This seminal musician is, happily, the subject of the latest BBC Composer of the Week. This series of programmes, five episodes running 60 minutes, is broadcast lunchtimes on Radio 3 and is then available on BBC Sounds for another month. The programmes are introduced by a regular presenter, here  Donald Macleod; it is in the usual biographical form. This provides a brief outline of the composers personal history with most time devoted to the development of his music with numerous examples.

Morricone started out following in his father’s footsteps as a trumpet player in popular bands; an instrument which was to be a key trope in his later compositions. In the 1950s he studied composition; his serious works were influenced particularly by John Cage and Igor Stravinsky.

His income came mainly from work as an arranger with the recording company RCA Victor. His arrangements and orchestrations were so successful that he became sought after by major recording stars in Italy. In the 1960s he added composing scores for Italian films, though at first under a pseudonym. In the 1950s he married Maria Travia, who wrote lyrics for her husbands’ compositions. Through their life-long partnership together Morricone always played his scores to Maria and was guided by her response. He was an avid chess player and a devout Catholic; both discernible in his music.

Episode 1 – Mario’s Gambit – explores Morricone’s early work as an instrumentalist and then as an arranger. It also includes, [as do later episodes] one of his concert compositions, ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ (1957). This is an avant-garde work, a form that typifies most of Morricone’s concert compositions.

Episode 2 – Ennio and Leone – we hear themes from the now famous spaghetti western trilogy. And there is also a lesser-known gem; an arrangement of ‘Pastures of Plenty’, one of the fine songs by the socialist activist and troubadour Woody Guthrie.

Episode 3 – A Shock to the System – in the 1960s and 1970s Morricone also worked with independent ‘auteur’ film-makers, including Pier Paulo Pasolini. We hear the opening credits from Uccellacci e uccellini (1966). A rather different kind of films were the ‘Giallo’ [‘yellow’  covered novels dealing with horror and sex], notably by the director Dario Argento, 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971).

Episode 4 – Once Upon a Time in America [the final word here, as elsewhere, refers not to the Americas, but one part, the USA] –  as well as composition for Sergio Leone Morricone also worked on Hollywood productions. What he chose as his favourite, [as well as MacLeod’s] is Days of Heaven (1978).

Episode 5 – We All Love Morricone – exemplified by two favourite scores, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988) and The Mission (1986). There is an example of his commitment to social justice with a concert piece, ‘Voci dal solenzio’, following the Twin Tower attack in 2001, for victims of massacres. Morricone also had a many concert tours, conducting his compositions all round the world. There were more compositions for Television dramas and series. And, after five nominations and an honorary Oscar, he finally won an Academy Award for the score for The Hateful Eight, (2015), directed by fan Quentin Tarantino.

The five programmes offer a fine over-view of Morricone’s career and his film work. Inevitably in five hours, his 500 film compositions are only partially represented. Most listeners are likely to find a favourite is missing. I would have liked to have heard the music from Pontecorvo’s Queimada (1969) or Bertolucci’s 1900 (1976). Even so, there are many memorable themes and extracts; memories of moments of delight in cinemas over the years. And not just cinemas, I still remember  lying on the sun-baked ground under the shadow of the  Karakoram as a fellow camper blasted the site with the music from The Mission.

Ennio Morricone provided half-a-century of memorable and often-ground-breaking soundtracks; and works that redefined what we include in film music. And he had another life as an important composer. He also regularly conducted, both for recording sessions and for concerts. I think that Macleod’s final title is apt. [see the earlier tribute]

If you are interested in Morricone, you can also check out our posting on the documentary Ennio (Italy-Belgium-Netherlands -Japan 2021)