"Elsewhere": Latest news updates

This shop also has a few sound sample excerpts for a Lo-Fi first impression of the music.

For the record, this is not the album's official store that is expected. Also, ordering anywhere remains your own risk, the Elsewhere Vangelis site is not related to any of the sites linked to.

"Swiadectwo" soundtrack review

It's a very pleasant surprise to see Vangelis' most recent work in the world of cinema properly released on a soundtrack CD. Fans of his work have had years and years of training, trying to accept the fact that some of Vangelis' great movie scores (Think of The Bounty, Bitter Moon, Cavafy) remained completely or mostly unreleased on albums. But since Alexander, El Greco, the Trilogy edition of Blade Runner and now also "Swiadectwo" that tide has undeniably turned.

In case anyway missed this: Swiadectwo is a Polish documentary film about Pope John Paul the second, currently still playing in Polish theaters and expected around the world in the near future.

While Vangelis was commissioned to write and record the title music, Polish composer Robert Jansson composed the underscore for the rest of the movie. The combined result has now been released on a soundtrack CD, for the time being only available to the Polish audience.

The album's complete track list: Vangelis - Part 1 1. Sanctus 4:34 2. Aeternitatem 1:58 3. Humanum Est 3:08 Robert Jansson - Part 2 4. Dziecinstwo 7:09 5. Podroze 4:59 6. Swiadectwo 1 4:12 7. Powolanie 4:53 8. Swiadectwo 2 2:29 9. Triumf 3:28 10. Swiadectwo 3 4:03 11. Nadzieja 4:30 12 Zlo 1:25 13 Cierpienie 4:16

The packaging for this edition of the CD is quite special. It's in fact a small hardcover book with 30 pages, after which the CD is safely stored in plastic attached to the back cover. The booklet contains pictures from the film, an interview with Jansson, a bio and picture of Vangelis, etc...

Some may have already heard the gentle reflective (and "Alexander" reminiscent) tones of "Sanctus", as radio stations in Poland have on occasion broadcast a promotional edit of this track. In the full piece on this CD however the piano, strings and choirs build to a bigger climax with bells and church organ. Although relatively simple, this graceful composition, performed in Vangelis' delicate fashion that seems to come straight from the heart, just keeps getting better and better, every time you listen to it.

Not many will be able to see "Aeternitatem" coming. Although still very "Vangelis", this is unlike any music you've heard before. A very full, fast and dynamic sound, at once both serene and energetic, both dark and bright... It has echoes from 1940s or 1950s movie music, while sounding festive, celebratory. Although "orchestral" in sound, it's performed by Vangelis on his synthesizers with joyful energy. Such a pleasure to witness!

"Humanum Est" returns to the gentle, calm sound, sad at its core but with a hidden sense of optimism. Composed in the same fashion as the gentler pieces on the recent "El Greco" soundtrack album, but because it's longer this may in fact be a bit easier to sit back to and enjoy. It forms a beautiful end to what can easily be seen as a perfect mini album.

After that, the CD switches to the part composed by Robert Jansson. A very different story indeed. Jansson wrote a light, more restrained score, music that should live in the background not detracting from the actual film. It's quite well done and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. But if you've just spend 10 minutes being sucked into Vangelis' world, moulding the mood, setting and your emotions, getting under your skin and touching all the subtle buttons, Jansson's light and generic orchestral flavors can only be an abrupt interruption of the illusion. It's another world entirely. Perhaps it's better to listen them separately, on another occasion and see what you think then. Because otherwise, this music will fall very flat indeed.

Remember, this album is currently only available in Poland. It may still see an international release at a later date. An official web store especially for this album is expected, but not yet operational at the moment. There are Polish retail web stores carrying it, but no guarantees on how reliable or how fast they are. Relevant pages for one online retailer who lists both the soundtrack CD and the DVD can be found here:

"Swiadectwo" soundtrack release

Reliable sources from Poland reveal that a soundtrack CD will be released for "Swiadectwo" (aka "Testimony") on Wednesday December 10. For now, this will be an edition especially for the Polish market, but it's possible that an international edition will be released later, perhaps in the spring of next year.

Because the movie's subject, pope John Paul the 2nd, is such a legendary historic and religious figure in Poland, this local release will see a wide circulation in this country, including bookstores and kiosks. Additionally, there will be an internet address where the album will be sold on-line, within Poland but also for international customers.

According to the same sources, the cover design will resemble the movie's poster showing the pope and the cardinal (see the September 15 update), with the indications "Vangelis, part 1" and "Robert Janson, part 2".

The Vangelis part is presented in the form of three tracks:

   1. Sanctus
   2. Aeternitatem
   3. Humanum Est

This Polish CD will come with a booklet or leaflet including a bio on Vangelis and a photograph, as well as the same for Robert Janson, who is also interviewed for this edition.

