Customer Reviews

Baaria (OST)

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Baarìa may well be the first instance of a director - in this case Giuseppe Tornatore - making a film about what is effectively his own life story. The film is a reflection and love letter to the island of Sicily, and depicts two childhood friends, Peppino and Mannina, who grow up to be lovers. The story spans three generations, from the 1920s to the present day, and is set in the town of Bagheria (known as Baarìa in Sicilian dialect), where Tornatore grew up. The film stars Francesco Scianna and Margareth Madè, and has an original score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, who has been Tornatore's musical muse for over 25 years, through films such as Cinema Paradiso, Stanno Tutti Bene, The Starmaker, The Legend of 1900 and the Oscar-nominated Malèna.

Despite being 81 years old, Morricone's talent shows no sign of waning. The 10-minute "Sinfonia per Baarìa" is a quintessential Morricone piece, romantically sweeping with prominent strings, dancing woodwinds, and the familiar lyrical chords, but interspersed with the moments of dissonance that make his music so unique and compelling. New additions to the canon in this score's case are the lamenting male vocalist intoning over the music in what I assume to be the Sicilian dialect, and the subsequent ethnic woodwind writing which gives the theme a distinct North African flavor. Unfortunately, the later half of the cue is rather oddly obscured by various dialogue clips and sound effects, including trains, chickens and waves lapping, which does spoil the mood somewhat, but thankfully all the main material is re-stated in the meat of the underscore itself. There is some truly soaring music to be heard in this score; cues such as "Baarìa", "Brindisi" and "Racconto di Una Vita" are heart-meltingly gorgeous, and showcase Morricone's unashamedly emotional thematic writing at its very best. The music becomes wistful, almost idyllic, during "Il Corpo e la Terra" and "Un Gioco Sereno", both of which make use of sunny, lilting guitars and playful woodwinds.

Other cues are more strident; the superb "Ribellione", "La Visita" and "Un Fiscaletto" feature another one of the wonderfully pompous marches that Morricone has written so well over the years, while "Lo Zoppo" is a punchy action cue filled with slashing, propulsive string writing, off-kilter rhythms and howling trumpets. It's all really quite excellent, and highly recommended for those who have appreciated Morricone's work over the years. Quite how much longer Morricone can go on is unknown; according to the Internet Movie Database, Baarìa is the 492nd project in a long and illustrious career that stretches back to 1959, and if he were to stop now he would have left one of the most indelible marks on the cinema of any composer in history. But, if after almost 500 scores and 40 years, he can still write music as beautiful and engaging as that heard in this score, I hope it never ends.

Silva America once again has outdone themselves with "BAARIA" (2009) [Soundtrack] --- All the splendor of this composer on 19 Tracks --- Morricone creates visual moods for each film he scores -- action, adventure, mystery, romance, sentimental and suspense -- the list could go on --- One could hold no other composer in higher esteem than Morricone --- Every track moves you --- Each cue comes back with a memory as the preceding track ends --- It flows naturally and perfectly from track to track. Ennio Morricone ranks next to Bernard Herrmann in writing the perfect movie score --- If you're looking for a piece of music to capture your heart and a deeper meaning of the film --- you've found it.

Ennio Morricone was born in Rome on October 11, 1928 -- attended the Santa Cecilia Conservatory --- Worked in various jazz bands, later a staff arranger and composer -- an orchestrator in the '50s --- Scored films in the early '60s, then the WESTERNS and his name became a household word in the film industry --- A new kind of western was on the horizon and Morricone was commissioned to score "A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS" [1964] for Sergio Leone featuring Clint Eastwood, spaghetti westerns were born --- next "FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE" [1965] -- and a bigger budget film "THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY" [1966], again featuring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and a third Eli Wallach whose performance was magical to watch on the big screen ~ violence and revenge gives Morricone an opportunity to feature electric guitars, flutes and jew's harp blending with a non lyrical chorus mixed with brass, strings, percussion with full orchestration that simply took your breath away --- Example is "ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST" [1968], featuring Henry Fonda (as the Villain), Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards and our hero Charles Bronson the mysterious harmonica player, director Sergio Leone's tribute to the American Western, pulled out all the stops -- the Western was just a small part of Maestro Morricone's career, as he went on to composed more great film music that would fill the shelves of an entire library.

BIO:
Ennio Morricone
Date of Birth: 10 November 1928 - Rome, Italy
Date of Death: Still Living

Nominated for five Academy Awards and earning an honorary Lifetime Achievement Academy Award in 2006, Italian composer Ennio Morricone --- who has almost 500 titles to his name --- is still plowing through epic film scores despite being in his early 80s --- This collection composed, orchestrated & directed by Morricone, each cue in his distinctive style of legendary scoring -- He is still one of our favorite composers within the realm of film music -- Highly recommend for your ever growing collection and finding a special place to listen and enjoy!

Total Time: 54:50 mins on 19 Tracks ~ Silva America 1322 ~ (09/14/2010)

In my eyes (and ears) Ennio Morricone is the best film composer to have ever lived. Every single score he does is a brilliant masterpiece and showcase of what humans are capable of creating out of thin air. The way he uses music to tell stories is second to none. No other composer has a body of work like Morricone either. He is iconic in every sense of the word and has defined genres in ways most people don't even realize. What surprises me most is that 82 he is still as busy as ever. Every time I listen to a score by him I see it as an honor because it's truly remarkable. With Baarìa Morricone embodies everything that is his style and crafts a subtle overture of emotions to tell the story of Giuseppe Tornatore's autobiographical story. This is also a continuing collaboration between the director and Morricone including past films such as The Legend Of 1900, Cinema Paradiso and Malèna.

This score doesn't go over the top yet still commands such a presence and elegance. The track "Ribellione" is pure Morricone and is actually a reincarnation of a track he composed many many years ago. If anyone is familiar with Allonsanfan and the track "Rabbia E Tarantella" then they should enjoy what Morricone is doing here. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then I urge you to look up the two tracks and listen. In fact Tarantino used "Rabbia E Tarantella" as his end credits music for Inglorious Basterds. Anyway, the rest of the score transports us right to Italy with its arrangements and lush use of strings. The track "Un Gioco Sereno" is probably one of my favorite Morricone cues ever. It's almost an Italian waltz if that makes any sense. The score has some grand tracks but in the end comes to gentle and emotional close.

From starting his career with Sergio Leone and composing some of the best scores of all time to being able to still compose with that intensity is something special. Another brilliant thing is that Morricone composes his scores with a pencil and paper. He doesn't fool around with instruments and play out tunes. He writes it and that in turn becomes the music you hear. This score was released last year in Italy and Silva Screen is just now releasing it here in the states. So, if you held off from importing the score because of the price now is your chance to experience it.

I normally love this artist's stuff, being able to listen to it all day. This one, however, is surprisingly disappointing. I guess everyone should be allowed a dud once or twice in their professional life and this album is one for Ennio Morricone. Kinda makes one wonder what's going on in his life to have influenced such a downward trend in his normally tremendous style.

Not recommended. I wasted my money.