Ennio Morricone - The Mission (1986) LP

The late Ennio Morricone was nicknamed the Maestro for good reason. The prolific Italian composer was probably best known for scoring Sergio Leone’s popular 1960s Spaghetti Westerns, most notably The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. However, Morricone also produced some exceptional soundtracks in the 1980s including Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in America, The Professional, The Untouchables, and my personal favorite, The Mission.

It’s undoubtedly a great soundtrack and the film’s soaring unforgettable main theme “Gabriel’s Oboe” alone may be one of the composer’s greatest contributions to cinema. It’s truly dazzling, sublime, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Another obvious standout is the heavenly “On Earth as it is in Heaven,” which incidentally was played at Morricone’s funeral.

Many of the cues here are gentle, peaceful, and light with gorgeous melodies but there are also a few dark and moody themes including “Alone,” “Guarani,” “Refusal,” “Remorse,” and “Penance.” This musical masterpiece, arguably Morricone’s greatest achievement takes you on a fulfilling emotional journey and shows the Maestro at his peak.