The Complete Score of Ennio Morricone's - A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)

Chapter:
00:00 Cover
00:05 The Complete Score
00:15 1. Titoli (Main Titles #1)
03:05 2. Quasi morto (Nearly Dead #1)
04:51 3. Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars #1)
06:19 4. Quasi morto (Nearly Dead #2)
08:14 5. Musica sospesa (#1)
09:20 6. Square Dance
10:58 7. Doppi giochi (#1)
12:08 8. Ramon
13:13 9. Titoli (Main Titles #2) - Harmonica
13:57 10. Consuelo Baxter
15:19 11. Doppi giochi (#2)
17:03 12. Scambio prigionieri
18:02 13. Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars #2)
18:47 14. L’inseguimento (The Chase)
21:17 15. Cavalcata
24:50 16. Tortura
34:26 17. Alla ricerca dell’evaso
35:49 18. Senza pietà (Without Pity)
38:00 19. Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars #3)
39:54 20. Musica sospesa (#2)
40:53 21. Finale
42:06 22. Titoli (Main Titles #3)
45:04 23. La reazione (The Result)
47:43 24. Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars #4)
49:38 25. Titoli (Main Titles #4)
52:42 26. Ninna Nanna
56:54 27. Pastures of Plenty
Ennio Morricone's score to a "A Fistful of Dollars" ("Per un pugno di dollari") is almost as legendary for its remarkable genesis as it is for its deserved place in film music history.
Leone was looking for a soundtrack to his first western, "Per un pugno di dollari", which had just finished shooting on a very low budget and with little-known actors. The production company - Jolly Films - had suggested Ennio Morricone, who was fast becoming one of the most sought-after arrangers in Italian pop music and had already worked for them on a couple of movies. Leone had already listened to various other scores by Morricone but had remained underwhelmed. Yet lacking a viable alternative he still went to visit him and was surprised to discover that even the composer himself did not think highly of his work on those "second-rate productions".
This however is the piece of music which Morricone had Leone listen to at their first meeting and the director knew instantly that this was what he had been searching for. He asked Morricone to replace the voice with a whistle, and to adjust parts of the melody line in order to not have to give credit to any other composer. This took Morricone just one or two pencil strokes, and the main title theme of "Per un pugno di dollari "was born.
And it marked the start of the most important director-composer collaboration in the history of cinema. There may have been a number of other such relationships, but the one between Leone and Morricone is unique: it is probably the only one where the music can be said to be part of the style of the director.
It would take more than 40 years for the score to "A Fistful of Dollars" to be properly released. The successive 33rpm LPs, from the RCA catalogue, which were released from the 60s onwards, only had one side dedicated to the first "Dollars" movie, the other side being filled up with an equally truncated selection from "For a Few Dollars More" or with a suite from "Fistful" repeating excerpts from the side A - with no new music! Finally, in 2006, GDM released an excellent programme of 38 minutes with very few weaknesses.
However this world premiere recording by the brilliant Solisti e Orchestre del Cinema Italiano now presents the full score including 5 unreleased pieces, plus a number of bonus tracks, making it the most complete programme possible.
- Didier Thunus
- Maestro Fanzine