More info at a later date...

In the mean time, the documentary is a huge success in Polish cinemas, by now selling over a million tickets, while still going strong. Distribution in other countries is expected in the near future.

Discorama interview details

Some details about the recent "Discorama" DVD release in France:

Vangelis' item lasts about 3 and a half minutes. He plays a very melodic tune on his keyboards (with some percussion too), for about a minute, followed by a short conversation where he demonstrates also some percussion. It was recorded with multiple cameras in black-and-white. The audio quality, especially at the beginning is very good for an item dating back to 1972.

A few screen shots...

Cosmos DVD set in Holland

Fans of Carl Sagan's legendary "Cosmos" series may be interested to hear that it has now also been released on a DVD set in Holland. This version of the series should basically be the same as the famous American DVD box set, originally released near the end of the year 2000. This means that some (but not all) the music Vangelis wrote for the 1986 Halley's Comet edition of the series is included. This music cannot be heard anywhere else. Only one theme was released on CD, on the now rare Cosmos 2CD soundtrack, also from late 2000. This new Dutch DVD set comes with some additional "extra" features. Here's the producer's press release page: www.brightvisionentertainment.nl/indexcosmos.html Thanks to Kees Wolvers for the tip.

1972 Vangelis interview released in DVD box set "Discorama - L'Anthologie"

"Discorama - L'Anthologie" is a DVD set, released on the French market since November 6 this year. It's a collection of footage from a now legendary series of TV interviews by Denise Glaser, broadcast over many years in the 60s and 70s by public TV station TF1.

Disk 2 of this set contains an item on Vangelis. The chapter called "recherches en Tabacologie" reportedly shows Vangelis playing his keyboards for about two minutes, followed by an interview. The item was originally broadcast on June 4, 1972. On this DVD it is filed under "les Genies" (The geniuses), along with Salvador Dali and Iannis Xenakis.

The DVD set (French language, DVD Region 2, PAL TV system) can be ordered from any of the big French internet retailers, for instance:

• www.amazon.fr/Coffret-discorama-anthologie-Denise-Glaser/dp/B001CRVXUG
• video.fnac.com/a2481298/Discorama-L-Anthologie-DVD-Zone-2
• www.alapage.com/-/Fiche/DVDVideo/987467/DVD/discorama-coffret-digipack-de-3-dvd-.htm

Expect some more details and screenshots here, later this week...

"El Greco" in Spain

The Vangelis scored "El Greco" film will finally see its major release in Spanish cinemas this Friday. The film was co produced with Spain, as much of the story was set in Toledo and some of the main actors being Spanish.

A gala premiere took place on November 4, visited by Spanish Queen Sofia, who commented she would want to see it even a third time.

The movie is being advertised on television with parts of Vangelis' score in the background.

"Wii Music" game uses "Chariots of Fire"

The game "Wii Music" for the Nintendo Wii game console has "Chariots of Fire" in a list of compositions that the player can "perform".

The Nintendo Wii is a game console that is not controlled by the usual gamepad or joystick controls, but instead is mostly played by actually motioning a controller in the air, which detects its movements and thus allows to intuitively influence the game. Nintendo is now using this for their new release "Wii Music", where those motions influence the performance of pre-programmed musical compositions, by a band of six on-screen characters. Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" is one composition in the list of pieces. The user can influence its performance by messing with settings (instruments, stage, etc.) and while the music performance, by pressing buttons and gesturing movements. Or, in an alternative mode, by conducting the piece, swinging the control to indicate its tempo.

Wii Music has been released in the USA and Japan, but will roll out in Europe in the following weeks.

Greek magazine "Ti.Vo" comes with poster

Greek fans may be interested in checking the stalls for the current edition of Greek TV guide "Ti.Vo", as it comes with a fold-out Vangelis poster, roughly in A3 size, printed in color. That's something you don't see every day.

It also comes packed with a CD (which includes Forminx track "Until the End") and reprints of three copies of the famous 60s magazine "Modernoi Rythmoi" (all in the Greek language, obviously), which used to write a lot about Vangelis and the Forminx.

The next issue is expected probably by Friday, so hurry if you still want to obtain this poster.

"Testimony" commercial with Vangelis' music

The Polish television commercial for "Swiadectwo" (aka Testimony) uses Vangelis' music:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Y7BL7kjb0

"Testimony", first reactions...

Enthusiastic reports from Rome, by guests of the "Testimony" premiere, both for the impressive scale of how this movie was launched as well as for the movie itself.

One guest was "touched" by the story - and do be sure this comes from a modern, worldly, non religious viewpoint - for the human interest perspective. Not only the footage of the international work done, but also at a smaller scale, some more personal moments, amusing and even humorous at points.

