{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{short description|Main theme for the 1986 film The Mission}} {{Italic title}} {{Infobox song | name = Gabriel's Oboe | cover = The Mission (soundtrack) | released = 5 August 1986 | format = | recorded = September 1985{{snd}}February 1986 | studio = | venue = | genre = Soundtrack | length = 2:14 | label = Virgin | composer = Ennio Morricone | producer = Ennio Morricone | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = | next_year = }} "'''Gabriel's Oboe'''" is the main theme for the 1986 film ''The Mission'', with Robert de Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and directed by Roland Joffé.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Ennio Morricone |year=1992 |title=The Mission: Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture |publisher=Virgin Records |asin=B000000WFZ }}</ref> The theme was written by Italian composer Ennio Morricone, and has since been arranged and performed several times by artists such as Yo-Yo Ma,<ref>{{cite AV media |author1=Yo Yo Ma |author2=Ennio Morricone |author3=Roma Sinfonietta |year=2004|title=Yo-Yo Ma plays Morricone |publisher=Sony |asin=B0002YCVXI}}</ref> Holly Gornik,<ref>{{cite AV media |author1=Holly Gornik |author2=Jay Richard |year=2002|title=Gabriel's Oboe: Music of Love from the Movies |asin=B00007BK2G}}</ref> and Brynjar Hoff,<ref>{{cite AV media |author1=Brynjar Hoff |author2=Kåre Nordstoga |year=1996|title=Gabriel's Oboe: Bessozzi, Kverno, Bizet, etc. |type=Audio CD |publisher=Norway Music |asin=B0000044UH}}</ref> among others. The theme has been called "unforgettable"<ref name=DVD>{{cite AV media |author=Ennio Morricone|year=2004 |title=Morricone Conducts Morricone |type=DVD |publisher=Euroarts |asin=B000EQHRW4}}</ref> and a "celebrated oboe melody".<ref>{{citation |author=Michael McLennan |date=June 2006 |title=June 2006 Film Music DVD Review |url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/film/2006/jun06/dvd_morricone_cm.html |work=MusicWeb |access-date=14 October 2010}}</ref> Vocalist Sarah Brightman convinced Morricone to allow her to set lyrics to the theme to create her own song, "Nella fantasia".<ref>{{cite AV media |author=Sarah Brightman|year=1999 |title=One Night in Eden |publisher=Angel Records |asin=6305614350}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Philip Anderson |date=14 September 1999 |title=Sarah Brightman |url=http://www.kaos2000.net/music/live/1999/sarahbrightman/ |publisher=KAOS2000 Magazine |access-date=20 October 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214152336/http://www.kaos2000.net/music/live/1999/sarahbrightman/ |archivedate=14 February 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2010, Morricone encouraged soprano Hayley Westenra to write English lyrics for "Gabriel's Oboe" in her album ''Paradiso''.<ref> {{cite web |date = 20 May 2011 |title = Hayley Westenra Presents 'Paradiso{{'-}} |url = http://www.getmusic.com.au/artist/news/detail.aspx?nid=2571&aid=3924 |archiveurl = https://archive.today/20121230113807/http://www.getmusic.com.au/hayleywestenra/news/detail?id=2571 |archivedate = 30 December 2012 |publisher = GetMusic |access-date = 28 December 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Film soundtrack== {{Listen |filename=Ennio Morricone-The Mission-Gabriel's Oboe.ogg |title=Gabriel's Oboe |description=From The Mission soundtrack by Ennio Morricone |type=Ogg}} The soundtrack for the film was very well received amongst critics, being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score and earning Morricone the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001553/awards |title=Awards for Ennio Morricone |year=2010 |access-date=20 October 2010 |publisher=Internet Movie Base}}</ref>

In the film, the theme is most prominently used when the protagonist, the Jesuit Father Gabriel, walks up to a waterfall and starts playing his oboe, aiming to befriend the natives with his music so he can carry his missionary work in the New World. The Guaraní tribesmen, who have been stalking him from a distance, approach Gabriel for the first time, puzzled by the sounds of the unknown instrument. The chief of the tribe, however, is displeased by this, and breaks Gabriel's oboe. This marks the beginning of the relationship between Father Gabriel and the Guaraní natives.

Several orchestras have performed "Gabriel's Oboe", often under the direction of Morricone himself. The most famous renditions of the piece, other than in the movie, are probably those found in the ''Morricone Conducts Morricone'' series of concerts during the mid-2000s.<ref name=DVD/>

==SATB choral arrangement== Extending the simple lyrics of the Christmas carol adaptation of Christina Rossetti's poem "Love Came Down at Christmas", Tom Fettke's SATB (soprano-alto-tenor-bass) arrangement incorporates Morricone's wind treatment as the voice of the eponymous Archangel in his piece titled ''The Annunciation''.<ref> {{cite web |author=Tom Fettke |year=2010 |title=The Annunciation incorporating "Gabriel's Oboe{{"-}} |type=sample pages of musical score |url=http://www.halleonard.com/viewcloserlook.do?id=08751591&lid=-1&subsiteid=27& |publisher=Hal Leonard |access-date=17 April 2012}}</ref>

==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Ennio Morricone|title=Gabriel's Oboe|award=Silver|relyear=2005|certyear=2023|id=19061-5485-1|access-date=16 June 2023}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Ennio Morricone}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Ennio Morricone songs Category:Musical settings of poems by Christina Rossetti Category:1986 compositions Category:Virgin Records singles Category:Film music compositions