All film scores are created for the sole purpose of complimenting their respective films, but in the case of1492: ConquestofParadise, Vangelis has managed to do just the opposite --an opposite that is quite difficult to obtain.
The main title track (#2), which appears over the end credits of the film, contains a very satisfying and elegant choral theme that would extend into several sub-motifs throughout the album.
With his synthetic and choral score for this film about Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the new world, he has produced a mass hit on the record store shelves and a completely inappropriate score for the film.
Eumir Deodato, Vangelis albums (1492: ConquestofParadise (album), Albedo 0.39 (album), China (album), Direct (album), Heaven and Hell (1975 album), Opera Sauvage, Mask (album), See You Later, Spiral, The City (album)).
Eumir Deodato, Vangelis albums (1492: ConquestofParadise (album), Albedo 0.39 (album), China (album), Direct (album), Heaven and Hell (1975 album), Opera Sauvage, Mask (album), See You Later, Spiral, The City (album)).
Eumir Deodato, Vangelis albums (1492: ConquestofParadise (album), Albedo 0.39 (album), China (album), Direct (album), Heaven and Hell (1975 album), Opera Sauvage, Mask (album), See You Later, Spiral, The City (album)).
Vangelis also arranged and performed the following traditional Jewish Sefardies-Spanish songs from around 1492 (and this happens before Vangelis wrote the famous "1492-ConquestofParadise" soundtrack!):
Here is what Maria Farantouri says about Vangelis in the album booklet: "Another first-time collaboration, very important, is my collaboration with Vangelis Papathanassiou, who composed 3 songs, especially for this album, he arranged them and, on top of this, he performed them with his own unique way.
The Vangelis Collection of Andreas-Collaborative CDs-Maria Farantouri and Vangelis
The German boxer Henry Maske used Vangelis' theme for the film "1492, the ConquestofParadise" (1992) as his victory tune in 1995.
The main theme for Hugh Hudson's period sports drama "Chariots of Fire"(1981) won Vangelis an Oscar (tm) and both album and single ruled many of the pop music charts at the time.
Parts of Vangelis' music appeared on a "Cosmos" compilation album (LP/CD), together with classical selections and recordings by Tomita, Synergy and others.
1492: ConquestofParadise- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ~ Vangelis
Often forgotten on this album is the extemporaneous title suite that, in the days of LPs, took up the second side of the album.
Vangelis' soundtrack graces the listener with an interior vision of a simpler, nostalgic time and place where a few young men "seized the day" and ran their way to glory.
The core concept of Adiemus is that the voice should be allowed to function as nothing more than an instrument, a post-modern approach that has become something of a trend in recent choral writing, for example Vangelis's score for the film 1492: ConquestofParadise (1992).
Many listeners identify the sound of Adiemus with New Age or Celtic music; indeed The Eternal Knot is an explicitly Celtic-themed album that formed the sound-track for the S4C documentary The Celts.
Each Adiemus album is a collection of song-length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestral background.
In 1982 he began his collaberation with director Ridley Scott: Vangelis scored his Blade Runner (1982), and would later score 1492: ConquestofParadise (1992).
They had a hit single in Europe called "Rain and Tears", and are considered pivotal in the development of progressive rock and concept albums, especially because of their ground-breaking composition 666 (album).
Vangelis' Heaven and Hell was later used as the theme to the PBS television series Cosmos by Carl Sagan.
1492: ConquestofParadise- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ~ Vangelis
This is the Whitman's sampler of Vangelis for the uninitiated, and is a great album to listen to while on long road trips, kite flying, painting, etc. Very rich, moving music.
Vangelis is a true artist that should be respected for great works of music.
The pounding, throbbing percussion, chorus and synths blend together very much in the way they did for Vangelis' popular score for Ridley Scott's 1492: ConquestofParadise, although that anthem had somewhat more edge to it.
To provide a nice bookend balance to the album, Across the Mountains reverts back to the anthemic style of Titans, although with a bit more grit, plus the odd cadence that wouldn't be out of place in a Zimmer epic.
I think it's the comparative rarity of Vangelis' forays into film scoring that makes each effort more of an event than for most "regular" film composers.
In the film score realm specifically, Vangelis plucked an Oscar from John Williams (and Raiders of the Lost Ark) in 1981 for Chariots of Fire and his better known subsequent scores are those for Bladerunner and 1492: ConquestofParadise.
Check for used copies of this album in the:
Vangelis, whose real name is Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou, has a distinct, electronically-driven style of composition that has gained him awards in several genres of music across several international borders.
