Chi mai

Ennio Morricone wrote Chi mai in 1971, and it has had more lives than most film cues: Maddalena, then Le Professionnel with Belmondo, then a BBC series that sent it to number two in the UK charts a decade after it was composed.

It is Morricone at his most economical — a descending figure, a lot of air around it, and a melody that most people can hum without being able to name.