ANDYBROUWER.CO.UK
ENNIO
MORRICONE
Ennio Morricone is a musical genius. Almost everything he touches
turns to gold. I was a late starter in gaining an appreciation of
his work. It wasn't until the mid '80s that he really started to
get under my skin, in the best possible way. Initially, it was Incantation who aroused my interest
with their haunting and evocative contribution to my own personal
favourite film score, the music from The Mission. Set in the
rainforests of South America, The Mission, directed by Roland
Joffe in 1986 and starring Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, is a
story of the struggle for the body and soul of the native Guarani
Indians between misguided Jesuit priests and the conquering
Spanish colonialists. However, it turned out that the superb film
score was penned by Ennio Morricone (pictured left), the Italian
master musician and tracks like Gabriel's Oboe and On Earth As It
Is In Heaven were brought to life by the vivid and imaginative
instrumentation of Incantation and the excellent orchestration of
the London Philharmonic. It later attracted an unsuccessful Oscar
nomination - still regarded by many as a travesty of justice that
it didn't win the award - for its soundtrack while collecting
Golden Globe and BAFTA awards and best score at the Cannes film
festival.
Morricone is one
of the most successful and influential of modern-day big screen
composers with over 400 film scores to his credit. He has
enhanced movies with a mixture of distinctive styles for the last
thirty years - from the twangy spaghetti western sounds of Sergio
Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, through mainstream films like 1900,
Days of Heaven, Once Upon A 
Time In America, Frantic,
The Untouchables, Bugsy, Hamlet, Cinema Paradiso, Casualties of
War and In the Line of Fire up to scores for big-budget Hollywood
movies like Wolf and Lolita. The Mission however, was
Incantation's first film work and their initial contact with
Morricone came out of the blue when the film's production
company, Goldcrest Films rang and asked founder members Mike
Taylor and Tony Hinnigan to go and meet him. As Taylor recalls,
"Tony and myself did all the Indian instrumentation on The
Mission as the South American members of the band at the time
didn't read music. They were involved only in some percussion
work. It took two days - some time with the orchestra, the rest
of the time overdubbing. Mr Morricone had me hitting the bombo
(large drum) so hard and for so long - my fingers bled!"
Morricone himself,
not only composed the score but also arranged the orchestration
and conducted the London Philharmonic during the recording which
took place in the Wembley studios of CTS in late 1985. "He
is typically Italian - mildly eccentric, extremely intense,
shouts a lot and is also a genius and an extremely nice man
behind all the front!.......obviously working with him was a
pleasure and an honour," recalls Taylor in
admiration of his collaboration with the Italian maestro.
Morricone has a high regard for Taylor's talents as well and
incorporated his solo flute in the score for the 1992 Patrick
Swayze film set in India, City of Joy.
Morricone has an
immense following of music lovers across the globe. Quite
rightly, he's regarded as a master of the art of film music and
his 400+ film scores are a testament to his genius and longevity.
Now 78 years of age, his most 
recent soundtracks include U-Turn, Bulworth, What
Dreams May Come, Phantom of the Opera, The Legend of 1900 as well
as Canone Inverso, Mission to Mars, Vatel and Malena (for which he was
nominated for an Oscar, his fifth such nomination). Malena is his
latest collaboration with director Giuseppe Tornatore (pictured
right) that started with Cinema Paradiso and continued with films
like Stanno Tutti Bene, A Pure Formality, The Star Maker and The
Legend of 1900. So important is Morricone's music to Tornatore's
films that the director insists upon having the score written
before production begins, so that the actors can listen to the
music while they shoot the scenes. Tornatore recalls that he
dropped the script off at Morricone's studio late one afternoon,
and two days later the workaholic composer had haunting
compositions ready for listening. "Some of the themes that
are now in the film were composed right in front of me during
those first few days," notes Tornatore. "His music was
an inspiration to everyone." Morricone recalls, "The
music was born of my collaboration with Giuseppe. It reflects how
I was inspired by the story of a boy, in love with a beautiful
woman and coming of age in a small town in Sicily. After reading
the script, I attempted to write music that would aid the film in
its slow transformation from comedic and ironic to heavily
dramatic."
Anyone who
appreciates Morricone's work has their own favourite film scores
and I'm no exception. The music from films like The Mission, Once
Upon a Time in America, Sacco & Vanzetti and Cinema Paradiso
are exceptional in their magnetism and simplicity. I'm well and
truly hooked, just like thousands of others.
STOP
PRESS..... Morricone admirers in the United Kingdom are
ecstatic at the news that the maestro will be coming to London in
March 2001 to conduct for the first time. The Barbican Centre
will host two concerts on 10 & 11 March, where Morricone will
conduct the symphonic orchestra, Roma Sinfonietta and chorus,
with over 200 performers on stage. The first part of both
concerts will be dedicated to his original orchestral
compositions and will premiere two pieces 'Fragment of Eros' and
'Ombra di Lontana Presenza'. The second half will contain many of
his best film music compositions including The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Battle of Algiers, Sacco
and Vanzetti, Casualties of War and The Mission. This is
marvellous news and a first chance for many in the UK to see the
great man live on stage [November 2000].
