Spaghetti Western Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Spaghetti Western Orchestra, formerly the Ennio Morricone Experience, are a quintet
of musician
s who perform music from spaghetti western
s, especially the music of Ennio Morricone
.
As the Ennio Morricone Experience, they performed at venues such as The Studio in Sydney
. John Shand, reviewing their act in 2004, praised its inventive humour, saying that their "versatility is a constant surprise and regular source of laughs."
They premiered their current act at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2007, were successful at the Edinburgh Festival
, and have toured the world with this show in which they re-enact the music and incidents of famous spaghetti westerns, such as For A Few Dollars More
and Once Upon a Time in the West
, using a variety of unusual musical instruments such as the theremin
and foley
sound effects such as a duck call
.
John Lewis of The Guardian
reviewed their performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
in October, 2009, saying that, while the storyline and comedy
didn't work perfectly, their musicianship and the strong theme
made this "an endearing, impressive show".
They performed at the Royal Albert Hall
in the 2011 season of the BBC Proms
on 14 August. Hugo Shirley, reviewing for the Daily Telegraph, praised their "imaginative exuberance" and observed that they were more successful in engaging the audience than the BBC Concert Orchestra
, which had performed spaghetti western music as an encore in their earlier prom performance of film music that day.
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s who perform music from spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s, especially the music of Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
.
As the Ennio Morricone Experience, they performed at venues such as The Studio in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. John Shand, reviewing their act in 2004, praised its inventive humour, saying that their "versatility is a constant surprise and regular source of laughs."
They premiered their current act at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2007, were successful at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, and have toured the world with this show in which they re-enact the music and incidents of famous spaghetti westerns, such as For A Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté. German actor Klaus Kinski also plays a supporting role as a secondary villain...
and Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader with a...
, using a variety of unusual musical instruments such as the theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
and foley
Foley artist
Foley is the reproduction of everyday sounds for use in filmmaking. These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The best foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. It helps to...
sound effects such as a duck call
Duck call
A Duck call may refer to either the process by which a hunter lures waterfowl, or the actual tool that he uses to do so.-Process:Duck calling is the process in which a hunter uses a tool also known as a "duck call" to emulate the sound of a duck as a means to draw them closer.-Tool:As a tool, a...
.
John Lewis of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reviewed their performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
in October, 2009, saying that, while the storyline and comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
didn't work perfectly, their musicianship and the strong theme
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
made this "an endearing, impressive show".
They performed at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in the 2011 season of the BBC Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
on 14 August. Hugo Shirley, reviewing for the Daily Telegraph, praised their "imaginative exuberance" and observed that they were more successful in engaging the audience than the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
, which had performed spaghetti western music as an encore in their earlier prom performance of film music that day.