Ciao Ennio, RIP

RIP - definitely an iconic composer of film music. Play the title tracks from "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly), or the repeating theme from "Once Upon a Time in the West" and everyone goes "I know this tune" (even when they have never heard of Morricone)...
 
I was spending my evening listening to his music... So sad. I am a huge fan of Sergio Leone and his collaboration with Ennio was something really amazing. It has always been to me the source of inspiration.
 
Thank you Robert!

I love his music. I used some of his soundtracks as slideshow background music of my trips to Venice, Florence, and Tuscany.

Just beautiful!
RIP
 
He was a great one, a composer in the tradition of Bernard Hermann, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Georges Delerue to name a few, each of whom brought to the art of film composing a craft that was informed by a mastery of orchestration and counterpoint.
 
I've never understood how guys like Ennio do it. I try to write a simple song on my guitar and I get nowhere (fast). Cinema Paradiso is one of my favorites. I watched it on one of these 'on demand' deals, and they cut it up including some of Ennio's music (sad). History will be kind to him, so rest peacefully Sig. Morricone.
 
He was like the Italian version of Jerry Lordan, but a hundred times more prolific.

RIP, Signore
 
I've never understood how guys like Ennio do it. I try to write a simple song on my guitar and I get nowhere (fast)...
I have a theory...

1) Perhaps it’s not unusual for a musician/composer to suffer some loss of hearing in their career.
2) With hearing loss comes some tinnitus, that ringing in the ears that some find annoying.
3) The mind tries to interpret the tinnitus in some way that doesn’t drive one crazy.
4) From time to time, not all the time maybe, the tinnitus sufferer’s mind turns the ringing into music as a way out.
5) The composer may hear familiar music, and he may hear something more creative, guided by a story or other thoughts.
6) The composer attempts to capture the new music on paper, refine it.

I once asked a music professor if he knew whether some well-known composers suffered from tinnitus, that could tie into their compositions. He looked thoughtful, didn’t know. My tinnitus often sounds like music, thus the crazy idea...
 
From the Economist:

In the sequel, “For a Few Dollars More” (1965), sound became even more integral, as a musical pocketwatch played a key role in the plot. Mr Morricone’s score carefully segued between diegetic music—which exists in the world of the film—and non-diegetic music, which comments on the narrative and the psychological interiority of the characters. By this stage in their collaboration, Mr Morricone was writing the music in advance of filming. Leone would edit the footage to fit the music and not, as was conventionally the case, the other way around. While making “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966), Leone would play the music on set for the actors to help them get into character. (Each of the titular parts shared the same theme but it is played on a different instrument: the flute for the “Good”, the ocarina for the “Bad” and the human voice for the “Ugly”.)
By “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968), the director had gone further, playing the music as the cameras rolled so that he could line up his shots accordingly. The most striking part of the movie’s soundscape comes during the opening title sequence. Three cowboys await the arrival of the protagonist—a man known only as Harmonica (Charles Bronson)—at a railway station; Mr Morricone created atmosphere using the sound of a fly buzzing, water dripping and a sign creaking. This was his genius. He combined the catchiness of a pop melodist with the daring experimentalism that made him a core member of the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza, a collective of avant-garde composers.
 
From the Economist:

In the sequel, “For a Few Dollars More” (1965), sound became even more integral, as a musical pocketwatch played a key role in the plot. Mr Morricone’s score carefully segued between diegetic music—which exists in the world of the film—and non-diegetic music, which comments on the narrative and the psychological interiority of the characters. By this stage in their collaboration, Mr Morricone was writing the music in advance of filming. Leone would edit the footage to fit the music and not, as was conventionally the case, the other way around. While making “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966), Leone would play the music on set for the actors to help them get into character. (Each of the titular parts shared the same theme but it is played on a different instrument: the flute for the “Good”, the ocarina for the “Bad” and the human voice for the “Ugly”.)
By “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968), the director had gone further, playing the music as the cameras rolled so that he could line up his shots accordingly. The most striking part of the movie’s soundscape comes during the opening title sequence. Three cowboys await the arrival of the protagonist—a man known only as Harmonica (Charles Bronson)—at a railway station; Mr Morricone created atmosphere using the sound of a fly buzzing, water dripping and a sign creaking. This was his genius. He combined the catchiness of a pop melodist with the daring experimentalism that made him a core member of the Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza, a collective of avant-garde composers.

Nice mini-essay, on a completely unrelated website, but I sure enjoyed it. I wonder what avant-garde tricks he played in 'Cinema Paradiso.'
 
I have a theory...

1) Perhaps it’s not unusual for a musician/composer to suffer some loss of hearing in their career.
2) With hearing loss comes some tinnitus, that ringing in the ears that some find annoying.
3) The mind tries to interpret the tinnitus in some way that doesn’t drive one crazy.
4) From time to time, not all the time maybe, the tinnitus sufferer’s mind turns the ringing into music as a way out.
5) The composer may hear familiar music, and he may hear something more creative, guided by a story or other thoughts.
6) The composer attempts to capture the new music on paper, refine it.

I once asked a music professor if he knew whether some well-known composers suffered from tinnitus, that could tie into their compositions. He looked thoughtful, didn’t know. My tinnitus often sounds like music, thus the crazy idea...

I don't have tinnitus, maybe that's why I'm also such a lousy guitarist.
 
I enjoyed so many of his movies and soundtracks, like The Mission, Fistful of Dollars, and The Untouchables. He lived a long life, full of music, and will be very missed.
 
The full score here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6sNES3K14M One of my all-time favorite movies. There are two versions: the official one and the 'director's cut'...with different endings...

Thanks again, it is one of my favorites too. I really don't like where they cut the original ending. I saw it went it came out in the theater but was disappointed when I later rented it.
 
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