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Ennio Morricone and Dario Argento: a match made in soundtrack hell
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Ennio Morricone at the 66th Venice Film Festival, September 2009
This week marked the eighty-first birthday of the legendary Italian composer and conductor, Ennio Morricone. Widely regarded for his masterful and visionary approach to the film soundtrack, Morricone has sold over forty million records worldwide, and was even the subject of a 2007 tribute album--titled We All Love Ennio Morricone--which featured a diverse and genre-spanning collection of musical admirers, including Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Andrea Bocelli, and Pink Floyd bassist/songwriter Roger Waters.
While Morricone's work has been both extremely diverse and prolific over the years--scoring the soundtracks to everything from director Sergio Leone's classic and influential Spaghetti Western films to American director Brian De Palma's 1989 film adaptation of The Untouchables--the man's 1969-1974 collaboration with cult Italian horror director Dario Argento should be of particular interest to soundtrack fans.
An Ennio Morricone--Dario Argento Trilogy is a compilation album originally released in 1995, which brings together three classic Morricone scores for the Argento films, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, The Cat o' Nine Tails and Four Flies On Grey Velvet. Argento--who is regarded as one of the masters of the Italian giallo style of erotic and violent crime thrillers--possesses a colorful and evocative directorial style, and the atmosphere of these three films (his "animal trilogy") are truly heightened by Morricone's inimitable mastery of mood.
This compilation also serves as a great first taste for those new to Morricone to experience his spellbinding compositional style at a great value. Given that Morricone has scored over five-hundred film and television soundtracks over the years, the sheer number of options available to those interested in delving into the man's vast body of work is admittedly quite daunting. An Ennio Morricone--Dario Argento Trilogy is varied and comprehensive enough to expertly whet the listener's appetite, leaving no recourse other than to join the millions of like-minded film score connoisseurs who have become Morricone obsessives and collectors.
While the idea of combining lighthearted orchestration, leitmotif and progressive jazz structure with grim, downright frightening soundscapes--including the echoes of racing heartbeats, choked moaning and even bestial screaming--may seem disparate at first, the true genius of Morricone comes from his innate ability to bring everything together seamlessly in a way which never become stuffy or dull. Rather, these soundtracks practically spark and crackle with life, and remain a true testament to the man's talent and vision to this day.
Ennio Morricone's "Violenza Inattesa", taken from the soundtrack to Dario Argento's film, "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage"
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