Yes sir.
As usual the concert was divided in 2 parts separated by an intermission. Each part was divided in several "chapters" of whatever you call it. D&D's favorite impersonation of Edda Dell'Orso was on stage only for the final "chapter" of each part.
It all started with a short movie of Ennio Morricone talking about his life, music, his son... All in Italian, with French subtitles. Bercy is a huge hall and I had friends everywhere in the room. I was pretty close to the screens so I had no trouble reading the subtitles, but I knwo that many people in the back could understand a word. Hence the agitation of the crow noted in the previous review. It was quite well done and interesting. Among the interesting stuff Ennio says in the interview, here are a few ones:
- the importance of not admiring too much another composer. You cannot become a real composer if you try to imitate someone.
- he didn't try to sound "westernish" in the scores he did for Leone. Apart from a few elements (the coyote from GBU wouldn't have been a coyote...), his music would have sounded the same if the movie had been set in China or Madrid.
- he doesn't compose "applied music" (such as OST) like he composes "absolute music". In soundtracks, he's serving the director. In "absolute music", he has a more scientific method. He needs to be able to explain why he chose each note. This mathematical approach doesn't surprise me: his concerto stuff is very cold to me. It sounds like you need to study musicology to get what he's doing.
- he tried to discourage Andrea from entering the music business. He did't think he would succeed. He was surprised the music composed by Andrea is "excellent" (sic).
- he "fired" (sic) many directors, even good ones. He needs trust to work. He also wants a director who listen to him and not a director who gives him ideas.
Then the concert started. I had paid for a €150 ticket (the most expensive category) because I knew the Bercy Hall is a terrible place. If you have a cheap seat, you don't see anything. I was worried though because €150 is a fucking lot of money to me. I just thought that if Ennio is in town once every 10 years, it was probably my last chance. So €100 would be something I could miss for a few months, but seeing Ennio Morricone, the man who taught me what music is (and for a good part, was cinema is too), in good condition was important to me. I didn't want to regret that. As soon as I saw where my seat was, I nkew I had made the right choice: I was at the perfect place, quite close (although on the opposite side) to the guy who took the video in the review posted by Milan NS. I could see the moves of most musicians. I could see the hands of the pianist. The only major guy I couldn't really see was the 1st violin, who was turning his back to me.
The titles of the music were written in the worst French translation ever on the big screens. "Le Bon la brute et le TRAUND" (instead of Truand), "Pour Une Poignée de Dynamite" (instead of Il Etait Une Fois... La Révolution), "Les Intouchables" (instead of Les Incorruptibles... which is funny because Les Intouchables is a recent french movie), "L'ecstase Of Gold" (yeah they just stopped translating half way through this one)...
Anyway, here is the set list and my comments.
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1 - Life And LegendThe Untouchable => great way to open the gig. This song is much better live than on the album. More powerful.OUATIA (Deborah's Theme, Poverty, OUATIA)
=> magnificent, very similar to what you ear in the soundtrackLa leggenda del pianista sull'oceano => idem2 - Miscellaneous ScoresH2S => never heard of that. Not a fan.The Sicilian Clan => nice version, a bit too soft for me. The best version of that music is -by far- the one on the soundtrack. The album and most live versions are too cheesy, the soundtrack is far more aggressive and creative.Love Circle (Love Circle, Groce d'Amore)=> never heard of that. Not a fan.Come Maddalena=> regular version3 - Myth And Modernity In The Cinema Of Sergio LeoneYEAH! Rigacci in a red dress.
GBU => great version. The transposition of the coyote scream is always a problem when this music is played live, thy managed to do something quite cool hereOUATITW => magnificent, very similar to what you ear in the soundtrack. One of the highlights of the evening.DYS => nice versionThe Ecstasy Of Gold => best live version ever. I was shaking. The whole public was on fire. My Facebook feed was covered in amateur videos of this one the day after.INTERMISSION4 - No title for that partThe Professional (Chi Mai)
=> nice version, but I don't really like the music so...Cinema Paradisio => great one5 - Social CinemaThe Battle Of Alger => nice oneIndagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto => Great version! I like this music but it's often quite cold. I loved the way they did it. Very lively.Pereira Pretend => I don't rememeber what this isLa classe operaia va in paradiso => didn't know it, didn't like itCasualties Of War => I definitely don't like it. Sounds like someone tries do imitate Morricone's Novecento or OUATIA.Abolisson => I didn't know this before watching the videos posted in the Barclay's Center thread, it was fucking great.6 - Lyric Tragic and Epic cinemaHeyyyyyyy! Rigacci's back.
Il deserto dei Tartari => nice one Richard III => nice oneIl deserto dei Tartari (retake) => nice oneThe Mission (Gabriel's Oboe, Falls, On Earth As It Is In Heaven)
=> huge highlight. Magnificent.And the encores were:
Here's to You
The Ecstasy Of Gold
On Earth As It Is In Heaven
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In conclusion, it was fucking awesome as fuck, and the musics he plays are always the same. If anyone is interested I can give more information about the musicians who were on stage, because I'm a stupid fan boy and I bought the program:
