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This was an exciting project for Alex Lewis. First off, this is the first song from a movie that he has ever made an arrangement of. That in itself is great, but on top of that, this is definitely his favorite composition he’s created so far.
Ecstasy of Gold was written by Ennio Morricone. You’ll find the copyright on the first page of Alex’s composition. Also, since this piece is not in public domain, the only two websites that Ecstasy of Gold will be published, will be in Sheetmusicplus and sheetmusicdirect. Both of them are also at the top of this page in case you’ve missed them scrolling down.
The good, the… well, there’s only the good
This follows the same formula as all of my other arrangements so far. It starts off with the original theme of Ecstasy of Gold. The sixteenth notes are taken from the original recording, though those sixteenth notes will be morphed into something else as the chord progressions start wandering off.
It transitions from the theme of the original song, to the first theme of the B section. This theme should be reminiscent of the original one, keeping the sixteenth notes in the left hand and the melody in the right hand. There are occasionally transitions between themes that are eigth notes in both hands, but arranged so that it plays like sixteenth notes (hopefully that makes sense, especially if you’re looking at the music).
The first theme in the B section repeats itself again, this time with reinforced notes in the chords. The transitions in the previous part consisted of one note per hand, whereas here, these are the same transitions, but with two notes per hand. Once this theme has repeated itself, the music goes into a calm second theme. This is the oasis in the middle of all the sixteenth notes. Once this is passed, it moves into the final part of Ecstasy of Gold, the C section.
The original theme is back. Now, both hands are playing sixteenth notes, outlining the melody notes of the Morricone’s theme. This is the glorious ending of the arrangement. When that’s over, the final part is the coda. The coda continues the use of sixteenth notes in a minimalistic style. Both hands play sixteenth notes until the final two measures of the piece.
Mr. Lewis hopes you enjoy the journey of Ecstasy of Gold as much as he had playing it. He is also excited about seeing what other songs to arrange. To the future.
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