Ennio Morricone’s 12 Greatest Songs and Greatest Discs (Representative Songs and Hidden Masterpieces)

In this article, I created a ranking of Ennio Morricone.

His music has a strange charm.

It’s not sad, but it makes you feel like crying as you listen to it.

Just by listening to the music, you will naturally overlap your own life with it.

It is music that appeals to the listener beyond the framework of film music.

Please enjoy the masterpieces of Morricone, the master of film music.

This blog is an automatic translation of a Japanese blog into English.

Please understand that it may be difficult to read.
 

1位「Tema D’amore – Version 2」(Album:Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

■Song Title：Tema D’amore – Version 2
■Album Name：Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
■Video link：「Tema D’amore – Version 2」

In film, there is such a thing as “film-themed works”.

Movies can express people’s lives more realistically through both images and music.

In a normal movie, music mainly serves only as a complement to the story and description.

However, there is one person who provides music that almost surpasses the visuals.

That person is Ennio Morricone.

Morricone is a rare musician who can express life and various mental patterns through music alone.

2位「Toto e Alfredo – Version 2」(Album:Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

■Song Title：Toto e Alfredo – Version 2
■Album Name：Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
■Video link：「Toto e Alfredo – Version 2」

This movie is a story of friendship between two men of different ages.

Toto is the main character of the film, and the film is about Toto’s life.

Alfred is Toto’s old friend who taught him about the work of a film engineer and the fascination of cinema.

For the fatherless Toto, Alfredo may have been like a father and best friend.

This song expresses the process of the two of them coming to terms with the movie.

There are many variations of this song, but I like this version the best.

3位「Gabriel’s Oboe」(Album:The Mission)

■Song Title：Gabriel’s Oboe
■Album Name：The Mission
■Video link：「Gabriel’s Oboe」

This is one of the most famous pieces of music by Morricone.

This song is often used in figure skating, so many of you may know it from there!

Just by doing a little research, I found out that Miki Ando, Mai Mihara, Mai Asada, and others have performed to this song.

Here’s a link to the video.

It is a wonderful and moving video of Shizuka Arakawa’s performance and the live music.

Shizuka Arakawa 2012 Capodanno on Ice “Gabriel’s Oboe”

This movie has a profound theme about the struggles of missionaries trying to evangelize Christianity.

This song is used in the scene where Father Gabriel, played by Jeremy Irons, plays the oboe in the film.

4位「The Untouchables (End Title)」(Album:The Untouchables)

■Song Title：The Untouchables (End Title)
■Album Name：The Untouchables
■Video link：「The Untouchables (End Title)」

During this period of his life, he was producing masterpieces every year.

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
The Mission (1986)
The Untouchables (1987)
Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)

But it’s an amazing group of masterpieces.

Among them, this album has won the most awards.

While “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” won two awards, this album won and was nominated for a total of four.

However, when I think of the magnitude of this person’s existence, I still feel that it is too few.

Incidentally, he is probably one of the greatest film composers of all time, but his first Academy Award for Best Score was for “The Hateful Eight” when he was 87.

All of the above films from his golden years have not won any Oscars.

Considering that “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” was not even nominated, the very existence of the Academy Awards is questionable.

5位「Metti Una Sera a Cena」(Album:Metti Una Sera a Cena)

■Song Title：Metti Una Sera a Cena
■Album Name：Metti Una Sera a Cena
■Video link：「Metti Una Sera a Cena」

This song is one of Morricone’s masterpieces in the Mondo Lounge series.

Other than this song, the following songs are also recommended.

Ennio Morricone – Belinda May

I have also provided other songs with quite a variety of styles, including jazz, rock, funk, and junk music.

This song features the vocals of Edda Dell’orso, one of the most famous Italian film music singers.

She is famous for her scatting.

Incidentally, Edda Dell’orso seems to be Morricone’s favorite singer and is sometimes used in his songs.

There is also an edited version called “Edda Dell’orso Sings Ennio Morricone” that contains only songs sung by Edda Dell’orso.

6位「1900’s Theme」(Album:The Legend of 1900)

■Song Title：1900’s Theme
■Album Name：The Legend of 1900
■Video link：「1900’s Theme」

Many people criticize this album because many of the songs used in the movie are not included in the soundtrack.

Many people criticize this album because there are many songs that are used in the movie, but not included in the soundtrack.

It is difficult to follow all of them, but here are links to two songs that are not included in the album.

Ennio Morricone – Magic Waltz
Ennio Morricone – Tarantella In 3rd Class

However, the songs on this album are also very good.

If you like rock music in particular, I recommend the song “Lost Boys Calling”.

The piano in “1900’s Theme” is very moving, starting at 1:06 after the orchestra plays.

7位「Romanzo」(Album:Novecento)

■Song Title：Romanzo
■Album Name：Novecento
■Video link：「Romanzo」

Morricone’s father was a trumpeter.

Now, this movie is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

The film is set against the backdrop of the rise of fascism and world wars in Italy, and depicts the lives of two childhood friends from different classes.

