Ennio Morricone: Arena Concerto

Ennio Morricone

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Ennio Morricone: Arena Concerto Review

by William Ruhlmann

Recorded live in Verona, Naples, and Rome, the American two-CD audio version of Ennio Morricone's Arena Concerto (not to be confused with an identically titled European release from a few years earlier) finds the renowned composer conducting the Rome Sinfonietta Orchestra, with several different choirs and some soloists, in a selection of what might be called his greatest hits, starting with his best-known theme in the U.S., the main title music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Morricone's arrangement is much subtler than the 1968 hit version by Hugo Montenegro, but still identifiable, and it introduces a set of cues from spaghetti westerns, the music that people immediately identify with the composer. But that is only the curtain raiser; Morricone goes on to present some of his most lush melodic themes, notably music from Cinema Paradiso, along with a large chunk of arguably his most ambitious score, The Mission, which closes the first disc. The cheering audience is heard only occasionally, giving the recordings the feel of studio work most of the time. Of course, at less than 90 minutes, this is only a sampler of the work of one of the cinema's most prolific composers, but it still makes for a good introduction that could lead the listener to the video store, if not the record store, to hear more. [There is also a DVD of the same name, drawn entirely from the Verona concert.]

Track Listing - Disc 1

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo), film score
	1	Main Theme Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	02:45	Amazon
Once Upon a Time in the West, film score
	2	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:13	Amazon
Giù la testa (Duck, You Sucker), film score (aka "A Fistful of Dynamite")
	3	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:37	Amazon
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo), film score
	4	The Ecstasy of Gold Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:28	Amazon
La Classe operaia va in paradiso, film score
	5	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:47	Amazon
Casualties of War, film score
	6	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	08:48	Amazon
Il Deserto dei Tartari, film score
	7	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:31	Amazon
Richard III, film score
	8	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:25	Amazon
Il Deserto dei Tartari, film score
	9	Reprise Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:29	Amazon
The Mission, film score
	10	Gabriel's Oboe Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	02:22	Amazon
	11	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	02:52	Amazon
	12	In Earth As It Is In Heaven Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	03:52	Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 2

Sample		Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
Once Upon a Time in America, film score
	1	Deborah's Theme Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	04:09	Amazon
Nuovo cinema paradiso, film score (aka Cinama Paradiso)
	2	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	05:50	Amazon
Il Maestro e Margherita, film score
	3	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	04:56	Amazon
Canone Inverso, film score
	4	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	15:00	Amazon
Rampage, flim score
	5	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	04:38	Amazon
Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto, film score
	6	Excerpt Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	02:56	Amazon
La Battaglia Di Algeri (Battle of Algiers), film score
	7	Excerpt Ennio Morricone / Gillo Pontecorvo	Ennio Morricone	02:27	Amazon
Novecento (1900), film score
	8	Love Theme Ennio Morricone	Ennio Morricone	01:55	Amazon