Vangelis

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Evángelis Papathanas Papathanassou (born 29 March 1943), also known as Vangelis, is a Greek musician and composer of experimental, progressive, ambient, jazz, and orchestral music.

He is best known for his Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire, as well as writing scores for the films Blade Runner, Missing, Antarctica, and Alexander Bounty's Children, as well as the use of his music in PBS' Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan, the former singer's 1964 debut of Methodinx and Aphrodite's Child.

Vangelis composed music scores for a number of animal documentaries, including L'Apocalypse des Animaux, La Fête sauvage, and Opéra sauvage, among other animal documentaries; the popularity of these scores brought him into mainstream film scoring.

Vangelis formed a musical collaboration with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of progressive rock band Yes, in the early 1980s, and the pair went on to release several albums together as Jon & Vangelis. He wrote the score for the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire in 1981, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Vangelis' single, the film's "Touchles" theme, debuted on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was used as the background music at the London 2012 Olympics gold presentation ceremonies.

Early life

Evángelos Papathanassou was born in Agria, a coastal town in Magnesia, Thessaly, and raised in Athens on March 29th. Odysseus' father, who worked on a farm and was an amateur sprinter, was described as "a true lover of music" by Vangelis. Foteini Kyriakopoulou's mother was trained as a soprano. Nikos, Vangelis' brother, was his brother. Vangelis began playing on the family piano and playing with sounds by inserting nails and kitchen pans inside and with radio interference. When he was six years old, his parents enrolled him in music lessons, but Vangelis later said that his attempts to learn "failed" because he preferred to develop technique on his own. He considered himself fortunate to not have attended music school, despite the fact that it would have hindered his creativity. He never learned to read or write music but rather enjoyed memory. "I would pretend that I was reading it and playing from memory while the teachers begged for something." I didn't fool them, but I didn't care." Aristotelis Koundouroff, a Greek composer, was one of his piano teachers. Vangelis said in a 2008 interview that he had a peaceful and happy childhood and that his parents never interfered in his life, allowing him to simply be and be interested in his interests, mainly consisting of playing the piano, painting, and making things with his hands.

Vangelis found traditional Greek music as particularly relevant in his childhood, but jazz and rock reignited at 12 years old. He started to form school bands at 15, not to worry about other musicians but to have fun. At 18, Vangelis received his first Hammond organ. Vangelis and three school acquaintances formed The Forminx (or The Formynx), a five-piece rock band based in 1963, performing cover songs and original material largely written by Vangelis with English lyrics by radio DJ and record producer Nico Mastorakis. The band disbanded in 1966 after nine singles and one Christmas EP, which gained fame across Europe, before the group disbanded in 1966.

Personal life and death

Very little is known about Vangelis' personal life, and he seldom gave interviews to journalists. He said in 2005 that he was "never interested" in his band's "decadent lifestyle," but that he did not use alcohol or other drugs. He had no interest in the music industry or being famous, but realized "that innovation and pure creativity are not particularly compatible." The more money you earn, the more successful you will be a success. Rather, he used it to be as free and free as possible, and he's often denied the opportunity to promote or capitalise on his fame.

Vangelis' place of residence was not well known; rather than settling in one place or country, he "travelled] around" the world. He did not renovate a house in Athens' Acropolis, but did not renovate it. Vangelis did not have children; he was in his third long-term relationship when he said, "I could not take care of a child in the way I think it should be handled." According to other interviews, Vangelis had been married twice; one of these marriages was to French photographer Veronique Skawinska, who produced art for some of his albums. Vangelis was previously married to Greek singer Vana Veroutis, who performed with some of his songs, according to a 1982 interview with Backstage.

Despite being a private person with a long friendly presence, Ancient Greek philosophy, "really helpful" and "humorous" man who enjoyed long friendly gatherings, was fascinated by Ancient Greek philosophy, music and sound theory, and space exploration. His regular activities consisted mostly of combining and playing his electronic instruments and piano. He also liked painting. In 2003, Almudin, Valencia, Spain, hosted his first exhibition, a retrospective of 70 paintings. It toured South America from 2004 to 2005.

