The Legendary Sounds of the West
Back in the ‘60s composer Ennio Morricone, along with director Sergio Leone (both Italians) gave the western a whole new look, feel and sound in a series of films fondly referred to as “The Man With No Name” trilogy. I am, of course, talking about A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. These movies propelled Clint Eastwood, Morricone and Leone (and a whole passel of others) to stardom, and today they are considered classics of the genre.
Over the years Morricone has created a vast body of work, and composed music for many films. Today his scores are widely interpreted by famous artists such as YoYo Ma (see YoYo Ma Plays Morricone). But for me, the sounds he created for those legendary westerns, using unique combinations of trumpets, guitars, whistling and other elements have stood the test of time. They still evoke vast landscapes in my mind and sound as good and fresh as they did when he first composed them more than forty years ago.
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