Carpenter flew to Rome and met the composer with a translator (Morricone never learned English). The composer played the director several compositions. “It was all way too flourishy and ornate,” said Carpenter. “I said to him, ‘Ennio, use less notes.’ And he did. That was the main title theme.”
Later the composer came to Los Angeles to watch some footage. “He recorded the score in sections for us: ‘use it wherever you wish,'” said Carpenter. “He came later to record. I watched him conduct his orchestra sessions at Universal. It was fabulous. He added something to it, that I didn’t realize, didn’t ask for. He brought it: this deep, tragic sense that this is the end of things, of everything. Oh my god, it really worked. I was delighted with it.”
At the end of the mixing process Carpenter and his editor realized there were some gaps in the score. “A certain scene needed a little carpet music, dark chords,” said Carpenter. “I just shoved them in there. Real simple shit. He brought the lush and depressing, the romantic tragedy, and I brought the drone quality.”
IndieWire
