George Zamfir plays Einsamer Hirte

 

Gheorghe Zamfir was born on April 6, 1941 and is a Romanian pan flute musician.

He is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe flute, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight overtones (additional to the fundamental tone) from each pipe by changing his embouchure. He is known as “The Master of the Pan Flute” as can readily be seen and heard in the video below in which he masterfully plays Einsamer Hirte.

His first appearance as soloist interpreter in a movie soundtrack was in Vladimir Cosma’s 1972 Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire, whose soundtrack became a worldwide hit.

Another of his notable contributions was to the soundtrack of the classic 1975 Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock. His other film scores include La guerre du pétrole n’aura pas lieu (1975) and the Moroccan film Bodas de Sangre (1977).

He was asked by Ennio Morricone to perform the pieces “Childhood Memories” and “Cockeye’s Song” for the soundtrack of Sergio Leone’s 1984 gangster film Once Upon a Time in America. His performance can also be heard throughout the 1984 film The Karate Kid plus the sequels.

One of Zamfir’s most famous pieces is The Lonely Shepherd, which was written by James Last and recorded with the James Last Orchestra, and first included on Last’s 1977 album Memories of Russia and was also released as a single. The Lonely Shepherd was used as the theme for the 1979 Australian miniseries Golden Soak. It was also featured in Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 film Kill Bill: Volume 1 and in Nikolas Grasso’s short film Doina.

Enjoy Einsamer Hirte and then the video.

 

 FOR THE VIDEO, CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW