Vangelis, Composer of Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner Soundtracks, Dies Ages 79 (theguardian.com) 30
Vangelis, the Greek composer and musician whose synth-driven work brought huge drama to film soundtracks including Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, has died aged 79. The Guardian reports: Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou in 1943, Vangelis won an Oscar for his 1981 Chariots of Fire soundtrack. Its uplifting piano motif became world-renowned, and reached No 1 in the US charts, as did the accompanying soundtrack album. [...] Chariots of Fire became inextricable from Vangelis's timeless theme, and the music became synonymous with slow-motion sporting montages. "My music does not try to evoke emotions like joy, love, or pain from the audience. It just goes with the image, because I work in the moment," he later explained. His score to Blade Runner is equally celebrated for its evocation of a sinister future version of Los Angeles, where robots and humans live awkwardly alongside one another, through the use of long, malevolent synth notes; saxophones and lush ambient passages enhance the film's romantic and poignant moments. "It has turned out to be a very prophetic film -- we're living in a kind of Blade Runner world now," he said in 2005.
Later in the decade he scored the Palme d'Or-winning Costa-Gavras political drama Missing, starring Jack Lemmon; the Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins drama The Bounty; and the Mickey Rourke-starring Francesco. He worked again with the Blade Runner director, Ridley Scott, on 1992 film 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and elsewhere during the 1990s, soundtracked Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon and documentaries by Jacques Cousteau. [...] A fascination with outer space found voice in 2016's Rosetta, dedicated to the space probe of the same name, and Nasa appointed his 1993 piece Mythodea (which he claimed to have written in an hour) as the official music of the Mars Odyssey mission of 2001. His final album, 2021's Juno to Jupiter, was inspired by the Nasa probe Juno and featured recordings of its launch and the workings of the probe itself in outer space.
Later in the decade he scored the Palme d'Or-winning Costa-Gavras political drama Missing, starring Jack Lemmon; the Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins drama The Bounty; and the Mickey Rourke-starring Francesco. He worked again with the Blade Runner director, Ridley Scott, on 1992 film 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and elsewhere during the 1990s, soundtracked Roman Polanski's Bitter Moon and documentaries by Jacques Cousteau. [...] A fascination with outer space found voice in 2016's Rosetta, dedicated to the space probe of the same name, and Nasa appointed his 1993 piece Mythodea (which he claimed to have written in an hour) as the official music of the Mars Odyssey mission of 2001. His final album, 2021's Juno to Jupiter, was inspired by the Nasa probe Juno and featured recordings of its launch and the workings of the probe itself in outer space.
A ground breaking musician (Score:5, Interesting)
From his early days, his music worked well with images. Some of my favourite works of his are Albedo 0.39, Heaven and Hell, Soil Festivities, Blade Runner (of course!), and many others. I picked upon his music in the late 1970s, and have been a fan ever since, up to, and including his last release, JUNO to JUPITER. His passing is a sad day, but we should celebrate the wonderful music that he gave us over the years.
Re: (Score:2)
Its tough to choose but possibly my favorite Vangelis album is "China". It was artsy and futuristic and somehow warmly familiar (if you were a kid in the late 1970s).
"Opera Sauvage" is another favorite, a soundtrack he did for French TV. Some of the passages are somehow fierce and tender and hypnotic at the same time. Amazing!
Fantastic Music (Score:3, Informative)
I really like soundtrack music and his was some of the best...
Check out the Short Stories album for a great collaboration between Vangelis and Brian Eno. Sadly a quick search does not show that on Apple Music, hopefully it's on other services.
Re: Fantastic Music (Score:1, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It's not finding it because it wasn't Brian Eno he worked with. It was Jon Anderson of Yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
You could have looked this up on wikipedia yourself you know...
Whoops! (Score:1)
It's not finding it because it wasn't Brian Eno he worked with. It was Jon Anderson of Yes.
I'm not sure how that would explain why a search of "Short Stories" comes up empty, having neither creator in it...
However....
You could have looked this up on wikipedia yourself you know...
Att, but you see, I was pulling from memory as it's been a while since I listened to the album, and I could have sworn it was Eno! Oops! Thanks for the correction. I did fine it on YouTube, but I am pretty sure I still have the C
Re: (Score:2)
I really like soundtrack music and his was some of the best...
Check out the Short Stories album for a great collaboration between Vangelis and Brian Eno. Sadly a quick search does not show that on Apple Music, hopefully it's on other services.
Here is the Apple Music link to Short Stories by Vangelis and Jon Anderson:
https://music.apple.com/us/alb... [apple.com]
Vangelis could have done some cool Ambient stuff with Eno; but I think it would have ultimately been a clash of Styles. . .
Re: (Score:2)
His collaboration with Jon Anderson began when Jon guested on the very same Heaven and Hell album that provided the music for Cosmos.
And the result was nothing short of stunning. The song is an absolute masterpiece by both artists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Brilliant (Score:4, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:3)
This guy was original (Score:4, Informative)
He used synth in ways no one could comprehend, he changed music forever.
Re: This guy was original (Score:2)
Giorgio Moroder Would have a word with youâ¦.
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Giorgio Moroder Would have a word with youâ¦.
Giorgio Moroder used mainly early drum machines and sequencers. Vangelis played everything manually.
Cosmos... (Score:5, Informative)
For some of us older nerds, Vangelis was first known to us for the theme from Carl Sagan's Cosmos (an excerpt from "Heaven and Hell"), as well as one of the best pieces of 70s electronic music, "Alpha", which the show used a lot including in the animation around evolution.
Re: (Score:2)
Thank you. I came here to point this out and you had better detail.
Chariots of Fire (Score:4, Insightful)
...is one of the first pieces of music that I explicitly remember. I didn't properly watch the movie for years, but the music instantly transports me back.
He will be remembered (Score:2)
He may be gone, but unlike most of us he will be remembered for centuries.
A legend (Score:1)
Aphrodite's Child (Score:5, Informative)
Don't forget, Vangelis was also a member of the seminal trio Aphrodite's Child.
https://youtu.be/3KCbqhJt16k [youtu.be]
https://youtu.be/Hw3NIZrI5zM [youtu.be]
I heard that (Score:2)
His funeral was held in slow-motion.
Cosmos (Score:2)
It should be noted that the theme music of Carl Sagan's seminal series Cosmos from 1980 used some music of Vangelis. I do not know if it was especially written for the series. I think not.
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It wasn't, but it was a laser-perfect fit. There were two highlights in Cosmos. The intro and the content.
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I believe the two scores are "Heaven and Hell" and "Alpha".
There may have been extra bits used incl a passage called "Affirmation".
So many great songs... (Score:1)
"Come To Me," "L' Enfant," "Adiemus" and "Ask the Mountains" are some of my personal favorites. He will be missed, but not forgotten.
Vangelis (Score:2)
I remember Vangelis primarily for the "1492 Conquest of Paradise" soundtrack. As always, his music complements the film perfectly. One of the most beautiful soundtracks that can also be enjoyed as (mostly) calm background music.
my favourite Vangelis album (Score:2)
Oceanic (1996)
My favorite Vangelis track (Score:2)
Ask the mountains (with Stina Nordenstam) https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
I really like movie soundtracks (Score:1)