"Gabriel's Oboe" is the main theme for the 1986 film The Mission 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. The theme has been called "unforgettable"[5] and a "celebrated oboe melody".[6] Vocalist Sarah Brightman begged Morricone to allow her to put 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.[9]

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.[5]