Ennio Morricone died on Monday at the age of 91 after a bad fall in Rome. We find it hard to believe, as we were so convinced that Il Maestro was immortal, like his work. During sixty years of a career rich in 550 recordings, including 450 film soundtracks, this genius has illuminated cinema, our lives and thrilled our hearts, from his first Sergio Leone, "For a handful of dollars", to " Huit Salopards ”by Quentin Tarantino, who finally won him an Oscar in 2015.
Once upon a time Ennio Morricone, born in 1928 in Rome, graduated from trumpet at 18, composition at 26 and famous at 36. May he forgive us, he who did not want to be reduced to his six films with Sergio Leone, but it was the magic triptych "For a handful of dollars" in 1964 "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in 1966 and "Once upon a time in the West" in 1968, with the mythical scene of the man on the harmonica, embodied by Charles Bronson, who opened the doors of international cinema to him. "I'm not a western specialist," he reminded us. My specialty is writing music. "
"I had to make a living"
No wonder that since Monday he has received the global homage from musicians so different, Calogero, Metallica, Michel Polnareff, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mireille Mathieu, New Order! No composer has been as brilliant, eclectic and popular as he, from the police world of the "Clan of Sicilians" and the "Professional" to the humor of "La Cage aux folles", of the historical and lyrical " Mission ”at Brian de Palma's experimental“ Mission to Mars ”. Able to blackmail "Here's To You" to Joan Baez in 1971 like Gérard Depardieu in 1994 in "A pure formality", by his other favorite director, Giuseppe Tornatore.
“I accepted almost everything that was offered to me, confessed with a smile the one who dreamed, as a child, of being a doctor. I always wanted to make avant-garde music, but I had to make a living. I asked the directors to leave me the maximum of freedom. If I always did the same thing, I would shoot myself. In most cases, he wrote elsewhere without seeing the pictures. “If I wait until the end of the shooting, they already have a melody in mind. And freedom is over. "
Il Maestro was also a character. We will not forget the interview he gave us at his home three years ago. His management had sent us a list of commandments to observe so as not to offend him: to be punctual, to express himself in chastised language, to avoid talking about his private life and about war, not to photograph him on the piano, because he composed on score ... We were in our little shoes, because we knew he was able to dismiss an interviewer with a thunderous: "Fuck you" for a question or an inappropriate attitude.
"My music has an interest outside of images"
But this sacred monster was a sacred monster, as surprising as his apartment with breathtaking views of Rome, in a posh but eccentric and eccentric district with its prostitutes at the foot of the building. What was striking when Ms. Morricone opened the door, apologizing for not speaking either French or English, was the sobriety of the place and its owners. The furniture was rustic, the tables covered with boxes of medicine and family photos, but none of his multiple trophies could be found. His Oscar, his scores and his piano were in his work apartment, in the heart of the capital.
At 88, Ennio Morricone was still dashing, compelling himself every day to get up at 4 am and go to the gym. It had been launched since 2001 in a world tour where he conducted choir and large orchestra, moved to Bercy in 2017 and 2018. “It is important for me to prove that my music has an interest outside of images. "
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VIDEO. Ennio Morricone, composer of "Good, the Bad and the Ugly", is dead
The man was austere and uncompromising, but sensitive too. He had been married to Maria since 1950 and had refused the Hollywood mermaids for his family. "I had been offered a fantastic villa in Los Angeles, but I preferred to stay in Italy," he said. My sisters and brothers, my children live here. I stayed in Rome out of affection. He was also mischievous. Forgetting all the commandments we had read, we asked him when we left if behind every great man there was a great woman. On the doorstep, he smiled, "Certainly, yes. It remains to be seen if I am a great man. "