Vangelis died of heart disease in 2022 at a Paris hospital. In the last two years, he had been suffering from various health disorders, and some believe he died of COVID-19 complications.

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Career

Vangelis spent the next two years mostly studio-bound, writing and producing for other Greek artists following the break of The Forminx. He produced music for three Greek films; My Brother, the Traffic Policeman (1963) directed by Filippos Fylaktos (1966) by Giorgos Konstantinou; and To Prosopo tis Medousas (1967) by Nikos Koundouros. Vangelis worked on the scores to Frenzy (1966) for director Jan Christian, Apollo Goes on Holiday (1968) for George Skalenakis and Antique Rally (1966).

Vangelis, a 25-year-old Greek, wanted to advance his career in 1968, so he headed to London in reaction to the 1967 coup. He was refused admission into the United Kingdom and spent six years in Paris. Demis Roussos, Loukas Sideras, and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris formed the progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child in 1968. The albums End of the World (1968) and It's Five O'Clock (1969) were two of their debut singles in Europe, "Rain and Tears," their debut single, was a commercial success in Europe. Vangelis proposed the possibility of their third, 666 (1972), a double concept album based on the Book of Revelation. It is widely regarded as a pioneer-psychedelic rock masterpiece. Following rising tensions during the recording of 666, the group broke apart in 1971. Demis Roussos, Vangelis' singer, will release new albums and singles. After the split, Vangelis remembered: "I couldn't go back to the corporate route anymore, it was very boring." In the beginning of show business, you have to do something like that, but after you start doing the same thing every day, you can't continue."

Vangelis appeared in a number of solo performances in film, television, and theatre from 1970 to 1974. He wrote the score for Sex Power (1970), directed by Henry Chapier, followed by Salut, Jerusalem in 1972 and Amore in 1974. He appeared in a series of jam sessions in London with various musicians, resulting in two albums that were not released without Vangelis' permission in 1978: Hypothesis and The Dragon. Vangelis were able to get them out of court by taking court action to have them removed. Fais que rêvel rêven rêven est derivée plus long than la nuit, according to French poet Make Your Dream Last Longer Than the Night. It was inspired by the 1968 French student riots, which vangelis later wrote a "poème symphonique" to express his sympathy with the students, including musical with news snippets and protest songs; some lyrics were based on graffiti daubed on walls; others were inspired by riots. L'Apocalypse des animaux, a Vangelis performance on a 1970 wildlife documentary film by Frédéric Rossif, was released as L'Apocalypse des animaux (1973). Vangelis has also performed for the Henry Chapier film Amore (1973).

Vangelis' second solo album Earth was released in 1973, a perceptive-orientated album starring multiple artists, including Robert Fitoussi and Aphrodite's Child bandmate Silver Koulouris. The line-up performed and released "Who" under the name Odyssey in 1974, as well as a concert that Vangelis held at the Paris Olympia in February 1974. Several months after Vangelis' departure from keyboardist Rick Wakeman, singer Jon Anderson had become a fan of his music and invited him to replace him. Vangelis declined after having difficulties getting a work visa and the Musician's Union, as well as his reluctance to travel and tour. Patrick Moraz, who used Vangelis' keyboards in his audition, was hired by the band. Vangelis left Paris for London in 1974 as he "outgrew France" in France.

He signed a recording contract with RCA Records in August 1975, after Vangelis had lived in a flat in Marble Arch, London, where he designed his first 16-track studio, Nemo Studios, which Vangelis described as his "laboratory." RCA's electronic albums would be released before 1979. The English Chamber Choir and Yes singer Jon Anderson appear on the first of these, Heaven and Hell. Vangelis, who appeared in December 1975, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1976, a sold-out performance. Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), and China (1979), each with their own thematic inspirations, including astronomy/physical cosmology, Tao philosophy, Centre Georges Pompidou, and Chinese history, respectively.

