ENNIO MORRICONE: PEACE NOTES LIVE IN VENICE (2007)

There are more than a few kinds of Ennio Morricone. Firstly there’s the the seedy semi improvised experimental low key Ennio, who draws as readily from the avant garde or popular music to create his unique scores. Then there’s the grand master, with a broad symphonic grandeur, sweeping strings and a widescreen scope, he’s the celebrated Ennio, responsible for the The Mission or Cinema Paradiso. Whilst the former is hyper creative and was let loose on numerous low budget Italian giallo’s or spaghetti westerns, the later seemed to have a direct line into our emotions, and it’s this Ennio we see in this 2007 live performance. It’s incredibly classy work, conducting the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra with Choir La Fenice and a number of solo vocalists in this incredible outdoor square with the audience dressed up to the nines. It’s an occasion that virtually begs for the Mission and Once Upon a Time in America, though we also get some unexpected treats like the saucy groove of the Sicilian Clan, the brass bombast of Battle of Algiers, Casualties of War and a loose sprinkling of Sergio Leone westerns such as the iconic theme of The Good the Bad and the Ugly, also Ecstasy of Gold from the same film and Once Upon a Time in the West and Fistful of Dynamite. Whilst there’s lots of swooping camera work from cranes, this film does spend plenty of time on both the musicians and Ennio himself, though often at the beginning or end of a song it frustratingly switches to images of Venice with poetic writing over the top. But it’s a minor quibble from a top class production that highlights the immense scope of this man’s composition and arranging skills.