11 MARCH
2001..... I've just returned home
from the concert of a lifetime. Morricone and the Rome Symphony
Orchestra were simply brilliant. I'm not a big fan of chamber
music but the voice of Susanna Rigacci was just wonderful and the
first half of the concert passed quickly. Unfortunately, so did
the second half but what a fantastic 1½ hours it was. The
maestro brought his film scores to life on stage and the voices
of Rigacci and Dulce Pontes added extra sparkle to the
proceedings. The reception from the Barbican audience was
excellent and I actually got to meet the man himself. Interviewed
by an Italian tv crew a few hours before the concert, Morricone
was in fine form and stopped briefly to sign autographs for a
handful of early arrivals outside the Hall. I've posted a few
pictures of the moment below (click to enlarge the photos) as
well as my own brief review of the concert.
11
March 2001.... A Day to Remember
Ennio
Morricone performing live in the UK - I never dreamt it would
happen. So you can see why I had to pinch myself that it was
true, when I arrived at the Barbican Hall in London a little
before mid-day on a Sunday in chilly March. Even more surprising
was seeing a gentleman of mature years, wrapped up against the
cold weather and the drizzling rain, being interviewed by an
Italian tv crew. Could it be? Yes, it was the maestro himself,
confirmed by the presence of his personal entourage. Although an
aide informed a small group of admiring onlookers that the
maestro would not be signing autographs, the great man was more
than happy to provide his signature whether it be on an album
cover or a ticket stub, once the tv interview was over. He smiled
and joked (in Italian) with the lucky few before disappearing
inside the Hall to prepare for the matinee concert performance. A
rare moment to savour.
The
auditorium was full to capacity when the 90 members of the Rome
Symphony Orchestra and the Crouch End Chorus took their seats on
stage. The Hall hushed and awaited the maestro's arrival for the
first half of the concert. Two concert works, chamber music to
you and me, would give the audience an insight into the other
side of Morricone's repertoire, with the second half of the
performance devoted to his more internationally famous film
scores. His arrival was greeted enthusiastically by the audience
and the concert began with Ombra di Lontana Presenza ('Shadow of
a Far Away Presence'), a tribute to the late Italian violist Dino
Asciolia, with Fausto Anzelmo prominent on viola. The second and
more interesting piece of the first half was Frammenti di Eros
('Fragment of Eros'). For this, Morricone was joined by soprano
Susanna Rigacci, who I thought sang wonderfully well, prominently
accompanied by the string and horn sections of the orchestra. The
two pieces had lasted forty minutes and led into the interval,
with the crowd, a mixture of all ages, shapes and sizes,
expectant.
Skipping
onto the stage, Morricone took his bow and accompanied by Susanna
Rigacci again, launched into a medley of three pieces dedicated
to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. This was the beginning of
the second half of the afternoon's performance and the most
eagerly anticipated. It would last 1½ hours. Rigacci was quite
superb and fifteen minutes later, we'd heard The Good, the Bad
and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West and A Fistful of
Dynamite. And that's what it sounded like to me, absolute
dynamite. A few minutes later, the maestro returned after a short
break, accompanied by 
Portuguese singing
sensation Dulce Pontes (pictured right) and began with The Battle
of Algiers in a sequence of tunes from films about political
protest and war. Pontes took centre stage with a ballad from
Sacco & Vanzetti (one of my personal favourites) and that was
followed by pieces from Investigation of a Citizen Under
Suspicion, Sostiene Pereira (and the incredible Pontes'
performance of 'A Brisa do Coracao'), The Working Classes Go to
Heaven, Casualties of War and a rousing Queimada. Pontes sang
brilliantly, captivating the audience with both her voice and her
obvious enthusiasm for the pieces, matched only by Morricone's
command of the orchestra.
The
third part of the second period was dedicated to films
characterised as 'tragic, lyric, epic' with Desert of the Tartars
and Richard III preceding Petro Picone's oboe-led medley from The
Mission. With the audience on their feet and begging for more,
Morricone took his leave from the stage only to return moments
later to lead the orchestra in a rousing encore of two pieces
from Cinema Paradiso. Flight schedules back to Italy, denied the
adoring crowd any more of this remarkable man and his music, but
I and everyone else left happy and contented that we'd witnessed
a true genius at work.
UPDATE.....Ennio Morricone & Dulce Pontes collaborated on a
new CD called 'Focus : Ennio Morricone & Dulce Pontes,'
released in October 2003 on the Universal label. Included amongst
the tracks are The Mission, Once Upon A Time In The West, Cinema
Paradiso, Chi Mai, Sacco & Vanzetti, Moses, La Luz Prodigiosa
and Amaria Rodriguez. Their first major collaboration was in
1995, when Pontes released the beautiful 'A Brisa do Coracao' as
a single from the film Sostiene Pereira. It's a brilliant CD and
well worth getting hold of a copy.