Do You Hear the Dogs Barking score was created by Vangelis during the same period. François Reichenbach directing. This was first published in 1975 under the French name Entends-tu les chiens aboyer? Ignacio was released two years ago and then released again. Vangelis' second soundtrack for a Rossif animal documentary called La Fête sauvage, which mixed African rhythms with Western music, appeared in 1976. In 1979, this was followed by a new soundtrack for Rossif, Opéra sauvage. This soundtrack brought him to the attention of some of the world's best filmmakers, Almost as well known as L'Apocalypse des animaux. The music itself will be re-used in other films, including Peter Weir's song "L'Enfant" in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982); the track "Hymne" in the film Chariots of Fire's 1924 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies scene; and Ernest & Julio Gallo wine advertisements in the United States. Rossif and Vangelis also worked on Sauvage et Beau (1984) and De Nuremberg (1989).

Vangelis returned to Greece in 1979 by releasing new arrangements of Greek folk songs with actress and singer Irene Papas. The first set of songs under Papas' name, Odes, were immediately popular in Greece. Rapsodies, a 1987 release, will be followed by a second album. In complete contrast, the 1980s saw the introduction of See You Later, a much more experimental and satirical collection of concept pieces and rare pop songs with vocal contributions from Pete Marsh, Cherry Vanilla, and Yes singer Jon Anderson, as well as a rare example of Vangelis singing himself (deliberately poorly).

Vangelis and Jon Anderson had already started a more extensive collaboration with him in 1979 as the duo Jon and Vangelis. Short Stories (1980), the band's debut album, debuted at No. 1. In the United Kingdom, there are 4 of them. The Friends of Mr Cairo, Private Collection, and Page of Life were published in 1981, 1983, and 1991 respectively, before launching three more albums. The first two albums featured three hit singles, "I Hear You Now," "I'll Find My Way Home," and "State of Independence," with the former being a hit for the second time when told by Donna Summer with production by Quincy Jones.

During this time, Vangelis' music attracted a much wider audience when several of his 1970s pieces were used for the soundtrack of Carl Sagan's 1980 TV series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (also from Heaven and Hell) and "Alpha" (from Albedo 0.39). Vangelis will be instrumental in the creation of new music for a special edition in 1986. Vangelis recalled that Sagan had sent him recordings of some sounds found by satellites, which were exactly what he heard as a youth.

Vangelis agreed to write the score for Chariots of Fire (1981) because "I liked the people I was working with." "It's a very humble, low-budget film." Vangelis' music was experimental and synthesiser-oriented, with most period films featuring orchestral scores, but most of period films featured orchestral music, so the choice of music was unorthodox, whereas most period films featured orchestral scores, but most period films featured orchestral scores, whereas Vangelis' was experimental and synthesiser-oriented. It was a huge commercial success, raising Vangelis' profile as a result. "Titles," the opening instrumental title piece, later known as "Chariots of Fire – Titles," was released as a single that debuted at No. 61. After a five-month increase, Billboard Hot 100 chart number 1 fell for one week. No. 5 on the soundtrack album. In the United States, the Billboard 200 has been on the Billboard 200 for four weeks and has sold one million copies. Vangelis earned an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score in March 1982, but he was unable to attend the awards ceremony due to a fear of flying. He turned down an invitation to remain in a stateroom on the Queen Elizabeth 2 for a boat crossing. The "most inspiration," Vangelis said, was the story itself. The remainder I did instinctively, without worrying about anything else, other than to express my feelings with the technological means available to me at the time." At the 1984 Winter Olympics, the song was performed.

