The Mission is the soundtrack from the film of the same name (directed by Roland Joffé), composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Ennio Morricone. The work combines liturgical chorales, native drumming, and Spanish-influenced guitars, often in the same track, in an attempt to capture the varying cultures depicted in the film.[4] The main theme, "Falls", remains one of Morricone's most memorable pieces, and has been used in numerous commercials since its original release. The Italian song "Nella Fantasia" ("In My Fantasy") is based on the theme "Gabriel's Oboe" and has been recorded by multiple artists including, Sarah Brightman, Amici Forever, Il Divo, Russell Watson, Hayley Westenra, Jackie Evancho, Katherine Jenkins, Amira Willighagen and Yasuto Tanaka.
Morricone's score for The Mission did not win the Oscar for Best Original Score, losing to Herbie Hancock's Round Midnight. The award is considered one of the most controversial in that category, because it beat out James Horner's score for Aliens, Jerry Goldsmith's score for Hoosiers and that of Ennio Morricone for The Mission. In his review of the score to Hoosiers, Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com stated: 'The awarding of the Original Score Oscar for 1986 to Herbie Hancock for Round Midnight is considered one of the greatest of the many injustices that have befallen nominees for that category. Ennio Morricone and, to a lesser extent, James Horner were worthy of recognition that year, though Goldsmith's Hoosiers stands in a class of its own because of its immense impact on the picture.'[14] Morricone, who did not win a competitive Oscar until 2015 (for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight), said in an interview: 'I definitely felt that I should have won for The Mission, especially when you consider that the Oscar-winner that year was Round Midnight, which was not an original score. It had a very good arrangement by Herbie Hancock, but it used existing pieces. So there could be no comparison with The Mission. There was a theft!'.[15] As a result, the music branch of the Academy decided to "tighten up the rules" so that "Scores diluted by the use of tracked (inserted music not written by the composer) or pre-existing music" would no longer be eligible for award nomination.[16]
^Koehler, Robert (1988-01-28). "Controversy Dogs 'Jacket' Score As It's Barred From Oscar Race". Los Angeles Times. California Times. Retrieved 2023-03-14. The committee decided to tighten up the rules after Herbie Hancock won the Oscar for best original score last year for " 'Round Midnight"--a film, the panelist argued, more memorable for its jazz standards than Hancock's original work. According to the 1987 Oscar rules book, "Scores diluted by the use of tracked (inserted music not written by the composer) or pre-existing music" are not eligible.
