Customer Reviews

The Mission: Music From The Motion Picture

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ennio Morricone achieves with The Mission what few composers ever achieve... a work of art as important and powerul as the film which it represents. The music and the film become inescapably entwined through the message and power of Roland Joffé's direction and this brilliant soundtrack. Some of my favorite trakcs include the main theme which shows up in "Falls", "The Mission", "River", and "Miserere." "Gabriel's Oboe" is presented twice on the soundtrack. Words often fail to describe the magnitude of emotion that can be elicited by these compositions. However I would agree with one other reviewer the the darker themes alternately detract from the soundtrack, but only slightly. This will remain one of the most solid and stunning original scores ever created for a long long time.

Certainly the music made this movie spectacular, gracing and moving one as the eyes were privy to the spectacular cinematography.

Morricone's compostion here is fluent with three distinct musical tributaries which play so well with the plotline: oboe, tribal, and religious.

How about the beauty of "Gabriel's Oboe?" Simply magnificent!
The earthiness of the tribal drums and windflute are simply captivating.

The religious chanting and other inspirational sounds are fitting and well done.

All this superbly performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra and choirs of London Voices and Barnett Schools Choir.

This soundtrack was given to me as a gift. I had never seen the movie previously but when i started playing it the music just flowed around me and i honestly started tearing! No music has ever touched me like this has. It is so dear to my heart that i actually used Gabriel's Oboe for my processional when i got married. I highly recommend this music to anyone. It will move you.

That track says it all about this soundtrack. And the first cue is the main reason to buy the soundtrack. It's a beautiful theme that has a great choir, Indian instruments, and some great violin playing. It's just awesome.
Then there's the track "Falls" which is very pretty. It is just awesome. "Gabriel's Oboe" is another great track, and is a very pretty oboe piece. "Ave Maria Guarani" is a beautiful choir cue that is just beautiful. It's brings old church songs to your mind. "Brothers" is a good cue has guitar and flute playing very nicely. "Vita Nostra" in the movie is the first appearance of a wonderful motif that I can't really label. But's it's pretty and is built upon later in "The River" and in "On Earth as it is in Heaven" It's great! "The Mission" is a nice cue that sees the Falls theme continued in better detail. "River" is another outstanding edition of the motif experience before in "Vita Nostra" this one is a little better though. "Te Deum Gurani" is another piece like "Ave Maria" it's a little different. But it's very pretty. Then comes the battle scences that includes some great Indian instrumentation. of the highlights here are "Ascunsion", "Gurani", and "The Sword" which has "Gabriel's Oboe" in it with a twist. And "Miserere" is just plain sad. You have to listen to "On Earth as It is in Heaven" one more time, because in the movie it is actually is after "Miserere" in the movie.
A must have for any soundtrack lover!

I remember coming to a full appreciation of this soundtrack whilst viewing the excellent film on a home video rental such a long time ago...I tried to record it putting a tape recorder as the final credits rolled...now many years later i was able to purchase this soundtrack on CD and it sounds timeless...the opening track pulls you in with it's eclectic old world chorus that has a touch of the exotic...andean type instruments that play along with the orchestra....Gabriel's Oboe was the haunting piece that has stuck with me forever...although you don't have to watch nor love the film to enjoy this soundtrack, everytrime I listen to this album images from the film appear...there are many other exquisite tracks here...some that you will perhaps skip over the first time but then return to, as they grow on you...this soundtrack was so inspiring that the Jesuits in Puerto Rico actually used it as the background to their recruiting ads...the soundtrack was so moving, so strong, that I even entertained the idea of becoming a Jesuit...that's how powerfuly this soundtrack swayed me...if you loved the film, you'll love the soundtrack..if you didn't watch the film there is still a good chance you'll love it as it stands on it own....

Haunting melodies, ethnic percussion, dramatic dark moments, all combine to evoke a myriad of emotions for the listener. The oboe playing is extraordinary. Highly recommended!!!

I have had this CD for more than 4 years and I never tire of its soul-purging melodies. It has simple melodies underpinned by the unfathomable pain, sorrow and joy that only love can inspire.

I hold no other soundtrack in higher esteem than this one. One year I bought ten copies to give as Christmas presents (a perfect Christmas gift) for friends and family. Every track moves me. Every track comes back to my memory as the preceeding 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 the deeper meaning of the holidays, you've found it.

I am not a music buff, but I am however a huge movie one. When I watched Roland Joffe's The Mission last year I was completely overwhelmed by the music. The film (solid but not great) is elevated into a ballet to the soul by Morricone's almost spiritual music. In one sequence in the film Jeremy Irons the Jesuit priest plays the music to an intially hostile group of natives, and you can see the change on their faces, the welcome him, because the music has reached their soul, and trust me it will reach yours. I've watched The Mission five times just to hear the music, and now finally that I own soundtrack I can't stop listening to it, and I've had it for over six months. This is by far Morricone's best score to date. His music is sometimes thematically misplaced as it was in Bulworth, but when he hits the mark, as he does here, or in Once Upon A Time In America and to a lesser extent State of Grace, it moves you like no other music can.

While the film contained some anti-Catholic historical inaccuracies there can be little to argue with the soundtrack.

Whether or not you liked the film, the accompanying soundtrack is fantastic. From gorgeous instrumentals to awesome choir pieces this is an album that will move you.

Not only will the music move you, but it will remind you of scenes from the movie which will move you, such as Robert DeNiro's penance of ascending the cliff with his material possessions tied around his back, Jeremy Irons' playing "Gabriel's Oboe," or the native children singing.

Stunning music to accompany a stunning film.