The success of Chariots of Fire has attracted new offers for Vangelis to direct films, but he did not intend to become "a film music factory." He produced the documentary film Pablo Picasso Painter by Frédéric Rossif in 1981. It was Vangelis' third straight score, after he had previously scored documentaries about Georges Mathieu and Georges Braque. He produced the score for Missing (1982), directed by Costa-Gavras, which was given the Palme d'Or and received Vangelis a nomination for Best Film Music by the British Academy of Music. Antarctica (for the film Nankyoku Monogatari in 1983, one of Japan's highest-grossing films) and The Bounty in 1984 were among Vangelis film soundtracks released during this period. He declined to participate in 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, has been released.

Vangelis co-produced Blade Runner (1981), an science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. The Vangelis score, according to critics, captures Harrison Ford's character's loneliness and melancholy, as well as the decaying buildings and ever-present rain. The score was nominated for a BAFTA and Golden Globe award. Blade Runner has since been one of Vangelis' most popular hits, despite the fact that it was not available on album for many years. Vangelis refused to sign his recordings, and the studio hired musicians to create orchestral versions of the original score. The issue was eventually addressed twelve years later, when Vangelis' own work was published in 1994. And then, the film was considered incomplete because it contained other Vangelis compositions that were not on record. This, in turn, was settled in 2007 when a box set of the score was published to commemorate the film's 25th anniversary, which includes the 1994 album, some previously unreleased music cues, and new original Vangelis content based on Blade Runner.

Paramount Pictures released 1492: Conquest of Paradise, also directed by Ridley Scott, as a 500th anniversary tribute to Christopher Columbus' journey to the New World in 1992. At the 1993 Golden Globe awards, Vangelis' score was recognized as "Best Original Score – Motion Picture," but he was not nominated for an Academy Award. Vangelis was named "The Best Title Theme For A TV Film or a Series" in 1996, thanks to the magazine's success, as "International Artist Of The Year" and RTL Golden Lion Award for the "Best Title Theme for a TV Film or a Series" in 1996.

Vangelis composed the score for the film Bitter Moon (1992), directed by Roman Polanski, and Luis Puenzo's The Plague directed by Luis Puenzo. Vangelis made undersea documentaries for French ecologist and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, one of which was on display at the Earth Summit in the 1990s. The score of the film Cavafy (1996) directed by Yannis Smaragdis earned an award at the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent and Valencia International Film Festival.

Vangelis started composing for ballet and theatre stage plays in the early 1980s. He wrote the music for Michael Cacoyannis' staging of the Greek tragedy Elektra, which was performed with Irene Papas at the open-air amphitheater in Epidavros, Greece, in 1983. Vangelis' first ballet score was composed in the same year as a Wayne Eagling production. Lesley Collier and Eagling themselves appeared at an Amnesty International gala at the Drury Lane Theatre in the beginning. The Royal Ballet School revived it in 1984 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. Vangelis composed music for two more ballets, "Frankenstein – Modern Prosequitheus" and "The Beauty and the Beast," 1985 and 1986. Vangelis wrote the soundtrack for a revival of Euripides' Medea, which starred Irene Papas. He produced two plays in 2001, including a version of William Shakespeare's The Tempest performed by Hungarian director György Schwajdas.

Vangelis worked with Italian singer Patty Pravo on Tanto in 1976, and with Italian singer Milva's Erfolg in Germany, Ich hab's terror (1981) and Geheimnisse in 1986 (I have no fear and secrets), also translated in Italian as Tra due sogni.

Nana Mouskouri is a dialect spoken in Italy. She appeared on her Vangelis album "Ti Amer." "Odi A," "San Elektra," and "Tora Xero" were among the lyricist Mikalis Bourboulis' tracks, which Maria Farantouri sung by Maria Farantouri's collection of "Odi A."

In 1984, Vangelis introduced Soil Festivities. The interaction of nature and its microscopic living creatures inspired Invisible Connections (1985) in the world of elementary particles invisible to the naked eye; Mask (1985) was inspired by the mask's archetypal artefact used in ancient times for concealment or amusement; and Direct (1988). The last of the aforementioned albums was the first album to be released in Vangelis' post-Nemo Studios period.

