Gabriel's Oboe

"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.

[1] 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,[2] Holly Gornik,[3] and Brynjar Hoff,[4] among others.

[6] Vocalist Sarah Brightman convinced Morricone to allow her to set lyrics to the theme to create her own song, "Nella Fantasia".

[7][8] In 2010, Morricone encouraged soprano Hayley Westenra to write English lyrics for "Gabriel's Oboe" in her album Paradiso.

[10] 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.