Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Battle of The Bands -- Gabriel's Oboe

This is probably the most uplifting piece of music I've ever heard. I get chills every time. Every single time. And the movie is brilliant, too. This is not the only scene where the music is used, but it's the first (I think), and it's certainly the one that gives it meaning (for me).


On to the battle. First up: the great man himself, Ennio Morricone conducting a full-scale orchestra complete with choir and all. (Unfair? Maybe. Chalk it up to composer's perks ;) ) 


Mr. Morricone, by the way, is reputedly coming back to the silver screen soon, and in a Western, no less, with Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (coming 2016).

~ * ~

The challenger is another great, the (French? Chinese-American?) cellist Yo-Yo Ma, with a different arrangement (and sans choir) that highlights--of course--his cello.



Sadly, I couldn't find an actual video of Yo-Yo Ma playing. But if you close your eyes...

There you have it. A composer / conductor (arguably the best in showbiz today) and an incredibly gifted musician. I suppose this battle isn't so much about the performers as between the interpretations. I'm curious to see what you think. Leave me a comment with your vote, feel free to elaborate on the whys and wherefores (I heart long comments), and come back next Monday to check out the results (and my vote).

In the meantime, pay a visit to these other #BoTB participants; some pretty awesome face-offs, and fantastic bloggers.



28 comments :

  1. Both versions were so beautiful. My vote goes to Yo Yo Ma though. I just felt drawn to the song much more with his cello. Great battle!!

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    1. First vote goes to Yo Yo Ma. Thanks, Holli, and so glad you enjoyed them :)

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  2. The Mission is one of my film favorites. After watching the clip I'll have to rewatch this film when I get back home--I have it on DVD.

    Both Cello and Oboe are favorite instrument sounds of mine. As to these two versions I'm going to cast my vote for the orchestral version led by the composer. I like the epic scale of the presentation and the sound is more relaxing to my ears.

    Very interesting Battle.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. A vote for Ennio! Thanks, Lee; I agree, The Mission is a fantastic film. I watched it on video with my father back in... dunno, maybe 1990, 1989, and it made me cry like a baby. Much later I got a hold of it in DVD and watched it again--yes, cried again, too. You know how in some stories the setting is elevated to a character? For me, in this movie, the music is, too. It's woven so deeply into the narrative that I can't imagine it otherwise.

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  3. This was an eye opener, Guilie. I wan't familiar with either the film or the music. Must check it out!
    Ennio Morricone is one of my favourite soundtrack composers (also love Tarantino - thanks for the tip about the upcoming western!), but I have to choose Yo-Yo Ma in this case. His version stirred my emotions the most, plus I'm not a huge fan of choirs.

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    1. Debbie, I envy you your first time watching The Mission :) And YES, very much looking forward to The Hateful Eight here, too! Thanks for the vote for Yo Yo Ma :)

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  4. Wow, this was an extremely hard choice for me because I'm not a fan of classical music at all. But I think I'll vote for Yo-Yo Ma because something I dislike more than classical is when choir is added.

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    1. I'm so grateful for your vote, Madilyn--especially as a non-classical-fan. I'm honored you visited and listened and weighed the (lengthy) options. Got you down for Yo Yo Ma (who looks like he's running away with this battle ;) ).

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  5. WOWOWOWOWOW...I'm not sure that is a word, but you get my drift.

    Morricone could have possibly ran away with this battle - such a beautiful arrangement.

    But we're a string lovin' family from waaaay back. YO YO MA, you get my vote. Love that cello.

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    1. Hahaha... Cherdo, I get it exactly :D Thanks for the visit, and I'm so glad you enjoyed both versions. Yes, that cello does work magic ;) Got your vote down for Yo Yo Ma!

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  6. Wow, impressive, both! Ennio Morricone had a beautiful flow and the sheer number of participants makes his version very magnificent but I'm giving my vote to YoYo Ma. I got into the music moreso with YoYo. I found that in Ennio's version, the music kind of got lost with the choir and it wasn't as smooth. So it's YoYo Ma for my vote. Great battle!
    Michele at Angels Bark!

