver”, The Guardian (via)
Ennio Morricone - The Ecstasy Of Gold (via The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
“’How does a film-maker make sure his music is heard? Let me give you an example. If someone has not been invited to a party, but wants to go, what does he do?’ [Ennio] Morricone acts out some noisy Italian bonhomie: ‘Hello everybody, hello.’
He pauses.
‘He doesn’t do this. He knocks at the door, asks for permission to come in, enters the house and then starts meeting people. The music in a film must enter politely, very slowly. The composer does not have to write music at the actual moment a character enters a room - it might be too much. So there is this slow, delicate entry, with a simple sound that allows the film-maker to lower the other, naturalistic sounds.
The human ear can distinguish no more than two sounds of different quality at the same time. Some very nice music doesn’t work because of that: if it is too strong, it can become an element that disturbs the film, rather than giving something to it. Yet in some cases the music must be very, very strong, when it is necessary to give a particular dynamic to the storytelling course of the film, rather than, say, a person’s feelings.”
-excerpted from Morricone profile “Screen Saver”, The Guardian (via)
Ennio Morricone: Driving Decoys (Danger: Diabolik soundtrack, 1968)
Ennio Morricone - La Resa Dei Conti (via For a Few Dollars More: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Other scores composed by Morricone for Sergio Leone films previously posted here.
Ennio Morricone
“Gabriel’s Oboe”
The Mission (1986)
One of my favorite pieces from a film score, featuring both the oboe and harpsichord. There’s a classical tilt to this track by Morricone: his score was nominated in 1987 for a Best Score Oscar, losing to Herbie Hancock and his score to ‘Round Midnight.
Ennio Morricone
“Gabriel’s Oboe” And “On Earth As It Is In Heaven” (live)
The Mission (1986)
The legendary Italian film music composer leads an orchestra at the Arena di Verona in selections from his Oscar-nominated score.
Ennio Morricone
End Credits from The Untouchables
When Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) walks down that Chicago street at the end of The Untouchables, you get the sense that his takedown of gangster Al Capone would not be the end of Ness’s storied career in law enforcement. Perhaps it’s the interplay between the baritone horn and trumpet in Morricone’s stately score that gives it away.
