{"id":5365,"date":"2020-07-10T13:19:56","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T11:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmsymphony.es\/?p=5365"},"modified":"2020-07-10T13:19:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T11:19:56","slug":"ennio-morricone-y-la-musica-cinematografica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmsymphony.es\/en\/ennio-morricone-y-la-musica-cinematografica\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of Ennio Morricone's contribution to the history of soundtracks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just as Bernard Herrmann did in his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Mikl\u00f3s R\u00f3zsa 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Development of Ennio Morricone in film music<\/h2>\n

Morricone's beginnings in soundtrack music<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Recognitions and awards for the great career of the Italian composer Ennio<\/h3>\n

He recognition received by the composer throughout his career is overwhelming.<\/strong> The Recording Academy, the agency that presents the Grammy Awards, included the soundtrack of \u201cThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly\u201d, from 1969, in the 'Grammy Hall of Fame'. He received the Grammy in 1988 for Best Soundtrack for \u201cThe Untouchables of Eliot Ness\u201d and in 2014 in recognition of his career in music.<\/p>\n

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On the other hand, it was awarded at the Golden Globes three times for Best Score. In 1987 he received it for \u201cThe Mission\u201d by Roland Joff\u00e9, in 2000 for \u201cThe Legend of the Pianist in the Ocean\u201d by Giusseppe Tornatore and in 2016 for \u201cThe Hateful Eight\u201d by Quentin Tarantino.
\nThe 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 \u201cDays of Heaven\u201d, in 1985 for \u201cOnce Upon a Time in America\u201d, in 1987 for \u201cThe Mission\u201d, in 1988 for \u201cThe Untouchables of Elliot Ness\u201d, in 1991 for \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d and in 2016 again for \u201cThe Hateful Eight\u201d.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cGli occhiali d\u00b4oro\u201d, \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d, \u201cMio caro dottor Gr\u00e4sler\u201d, \u201cStanno tutti bene\u201d, \u201cJona che visse nella balena\u201d, \u201c The Legend of the Pianist in the Ocean\u201d, \u201cCarone Inverso\u201d, \u201cLa Desconocida\u201d, \u201cBaar\u00eca\u201d and \u201cThe Best Offer\u201d, again with Tornatore.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The unforgettable soundtracks from the hand of Ennio Morricone<\/h3>\n

The peak of Morricone's career, at the public level, came thanks to his work in Sergio Leone's Dollar Trilogy<\/strong>. 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 \u201cDeg\u00fcello\u201d from the soundtrack of \u201cR\u00edo Bravo\u201d composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and asked Morricone to do something similar for the film he was going to shoot, \u201cA Fistful of Dollars.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly\u201d 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 \u201cDeath Had a Price.\u201d Morricone, Leone and Eastwood shaped an inimitable film genre.<\/p>\n

The composer also dedicated his work to underground Italian films such as his works for Roberto Faenza, of which \u201cEscalation\u201d stands out, and for the giallo genius, Dar\u00edo Argento, for whom he worked on \u201cThe Bird with Crystal Feathers\u201d in 1970.
\nMorricone has helped build the collective cinematographic memory of all film fans born in the 20th century. All we have to do is mention \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n