Ennio Morricone

ENNIO MORRICONE “Fateless” The Soundtrack to Lajos Koltai's Film Three world-renowned artists have created "Fateless," a film already considered one of the most important cinematic productions of the year. Director Lajos Koltai, an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Nobel laureate writer Imre Kertész, and finally, the exceptional composer Ennio Morricone. The film tells the story of Gyurka Köves, who, as a teenager, was deported from his hometown of Budapest to the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald. The story is based on Imre Kertész's novel "Fateless." The soundtrack for "Fateless" will be released concurrently with the film's premiere in June. With his music, Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Professional, In the Line of Fire, Kill Bill, etc.) humbly follows every scene of the film. Morricone's compositions are enriched by the participation of two other global stars in their respective fields: First, Lisa Gerrard. The singer of the band "Dead Can Dance" brings a unique musical color to the work with her brilliant voice. Additionally, Ulrich Herkenhof, the pan flute player, has already demonstrated his extraordinary talent in the mammoth production "The Lord of the Rings." Director Lajos Koltai on his collaboration with Morricone: "Fate granted me unforgettable moments and the gift of working with Ennio Morricone. The humility with which he worked with us on the film in Rome and Budapest was astonishing. Although he emphasized it several times, I also felt it myself: he wanted to show his respect for the film and the story with every single note on paper. His love for the film's subject matter and his enormous belief in the film radiated from his entire being. When I first invited him to Rome, he immediately said that he would not compose anything until I told him what kind of music I had in mind for the film. It was extremely difficult to explain to a man of his caliber what kind of music one expected from him. He also challenged me to say if, in my opinion, one of his melodies did not capture the mood of a scene. He would then immediately withdraw it. However, this only happened once, when we agreed on a scene that no background music was necessary because the rain in the scene simply provided the natural soundtrack. The film is based on three musical motifs. All three are as simply structured as folk songs. They immediately get under your skin. The creation of the third motif particularly stuck in my mind. The day I showed Morricone the film, he was moved to tears and said he immediately had to write an additional song. This is the title sung by Lisa Gerrard. Because it is so beautiful, we later always called it the 'Choral of Solitude.' Today, I still think that the chance to work with the master was like a miracle for me. I would be delighted if people, when they hear the soundtrack, remember the individual images of the film." Ennio Morricone on his work: "Three fundamental musical themes run through the film. The main theme is based on an almost naive, peaceful, and childlike mood. This was very important to me because I wanted to create empathy for the emotional world of the young protagonist, who truly goes through a time of extreme experiences during the film. The second theme, which we called 'Loneliness,' then connects to this, and the third theme is described as 'Suffering,' creating relatability for the most tragic parts of the film. I dedicated myself deeply to every single composition for the film. In that sense, it has become very dear to my heart. I don't know how it works, but whenever I think of a scene from the film, I am very touched and have to fight back tears. What Lajos Koltai created has become as much a part of me as it is a part of him. That will always remain in my heart." The score for "Fateless" was undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges in Ennio Morricone's career to date – and the result is one of his best works ever.