Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A Film Score Guide: A Film Score Guide: 3
Author(s): Charles Leinberger (Author)
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Publication Date: 1 Sept. 2004
Language: English
Print length: 160 pages
ISBN-10: 0810851326
ISBN-13: 9780810851320
Book Description
This guide demonstrates Morricone’s unique and enduring contributions to the art of film music through a discussion of his compositional and orchestrational processes, many of which are evident in his music for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in a way that can be easily understood by both musicians and nonmusicians. Though the guide illuminates theoretical and structural aspects of Morricone’s music, it also examines relevant non-musical issues which contribute to the audience’s total experience of the film.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The famous score with its tootling theme song that may be Morricone”s best-known work is the subject of a close reading by Leinberger, a music theorist at the U. of Texas at El Paso. Morricone is a five-time Academy Award nominee who”s scored films in many genres, but it”s his work for westerns that has tuck in most filmgoers” minds. Leinberger traces the composer”s musical background and experience in Italy and in Hollywood; explores the techniques that distinguish his music; and examines the cultural and historical contexts of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” and its score. A final chapter analyzes the score”s compositional techniques from the opening credits to the climactic ending. Includes a selected filmography of Morricone”s work.
…a breezy yet highly informative overview of the film, the filmmakers, and the composer…a valuable resource for a pivotal work by one of Italy”s most respected and popular composers. — Mark R. Hassan
Charles Leinberger, a graduate of the University of Arizona, looks at the historical context of Morricone”s music before discussing the plot and characters in the film and breaking down the composer”s unmistakable techniques, such as the use of the ”micro-cell technique” – the immediate juxtaposition of short and contrasting musical idea – and his unique tonality (the use of minor modes and pentatonic and hexatonic scales). He concludes by dissecting the score in minute detail, focusing on each character”s particular musical themes and how they interact with the story. As a history of Morricone and his methods, this is a really fascinating book.
About the Author
Charles Leinberger is a professor of music at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has been a private trumpet instructor throughout the American Southwest and holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
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