“The dramatic functions of Italian spaghetti western soundtracks: a comparison between Ennio Morricone and Francesco De Masi”

The term “Spaghetti western” identifies about 500 western movies produced in Italy mostly between 1964 and 1978. This film genre produced a significant commercial success as well as a worldwide distribution. The most important stylistic differences compared to the classic American westerns dealt with the locations (mostly set in Mediterranean countries ), the often low budgets, the bloody plots and a new kind of cynical gunfighter. The best known films and considered the archetypes of the genre are those of the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” directed by Sergio Leone. This genre suddenly disappeared almost completely, except for a very few movies in the eighties and nineties. For many years the spaghetti western has been snubbed if not disparaged by many critics, only to be recently re-evaluated even at the 2007 Venice International Film Festival with a retrospective of 32 movies. The role of Spaghetti western's soundtracks is not put simply to the background, but fulfills specific functions that complement the dramatic narration in particular scenes. The composers came mainly from academic studies made at the Conservatory, therefore in their soundtracks they applied techniques belonging to classical music. Ennio Morricone is definitely the composer who has most contributed to the definition of the genre with his thirty soundtracks written for Spaghetti westerns. He revolutionized the concept of “atmosphere and suspense music” through a particular use of orchestration and writing, for example using martial but slow rhythms, evocative themes often sung by classical voices, characters' leitmotive assigned to different instruments (trumpet, harmonica, guitar). Today Morricone's music is often performed in concert and has influenced many artists belonging to different musical genres. Just to name a few: Hugo Montenegro (1968), John Zorn's album The Big Gundown (1985), the single Clint Eastwood (2001) by Gorillaz and the tribute album We all love Ennio Morricone (2007) with various artists such as Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Quincy Jones. Francesco De Masi (1930-2005) was another prolific composer of Spaghetti western soundtracks between 1965 and 1970. Unlike other Morricone's followers or influenced by his style, De Masi created a personal language, adding more a “pop flavour” to his musical atmospheres. This style is evident especially in collaborations with the singer Raoul, Alessandro Alessandroni and its typical whistle, the epic choruses of the ensemble “I Cantori Moderni”. For many years De Masi's soundtracks have been regularly reprinted by specialized labels (Cam records, Cinedelic, Beat records) and distributed mainly in the Asian market. In 2008 was published a CD entirely devoted to him.