"A good film score may not save a bad movie, but a good movie can provide more opportunities for the soundtrack to be listened to", film soundtrack often gives a different meaning to the film, but also makes people's memory of the film more profound.
Nowadays, when it comes to film score masters, perhaps more people will first think of Hans Zimmer or John Williams and others, but in the hearts of many film fans and music fans, the Italian national treasure film score master Enio Morricón has a more lofty status.
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Regarding him, it can be said that if movies such as "The Dart Trilogy", "The Church", "The Pianist of the Sea", "Eight Wicked Men", and "Cinema Paradiso" did not have his divine soundtrack, it would lose a lot of color.
However, on July 6, 2020, the great soundtrack maker who has influenced countless filmmakers and film enthusiasts left us at the age of 91.
Timeless classics – Morricone's music
Director Quentin Tarantino said: "I have more records of his than Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and the Beatles. ”
Tan Dun: "Morricone's music is "heart music", "soul music", and it is your companion that you will never forget. ”
Hans Zimmer: "Enio Morricone was a unique genius in the 20th century film music scene, and no one else could match him. Of course, there are others who have different styles, such as John Williams, like Erich Korengold, like Bernard Herman. But Enio Morricone is far superior to me personally. He was so original, elegant and courageous, yet emotionally rich and, most importantly, with a sincere heart. ”
In fact, Morricone had been engaged in orchestral conducting and chamber music before devoting himself to film scoring. He first dabbled in film scores to make a living, until 1964, when Sergio Leone's film "Red Dead Redemption" came out, and the 36-year-old Morricone also became a hit with his superb soundtrack.
Subsequently, the "golden partners" who had known each other since childhood began a 20-year cooperation, using the "Dart Trilogy" to open up a new realm of Italian Westerns, adding for the first time in the history of film music to the rough, dashing trumpet theme and empty, distant, careless whistle solo, as well as whipping, teasing sound effects by male vocal choruses and other refreshing and extremely realistic soundtracks, which people often call "Made by Morricone".
With the "Past Trilogy" to create a classic that moves the world, it adds harmonica, harpsichord and more orchestral music, as well as a passionate electric guitar, with movie pictures, the sense of hearing and perception is even more intense and profound.
In "The Pianist of the Sea", Morricone showed his versatility to control various instruments and musical styles: piano masterpieces that fit the theme of the film, horn solos in childhood in 1900, jazz dance music that was popular when he grew up in 1900, violins and accordions in the later period, etc. I believe that every audience who watches this film will be attracted by his carefully crafted music.
Although Morricone is named for his film scores, his musical field is unexpectedly complex, with genres such as classical, jazz, rock, experimental, and Italian folk music. The impressive soundtracks in the "Dart Trilogy" were inspired almost exclusively by his exploration of experimental music (he joined the New Harmonics Group in 1945 and had a deep insight into the field of experimental music).
The grand arrangement, the singing melody, and the rich and restrained classical beauty are the characteristics of Morricone's music. In that long career, his contribution to the film music of the time was obvious to all, and his efforts will not be in vain.
In 1994, he was the only non-American film musician to receive the National Motion Picture Music Preservation Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 56th Golden Globe Award for the film soundtrack of The Pianist at Sea in 1999, the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the 79th Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and many other awards in 2016 for music written by The Eight Wicked.
A collection of António Morricone
This "Morricone Collection" is a new collection of works from the master's heyday between the late 1960s and early 1980s, as well as experimental music and rare avant-garde film soundtracks, in which we can hear the modern timbres of creepy synthesizers, unknown mysterious sounds, brisk strings, and vague guitar fuzz tones, all of which show Morricone's unique style of setting the trend of the times.
The album's 27 songs contain 7 pieces that have never been released, carefully selected from some of Morricone's lesser-known works, and it is worth mentioning that the trumpet performance in the 14th "Eat It" song, played by Morricone himself, leads us to realize the other side of the diversity of the masters through this memorable and precious album.
In terms of recording, the album also has an excellent show, pure music, good dynamic range, proper texture and suppression of the instruments are also flawless, and sound fans who love Morricone's music can check out this series