this is # 16 in the ongoing Saturday Soundtrack series
The Mission (1986)
Original soundtrack from the motion picture, composed by Ennio Morricone, play time of 48:31, and 19 tracks (cues) 
Ennio Morricone is certainly a recognizable name to those of us who listen to film music, and if you’re a very casual listener of this music probably all I have to do is remind you that he wrote the memorable music for the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It has been said by some, and I concur, that those films would not have been nearly as good without Morricone’s inspired compositions. The man – his music – is a legend in film music circles, writing music since 1959.
The music for this 1986 film is one of his greater commercial successes, and it’s a good one. That said, there are some cues here that are wonderful and others I skip while listening to the CD because I think they distract from the whole. One cue, “Gabriel’s Oboe” may be instantly recognizable to even non-film music listeners.
So if it’s not all completely wonderful why am I doing a Saturday Soundtrack on it? Because what is good here is very good indeed. This may be a soundtrack to preview on a download site and pick the cues you want. For me, the CD is in hand and I play it fairly often. You probably will too.
Track list of The Mission CD: 1. On Earth As It Is In Heaven 2. Falls 3. The Mission – Gabriel’s Oboe 4. Ave Maria Guarani 5. Brothers 6. Carlotta 7. Vita Nostra 8. Climb 9. Remorse 10. Penance 11. The Mission 12. River 13. Gabriel’s Oboe 14. Te Deum Guarani 15. Refusal 16. Asuncion 17. Alone 18. Guarani 19. The Sword
I adore this sound track.
Wow, Patti, that’s great. One you recognize, eh?
I own this soundtrack and play it often, too, Rick. Ennio Morricone and I go way back to HANG THEM HIGH, FIST FULL OF DOLLARS, and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. The man is a master of movie music!
I have got to put in my two cents for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST as my favorite Morricone. The haunting themes still thrill me 35 years after first hearing them. Wore out my vinyl copy and play my CD regularly.
I agree, Scott, Once Upon A Time in the West is a terrific soundtrack. I picked The Mission not because it’s my favorite Morricone, but because it’s not as connected to his composing as the things he did for westerns.
His name is familiar to me only because I am a big fan of Sarah Brightman and one one of her concert DVDs she tells the story of how she bugged Morricone ceaselessly until he finally relented to let her use the music for one of these songs to put words to. That song became Nella Fantasia, one of my very favorites of hers. I think the music was also used in the trailer for the movie, The Fall, an underappreciated gem of a film. Not sure why I have never bothered to see The Mission in all the years I’ve been watching movies.
This post is only about the music, I’m not expressing an opinion about the film.
Surely you’ve seen the Eastwood westerns and heard that music?
I’ve seen some of the Eastwood westerns, but it is so long ago that I cannot recall any of the music and I certainly would not have guessed that Morricone was the author of said music, not by a long shot.
My own favorite being the one of the early icons George didn’t mention, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, to hang much of it on the cue of the musical pocketwatch was brilliant, as is most if not all (I’ll go ahead and say all) of the rest of the score.
Never heard of this movie, but I looked it up – sounds right up my alley. Now on hold at the library. Sadly, they don’t have the soundtrack.
I absolutely agree!