On September 7, 1986, Vangelis appeared at Royce Hall on the University of California's Los Angeles campus. Jon Anderson's appearance was one of a special guest artist.

In the 1990s, there were five solo albums; The City (1990) reflected a day of ferocious city life from dawn to dusk, and Voices (1995) chronicled El Greco's (1995), which was limited in availability; and El Greco (1998), which was a modernization of the former.

The Sport Aid (1986) TV broadcast was designed to feature music by Vangelis. He planned and staged the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, which were held in Greece. He also arranged the music, conceived and directed the artistic Olympic flag relay portion of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Athens ("Handover to Athens") of the closing ceremonies. Although no official recording of this piece exists, the album can be heard accompanying the unveiling of the Athens Games' logo. Vangelis created the official Anthem for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in 2002. During the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Chariots of Fire's work was displayed. Conquest of Paradise (1992) (from the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise) is now the theme song of the famous Trail Running competition Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc) in Paradise.

In 2001, Vangelis performed live and then released the choral symphony Mythodea, which was used by NASA as the Mars Odyssey mission's theme. This is primarily a orchestral rather than electronic piece that was originally published in 1993. Vangelis, the conductor of Oliver Stone's Alexander's Alexander, was released in 2004, and he's already involved in Greece with projects related to Greece.

In 2007, Vangelis released two albums; the first was a 3-CD set for Blade Runner Trilogy; the second was a soundtrack for the Greek film El Greco, directed by Yannis Smaragdis; and the second, titled El Greco Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released.

Vangelis was invited by Katara's Cultural Village in the state of Qatar to produce, plan, conduct, and compose music for the opening of its outdoor amphitheater on December 11, 2011. Several world leaders and dignitaries were among the participants in the 4th Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, which took place in Doha, Qatar. Jeremy Irons, a British actor, appeared in the role of master of ceremonies, and the event featured a light show by German artist Gert Hof. Hugh Hudson, an Oscar-winning British filmmaker, had it shot for a future video release.

Vangelis re-tooled and added to his legendary Chariots of Fire soundtrack in 2012 for use in the same-titled stage version. He produced the soundtrack of the environmental documentary film Trashed (2012), directed by Candida Brady and starring Jeremy Irons. In 2013, Vangelis And The Journey to Ithaka was released. He also supervised the score for the film Twilight of Shadows (2014), directed by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina.

Vangelis wrote three short stories titled "Arrival," "Rosetta's Waltz," and "Philae's Journey" for the landing of the Philae lander on Comet 67P on November 12, 2014 (part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission). The pieces were released online as videos supplemented by photographs and animations from the Rosetta mission. "Mythology, science, and space exploration have all captivated me since my early childhood," he was quoted by ESA. They were also linked somehow to the songs I wrote." The works were unveiled in September 2016 as part of Rosetta's new studio album. Vangelis composed an original score for Stephen Hawking's memorial in 2018. Though Hawking's remains were recited at Westminster Abbey, the ESA brought Hawking's songs to the nearest black hole to Earth. It was a personal tribute by Vangelis, and a limited edition of "The Stephen Hawking Tribute" was shared with the family and over 1,000 guests.

Both new and old compositions were performed on a grand piano and inspired by Vangelis' long-serving obsession for space, and no new or old compositions were released on January 25th, 2019. Vangelis, on the other hand, said he had been kind of pressured by the record company to eliminate it and include old compositions. Vangelis produced The Thread, a modern dance work influenced by Greek mythology and Hellenic dances, in the same year. It received rave reviews, and Andromeda Music's CD & DVD was released in a limited edition. On the Maliphant's project, he collaborated with fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, who created new music for her fashion shows.

Vangelis' last studio album, Juno to Jupiter, was released on September 24th, 2021. It was inspired by NASA's Juno spacecraft, and it featured soprano Angela Gheorghiu on several tracks.

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