The Mission [Soundtrack]

Ennio Morricone's Academy Award-nominated score captures the conflict between 18th-century Jesuit missionaries trying to convert the native Indians, and the slavers who want to destroy them. In keeping with the serious subject matter and epic scope of Roland Joffe's film, the score is by turns grave, lyrical, and tense. Ever inventive, Morricone mixes liturgical chorales, native drumming, and Spanish-influenced guitars, often in the very same track, to capture the drama of the culture clash. His trademark lyricism also comes through, notably in the beautiful themes for "Gabriel's Oboe" and "The Mission". Not as over-the-top as his well-known spaghetti western scores, The Mission shows Morricone at his dramatic best. --Heidi MacDonald

Ennio Morricone's Academy Award-nominated score captures the conflict between 18th-century Jesuit missionaries trying to convert the native Indians, and the slavers who want to destroy them. In keeping with the serious subject matter and epic scope of Roland Joffé's film, the score is by turns grave, lyrical, and tense. Ever inventive, Morricone mixes liturgical chorales, native drumming, and Spanish-influenced guitars, often in the very same track, to capture the drama of the culture clash. His trademark lyricism also comes through, notably in the beautiful themes for "Gabriel's Oboe" and "The Mission." Not as over-the-top as his well-known spaghetti Western scores, The Mission shows Morricone at his dramatic best. --Heidi MacDonald

Cette BO, composée par Ennio Morricone et citée aux Oscars, capture magistralement les conflits opposant, au XVIIIe siècle, en Amérique du Sud, les missionnaires jésuites aux marchands d'esclaves. Les premiers souhaitant le salut des indigènes, les autres leur avilissement. En accord parfait avec la gravité des thèmes traités dans ce film épique de Roland Joffé, la bande sonore est tantôt sombre tantôt lyrique ou tendue. Fidèle à son génie innovateur, Morricone mêle à des chants liturgiques des percussions indigènes ou des guitares hispanisantes. Leur affrontement, dans un même morceau, insistent ainsi sur l'aspect dramatique de ces chocs culturels. On retrouvera aussi son lyrisme légendaire dans de superbes thèmes comme "Gabriel's Oboe" et "The Mission". Dans la lignée de ses oeuvres les plus célèbres (Il était une fois dans l'Ouest, Le Bon, la brute et le truand, etc.), Ennio Morricone signe ici une pièce magistrale. --Heidi MacDonald