RIP Ennio Morricone

Sad news from yesterday: the great Italian film composer Ennio Morricone died at age 91. When you come close to be a hundred, this may not be a tragedy, but it is sad all the same for all who appreciate true cinema and a real musician. I cannot remember one of his score I did not like, even in the lesser movies he made. His music was both a character and a setting, which is no mean feast. So to commemorate his death and celebrate his work, I am sharing something from Once Upon a Time in the West which I think has the right pathos for the circumstances. This is as good as anything for a farewell. Grazie mille, maestro.

Honouring Ennio Morricone

A bit of art and leisure news, movie score composer Ennio Morricone received his Walk of Fame star. My brief editorial comment: it was about time. And he's not even retired, as he recently composed the score for The Hateful Eight. I adore his music. And to celebrate this well-deserved accolade from Hollywood, I have decided to upload here the main theme of the movie that started it all, A Fistful of Dollars. It is a sort of song, a minimalist one with only one line of lyrics: "We can fight." Maybe not his most lyrical or his most operatic, but still it takes your mind right in the middle of the action. Grazie maestro.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I don't upload enough music these days. I was looking for something really epic and visceral, and of course I thought immediately of Ennio Morricone. This is the main theme of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Sergio Leone. You cannot get more epic than this.

Man with Harmonica

Twice in a row, in an English blog post, I upload music. Well, sometimes I am in a musical mood. Maybe it is because I have been thinking about Italy recently. It was hot today. I was wearing my summer cold when I went outside for a walk. A black, thin, long summer coat which the pocket broke down stupidly two years ago and which I sewed myself. I don't know why, but it reminded me of the spaghetti westerns I used to watch, especially those of Sergio Leone. Well, actually, they are the only ones I watched back to back, over and over again (which reminds me: I need to watch more of them). And I had in mind the great music of Ennio Morricone. I have been wanting to upload some on this blog for a while. I actually wonder why I didn't, in four years of blogging. So now is as good a time as any. It is beautiful and operatic and it deserves to be listened to. So here is Man with Harmonica from Once Upon a Time in the West. Italians know how to be truly epic, in their movies and in their music.