The Orchestre FILMharmonique under the direction of Francis Choinière, together with Le Chœur des Mélomanes, performed a short and sweet homage to the prolific Ennio Morricone at La Maison Symphonique on the night of February 8th. Selections included various themes from films such as Cinema Paradiso, The Untouchables, as well as the classic Spaghetti Westerns including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, et cetera.
Highlights of the evening included soprano Myriam Leblanc’s dynamic control as soaring notes; a fun spotlight moment for Lévy Bourbonnais who walked out centre stage playing the harmonica dressed in a poncho and obligatory cowboy hat; Henri Ferland’s powerful trumpeting; and the grandiose finale performance of “The Ecstasy of Gold.”
I will admit that the evening contained some selections I found to be a bit “square” or unmoving. However, I acknowledge that, for one, I wasn’t always familiar with a given piece’s associated film and therefore probably less invested emotionally; and secondly, that Ennio Morricone wrote literally hundreds of scores in his lifetime, and as such, not every theme can be a masterpiece.
Regardless, this wasn’t an indictment on the orchestra or choir who played solidly, effectively, and put on a fun evening music.
