The famous Italian composer has left us at the age of 91. Ennio Morricone's contribution to the development of film music in the 20th and 21st centuries is now history. A chronicle that reached its climax in the unforgettable work he carried out in Sergio Leone's Dollar Trilogy. Morricone changed the way we understand the relationship between soundtracks and the stories offered by the big screen.
Just as Bernard Herrmann did in his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Miklós Rózsa with Billy Wilder or John Williams, especially with Steven Spielberg, Morricone has managed to make great film titles inevitably evoke their soundtracks. Directors as opposite as Tornatore and Tarantino did not hesitate to let themselves be carried away by the titanic compositions of the Roman master.
Development of Ennio Morricone in film music
Morricone's beginnings in soundtrack music
His birth took place in Rome on November 10, 1928. His father, Mario Morricone, taught him to play the trumpet and other instruments. He wrote his first composition at the age of six and at 15 he replaced him as trumpet player in a local band.
He attended the Christian Brothers school, where he had his first contact with Sergio Leone, before entering, at age 12, the Santa Cecilia Conservatory where he completed a four-year harmony program in six months. There he obtained degrees in trumpet and composition and took conducting classes before leaving the conservatory in 1954.
He worked as a ghost composer in his beginnings, composing works for cinema, which were attributed to famous musicians of the time, and during his beginnings he wrote and recorded music for backgrounds on radio programs.
Recognitions and awards for the great career of the Italian composer Ennio
He recognition received by the composer throughout his career is overwhelming. The Recording Academy, the agency that presents the Grammy Awards, included the soundtrack of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, from 1969, in the 'Grammy Hall of Fame'. He received the Grammy in 1988 for Best Soundtrack for “The Untouchables of Eliot Ness” and in 2014 in recognition of his career in music.
On the other hand, it was awarded at the Golden Globes three times for Best Score. In 1987 he received it for “The Mission” by Roland Joffé, in 2000 for “The Legend of the Pianist in the Ocean” by Giusseppe Tornatore and in 2016 for “The Hateful Eight” by Quentin Tarantino.
The Bafta awards also saw exquisite quality in his work. He received the award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on five occasions: in 1980 for “Days of Heaven”, in 1985 for “Once Upon a Time in America”, in 1987 for “The Mission”, in 1988 for “The Untouchables of Elliot Ness”, in 1991 for “Cinema Paradiso” and in 2016 again for “The Hateful Eight”.
He was also nominated for Donatello's David on 16 occasions, obtaining the award on 10 of them. His work was recognized with the Award for Best Soundtrack in the films “Gli occhiali d´oro”, “Cinema Paradiso”, “Mio caro dottor Gräsler”, “Stanno tutti bene”, “Jona che visse nella balena”, “ The Legend of the Pianist in the Ocean”, “Carone Inverso”, “La Desconocida”, “Baarìa” and “The Best Offer”, again with Tornatore.
Another lesser-known, but no less important, recognition was the award in 2010 of the Polar Music Prize, an international award granted annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music to individuals, groups or institutions, in recognition of their exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music.
The award with the most cachet in the world of soundtracks is undoubtedly the Oscar. After a long and successful career without achieving it, in 2006, the North American Academy awarded him the honorary award; but ten years later, he finally achieved it through his work with Tarantino.
The unforgettable soundtracks from the hand of Ennio Morricone
The peak of Morricone's career, at the public level, came thanks to his work in Sergio Leone's Dollar Trilogy. The association of these two geniuses, who met at school, changed cinema and still remains a unique species in the world of the seventh art. The director was fascinated by the song “Degüello” from the soundtrack of “Río Bravo” composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and asked Morricone to do something similar for the film he was going to shoot, “A Fistful of Dollars.” After a series of discussions and scuffles, Morricone came up with a piece that exudes Mexican air and which became the main theme of the film.
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is perhaps the most paradigmatic work, on a musical and cinematographic level. A huge work that sets a New Mexico filmed in the mountains that the Arlanza River draws between the towns of Covarrubias and Salas de los Infantes, in Burgos. The trilogy that invented the 'Spaghetti Western' closes with this film, which was preceded by “Death Had a Price.” Morricone, Leone and Eastwood shaped an inimitable film genre.
The composer also dedicated his work to underground Italian films such as his works for Roberto Faenza, of which “Escalation” stands out, and for the giallo genius, Darío Argento, for whom he worked on “The Bird with Crystal Feathers” in 1970.
Morricone has helped build the collective cinematographic memory of all film fans born in the 20th century. All we have to do is mention “Cinema Paradiso” by Giuseppe Tornatore, so that the musical and cinematographic imagination will take us to one of the most exciting moments in the history of cinema.
The 21st century allowed Morricone to return to the Western 40 years later. With the help of Quentin Tarantino, who in his budding creativity dared to film a twilight western of almost three hours. The Italian composer created 28 tracks with epic overtones and very tones of the horror genre in the style of Hermann in the 50s.
The best soundtrack in the history of cinema that did not win the Oscar
In the 80s and 90s, Morricone continued composing for Sergio Leone in films such as “Once Upon a Time in America,” for which experts say would have won the Oscar if its soundtrack had not been disqualified due to a technicality. The academy. The composer's name was not included in the credits, which is why what for some is considered the best soundtrack in the history of cinema, did not achieve the desired award.
This masterpiece, however, earned recognition from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes, and the British Academy Film.
Ennio Morricone's film music at the Film Symphony Orchestra
Film Symphony Orchestra is presenting, for the first time in its history, The Best Film Music… at home! A spectacular online concert with 70 musicians on stage, singers, unpublished comments from its director, a video production with 35 cameras and a show full of emotion, passion and music. It is available 24 hours a day on its website and can be enjoyed until July 17.
In this concert you will be able to delight in the soundtrack of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, although throughout the musical career of this artistic and business project that the Film Symphony Orchestra represents, Morricone's work has always been present . In addition to the aforementioned song, “Gabriel's Oboe” from “The Mission” or “The Last Stagecoach of Red Rock” from “The Hateful Eight” have been important in his repertoire. Morricone's music has always been present in the direction of Constantino Martínez-Orts.
Ennio Morricone has been one of the most influential composers in the history of cinema. His death in Rome, caused by complications after a fall, has been an irreplaceable and unforgettable loss for the history of music, cinema and culture.
His great versatility and musical genius leave a legacy of more than 500 songs, countless awards and the nostalgia of all of us who love music and cinema. He was a true innovator of the methods of writing music for film, in a constant search for the echo and reverberation of the hearts of audiences. John Williams said of him that he was the king because of “the virtue of the different, the unique, the risky, the always new.” Now, the bells ring again to pay tribute to his figure.