Luis Bacalov

Luis Enríquez Bacalov (30 March 1933, Buenos Aires) is a prolific Argentine, naturalized Italian, composer of film scores. Early on in his career, he composed scores for Spaghetti Western films, including Django, Storm Rider aka Il Grande Duello and The Price of Power.

Bacalov has been nominated twice for Academy Awards: for Scoring of Music—adaptation or treatment for The Gospel According to St. Matthew in 1967 and winning the award for Original Music Score for Il Postino in 1996.

In the early 1970s, he collaborated with Italian progressive rock bands New Trolls, Osanna and Il Rovescio della Medaglia .

In recent years, Bacalov has also composed significant works for chorus and orchestra, including his Misa Tango, a work setting a Spanish-language adaptation of the classic liturgical Mass to the tango rhythms of his native Argentina. The standard Mass text has been significantly truncated in accordance with Bacalov's desire that the work appeal to those of all Abrahamic faiths: Christians, Muslims and Jews. All references to Christ - except as the Lamb of God in the Agnus Dei - have been deleted. The Credo has been reduced to "I believe in one God, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. Amen." Misa Tango debuted in Rome with Plácido Domingo as solo tenor in 2000 and was later recorded by Deutsche Grammophon with Plácido Domingo (tenor), Ana María Martínez (mezzo-soprano) and Héctor Ulises Passarella (bandoneón).

Bacalov recently composed Cantones de Nuestro Tiempos (Psalms for our Times): The Cambridge Psalms, a commissioned work with text from the Psalms of David for baritone and soprano soloists, orchestra and chorus, which had its world premiere at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in spring 2006 by the Cambridge Community Chorus (William E. Thomas, Music Director). Two of his songs were used in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill.

Bacalov was the first to write a triple-concerto for bandoneon, piano, soprano and symphony orchestra: tango music with symphonic proportions.

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