Morricone’s music is well suited to portraying people who are desperately trying to live in the midst of such a huge change in the times.

Incidentally, Morricone was born in 1928.

The Second World War ended in 1945, so he spent his youth in the midst of war.

He was born in Italy and actually survived the era of fascism.

It is perhaps no wonder that his music is so compelling.

8位「L’Ultimo」(Album:Ideato, Scritto e Diretto da Ennio Morricone)

■Song Title：L’Ultimo
■Album Name：Ideato, Scritto e Diretto da Ennio Morricone
■Video link：「L’Ultimo」

This is a selection of songs from the compilation album selected by Morricone himself.

Morricone was a very prolific artist, and it is said that he created 428 or more than 500 works in his lifetime.

It would be almost impossible to cover them all.

I thought I listened to a lot of his works this time, but it was only a few dozen at most.

Incidentally, there are not so many films that have both DVD and soundtrack releases.

I’ve been buying Morricone’s edited discs whenever I could find them, and this is one that I thought was a bargain.

The drums are a bit distracting, but the strings that seem to take flight at about 1:13 lift my spirits.

9位「De Amor Se Muere」(Album:Grandes Exitos Musicales de Ennio Morricone – Vol. 1)

■Song Title：De Amor Se Muere
■Album Name：Grandes Exitos Musicales de Ennio Morricone – Vol. 1
■Video link：「De Amor Se Muere」

The Song Title in the linked video is “morire d’amore”, but the tune is “De Amor Se Muere”.

This album is an edited version.

I didn’t know which soundtrack this song was from, but I found it on this compilation.

The above compilation also contains other famous songs such as “Chi Mai”, so there is no harm in buying it.

As for the Morricone compilation, there is also a best of album released, selected by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

However, for my taste, I would recommend the “Ennio Morricone in Lounge” series.

If you want to enjoy Morricone in an easy listening way, please check them out.

10位「Deborah’s Theme」(Album:Once Upon a Time in America)

■Song Title：Deborah’s Theme
■Album Name：Once Upon a Time in America
■Video link：「Deborah’s Theme」

This album is full of great songs.

Let me introduce you to just two of the other great songs on the album.

Ennio Morricone – Amapola」
Ennio Morricone – Once Upon a Time in America

Morricone’s work with the film’s director, Sergio Leone, made him one of the most popular composers of all time.

He has provided music for many Macaroni Western films, including Per Un Pugno Di Dollari and Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu.

He also worked with director Sergio Leone on this film.

This film was Sergio Leone’s last work, but it is a wonderful compilation of his work.

11位「La Califfa (Main Theme)」(Album:La Califfa)

■Song Title：La Califfa (Main Theme)
■Album Name：La Califfa
■Video link：「La Califfa (Main Theme)」

Morricone’s music often seems to stand on its own, unrelated to the film.

This song is an example of that.

Many of the movies I have introduced so far are famous, and many of you have probably seen them.

However, I believe that many people who know this song have not seen the movie.

Most of them probably don’t even know that there is a movie called “La Califfa” in the first place.

There is no DVD available in Japanese, at least not yet.

However, this song is also known as Sarah Brightman’s version.

Sarah Brightman – La Califfa

If you like this song, please give it a listen.

I think this song is one of the best of Morricone’s works in terms of pure beauty.

12位「Playing Love (Piano Version)」(Album:The Legend of 1900)

■Song Title：Playing Love (Piano Version)
■Album Name：The Legend of 1900
■Video link：「Playing Love (Piano Version)」1111

Morricone has provided music for all the films directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Giuseppe Tornatore also consulted Morricone at the conception stage of his films.

This song is the one where this tripod-like relationship works best.

Please take a look at the video above.

There is a scene where the piano stops in the middle of the piece, but if you just listen to the music, you may not understand why it stops there.

If you only listen to the music, you may not understand why it stops there, but if you watch the video above, you will see that the scene where the sound stops is the highlight of this song.

The meaning behind the silence.

As I have mentioned so far, Morricone’s music has a charm that can be appreciated even when it is separated from the film.

However, to function within the film and to shine with the film may be what Morricone wanted.

Other　A few of the songs that were not selected

That’s it for the ranking.

However, 12 songs may not be enough to introduce you to the master of film music, Morricone.

I am not confident that I can convince even the most ardent fans of Morricone.

So, I’ll post links to five additional songs.

The other songs that are worth listening to were mentioned in the above text.

The following is a list of songs that I could not introduce even there.

Please listen to them only if you have enough energy.

Ennio Morricone – Regan’s Theme（Exorcist II: The Heretic）

Ennio Morricone – Roma Baldracca（Questa Specie D’Amore）
※Please note that the volume is a little loud.

Ennio Morricone – Days of Heaven（Days of Heaven）

Ennio Morricone – Sorridimi, Sorridimi（Viaggio Con Anita）

Ennio Morricone – Malena（Malena）