Morricone's
major scores of 2001 were Ripley's Game, an Italian and British
co-production from director Lilana Cavani and starring John
Malkovich and the animated film Aida degli Alberi. Much of his
work since then has been for Italian movies and television, for
example Senso 45, Perlasca, Padre Pio and Il Papa Buono and
Musashi, for Japanese tv. The list is endless and he shows no
sign of slowing down with 2005 scores like the brilliant Fateless and Cefalonia being hailed
as vintage Morricone, whilst Karol and Leningrad are expected
anytime soon.
On
Monday 10 November 2003 Morricone made a surprise return to
London to play a 75th Birthday Gala Concert at The Royal Albert
Hall. He chose London to celebrate his birthday and British fans
turned out in their droves to mark the occasion. Suffice to say
that the event was unforgettable and even managed to bring a few
tears to my wife's eyes, which is no mean feat! Click here for a review of the
concert. The Maestro's third visit to London was a two-concert
return in December 2006, details of which are below.
To read
more Morricone... The best of the websites dedicated to
Morricone has got to be Michael Caletka's which also has an
excellent discussion board where you can disect the maestro's
work with other enthusiasts. I would also recommend Didier
Thunus' Chimai.com website which is a bit
special as well. Another fan with a website worth looking at is Pat Cleary, whilst you would be doing
yourself a big favour by investing a few euro's in MSV,
the Ennio Morricone Society newsletter, produced at least two
times a year by Martin van Wouw. Contact Martin at mvwouw@worldonline.nl. And of course, you can
visit the official Ennio Morricone website here.
and finally...
To
read more about Morricone's latest epic score... click on Fateless
MORRICONE
weaves his magic
1st December 2006 - London Hammersmith Apollo
The Maestro has done
it again - in only his third visit to these shores to perform on
stage with his very own backing band, well actually the Rome
Sinfonietta Orchestra, he had the 3,000 Hammersmith Apollo
punters on their feet time and again, demanding more of his
baton-whirling as he brought to life some of his best-loved film
scores from a seemingly endless career in producing memorable
music. At 78, Ennio Morricone won't go on
forever, so each of his appearances should be savoured and
enjoyed as if they're his last, and Friday night at The Apollo -
one of two concerts in the Don't Look Back series - was another
sublime offering. I've now seen The Maestro in action on all
three of his visits to London - the previous concerts were at The
Barbican and Royal Albert Hall - and I wouldn't have missed them
for all the tea in China.
Without the services of the sensational Dulce Pontes
for this trip, Morricone revamped his normal play-list to include
at least half a dozen pieces I've not heard played live before,
starting with Novecento. For me, Pontes is an integral part of
the Morricone performance, she adds another dimension, but her
absence meant a different approach from the Maestro and increased
the workload for both the Sinfonietta and the Crouch End Festival
Chorus, both of whom stepped up to the mark. And of course, as
ever, soprano Susanna Rigacci (pictured above, right) weaved her
magic during the Sergio Leone section, whilst Gilda Butta
(pictured left) did likewise on the piano. Other outstanding
individual performances were given by Marco Serino on violin,
Monica Berni's flute and Carlo Romano on oboe. Morricone feels
comfortable with this orchestra and they feel comfortable with
him, and it shows, with both at the absolute pinnacle of their
game.
A nice surprise was the opening cue from
one of tv's most popular entertainers, Jonathan Ross, who was
effervescent in his introduction of the Maestro and had a front
row seat for the two-hour performance. However, it was the
adoration from the audience that prompted Morricone to leave the
stage and then return for three encores, stiffly and coyly
accepting the plaudits and appreciation from both the house and
orchestra alike, but suggesting its the music that is the
centrepiece, not the man himself. I must also mention Andrew
& Andrea Allen from North Yorkshire who sat next to me -
Andrew has been a devotee of Morricone since 1968 and was
overjoyed to be seeing the Maestro in action for the first time.
Both he and I went home very happy and contented people.
Programme: Novecento;
Estate 1908: Autunno 1922: Romanzo; Tre Adagi; Deborah's
Theme (Once Upon A Time in America); Addio Monti (I Promessi
Sposi); L'amour Suspendu (Vatel); Scattered Sheets; H2S;
Il Clan Dei Siciliani; Metti Una Sera A Cena; Come Madalena; The
Modernity of Myth in Sergio Leone's Cinema; The Good, The
Bad and The Ugly; Once Upon A Time in The West; Giu La Testa; The
Ecstasy of Gold ( TGTBATU); Social Cinema; Elegy for
Brown (Casualties of War); Here's To You (Sacco & Vanzetti); Mission;
Gabriel's Oboe; Falls; On Earth As It Is In Heaven; Encores: The Ecstasy of Gold (TGTBATU); Elegy for Brown
(Casualties of War); Abolicao (Quiemada).
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Andy Brouwer 2006
Background music loop is Musicbox by Ennio
Morricone