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    1. Good analysis, Michele... Yes, there's a bit there in the middle of Ennio's version where the music just kind of--I don't know, wanders off somehow. I think it has to do with the nature of the piece as a film soundtrack. But it is distracting. Got you down for Yo Yo Ma!

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  7. Thank you Guilie for the utterly delightful several minutes watching the clip, listening/watching the choir version and now Yo-Yo Ma and his cello which is utterly (sorry, using that word again) beautiful. Both are magnificent but Yo-Yo Ma by far and away gets my vote!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed this, Susan. It's a brilliant piece of music--and Yo Yo Ma is a genius :) This looks like a slam-dunk for him, and I'm not sure I can argue with that ;)

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  8. Lovely piece. YO YO MA gets my vote his version sounded better to me.

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    1. Thanks for the vote, Mike, and glad you enjoyed it :)

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  9. I found my way here from The Doglady's Den.
    The music is beautiful.
    My vote goes to Yo-Yo Ma.

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    1. Thanks for the vote, Clowie--got you down for Yo Yo Ma :) And so glad you enjoyed the music!

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  10. I love instrumental music so it's hard to say which one I enjoy more. That being said, they both entertained me and Yo-Yo Ma was able to give me as much a listening pleasure as the full scale orchestra. So.....
    Vote - Yo Yo Ma.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed these, Jeffrey. Got you down for Yo Yo Ma :)

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  11. I am not much of a classical listener. Having said that, I liked the oboe version (Ennio Morricone) better than the cello one (Yo-Yo Ma), so Ennio's gets my vote.

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    1. Thanks for that, John! Glad Ennio got more than one vote so far ;)

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  12. Ennio Morricone is a great composer, and his soundtrack to 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST' is one of my all-time favorites.

    In this BOTB blog bit, however, I too am going to vote for YO-YO MA. He gets to the musical point and doesn't need an extra 3 minutes to do so.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. Haha... Had to laugh at the bit about "gets to the musical point and doesn't need an extra 3 min to do so"--so true :D Ennio's seems to just float away into distraction at one point; I think it has to do with the fact that the piece was composed as a film soundtrack, but it's a bad excuse ;) Thanks for the visit, Stephen; got your vote down for Yo Yo Ma.

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  13. Ennio Morricone is one of my favourite composers. I have his music from "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" as well as "Once Upon A Time in the West" plus the best of Ennio Morricone in the westerns-all albums! This is a tough one because I love classical music and both show such distinction but I do go towards Yo-Yo-Ma. I actually know it well but I find it very soothing yet there is some melancholy as well which hits to my heart so he gets my vote

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    1. I know what you mean, Birgit. There really is something about that cello--and I guess the voting on this post proves it :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. I'm slow getting around to the BATTLES this time (well, slower than usual), but as I normally do; I listened to pats of both versions on the 15th on my phone (the phone won't let me leave comments on most blogs, but I can listen to the videos). Anyway...I saved your BATTLE for last because this is simply some f the most beautiful music. Morricone's soundtracks are incredible for evoking such deep feeling and this piece is no different from the rest.

    In this version I really got lost when the choir came in. They were beautiful, but in my min didn't lend anything to the overall emotion of the music. I know that sounds strange, but it's how my ears felt.

    Yo Yo Ma on the other hand can wring tears from his cello and his performance here was spectacular. Of course I have not heard him when he wasn't. Anyway, for me, the choice is clear Yo Yo Ma gets my vote.

    Excellent BATTLE!

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    1. So glad you made it, FAE--and I'm honored you found the music good enough to save for last :) Yeah, I get what you mean. The choir part is one of my favorites in the piece, but that's probably because I associate it with the movie (the scenes where the choir comes in are some of the most powerful in the film). Like you, when I listened to it here, only music and no "supporting" images, it felt different and, yes, kind of unhinged somehow. I actually tried to find a different video to post because of that, haha--but all the ones I found felt the same to me. Funny how music can work so well in a movie but not so much as stand-alone, eh? There's a lesson in there, I know there is...

      Thanks so much for the vote, FAE--another one for Yo Yo Ma!

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