Vangelis' music, both for the opening and closing titles part of the movie accompanied scenes from the funeral of Pope John Paul the 2nd, the focus of this documentary. Both of Vangelis' compositions are described as - each in different ways - conveying a certain sadness, a sense of loss yet at the same time feeling uplifting, a promise of hope and continuation. As some describe, these pieces are not a big departure for Vangelis: He does here what he does so very well and it seems to be exactly what the movie needed.

The premiere screening took place in a hall that was almost completely filled. This means somewhere around 6000 people watched as the film was projected and Pope Benedict XVI followed it with a speech. Among the audience were high profile people from Poland, Italy and the Vatican, with legends like Lech Walesa attending. Some of whom joined the reception held afterwards at a nearby palace, opened up for the occasion, to go on for most of the evening.

"Testimony" premiere

"Testimony", also known as "Swiadectwo" in country of origin Poland, will be premiering early this evening at the Vatican.

The movie will screen at the Pope Paul VI Auditorium, right next to the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The hall can accommodate approximately 7000 people, and indeed several thousand invited guests will enjoy the premiere in attendance of the current pope, Pope Benedict XVI.

The date of the premiere coincides with the 30th anniversary of the movie's protagonist's election as pope, and ceremonies around the premiere will be celebrated in that light.

Hopefully, you can read some more info about Vangelis' music here, later today, after the premiere ends.

After that, it seems that the movie should play in Polish cinemas very soon, at 130 different theaters throughout the country. Other countries expected to follow, with the movie being translated into all the major European languages.

"Swiadectwo" press conference

Tomorrow's premiere of "Swiadectwo" will be preceded by a press conference today, also at the Vatican in Rome, with some of the principle forces behind the movie appearing, such as narrator Michael York, producer Przemyslaw Häuser, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and Federico Lombardi, press secretary to the Vatican.

Two different movie poster designs are seen around the location, each clearly crediting Vangelis for his music, as well as the movie's other composer Robert Janson and narrator Michael York.

Expect new details here, as they become available. It seems the press conference is actually delayed a bit, because large groups of people are still being flown in from Poland today.

"Swiadectwo" premiere approaching

This Thursday October 16, the documentary "Testimony" (or "Swiedectwo" in Polish, where the film was produced) will premiere at the Vatican in Rome. Expect to read here some first impressions from a source who will have the honor to attend this event.

As far as Vangelis' music goes, last Friday Polish radio station "Zlote przeboje" quite unexpectedly broadcast a part of Vangelis' end titles music. An incomplete, low quality, audio file is now circulating the internet.

The movie should be released theatrically in various countries in the coming months. A DVD release of the movie is expected to appear next year, with the month of February being mentioned for Poland.

The movie's official site is now also available in:

The new trailer again does not feature Vangelis' music.

For the record, the Vangelis scored "El Greco" movie should play in Spanish cinemas finally on November 21.

This update: September 15, 2008 "Swiadectwo" film poster and link October 16's official premiere of "Swiadectwo" at the Vatican is drawing nearer. In the mean time, the film's official web site is expanding. It now shows the film poster, with Vangelis' credit (for the opening and closing titles music). www.swiadectwofilm.pl/Swiadectwo/0,0.html. Another page on the site lists a short bio on Vangelis (in Polish), together with a rarely seen recent photograph: www.swiadectwofilm.pl/Swiadectwo/1,93513,5641814,Vangelis.html. Thanks to Giuseppe for his input!

Music for "Swiadectwo"

As it turns out, it really looks like the reports in the Polish press were true. (See the June 16 update) Vangelis has composed music for "Swiadectwo", a new documentary about the life of the late pope John Paul the 2nd.

While a Polish composer is working on the underscore, Vangelis has been commissioned to write the music for the Opening and Closing titles of the movie. Sources are talking about two pieces with a combined duration of approximately 10 minutes.

The official premiere should take place on October 16, while screenings of the movie may take place around that time in other places in the world. More details when they become available.

For the record: Note that the trailers for this movie that are currently online do not include Vangelis' music.

WSA public choice voting

The World Soundtrack Awards are taking votes again for this years Public Choice Award. Each year, the public is invited to vote for their favorite movie scores by submitting their choice on the WSA's internet site. Voting is open to everyone with an email address.

In 2005, this price was awarded to Vangelis for his score for "Alexander". This year, the award will be presented as part of the "8th annual World Soundtrack Awards" ceremony (Ghent, October 18 2008), the closing event of the Ghent Film Festival.

All films released within a 12 month window are automatically nominated. This does include Vangelis' score for El Greco, which can be seen listed on the site:
www.worldsoundtrackawards.com/awards.cgi?go=search&find=&type=list&from=800&show=100&sort=&ref=.

Votes will be accepted until September 15, 2008.

El Greco on the big screen

More chances to see El Greco on the big screen are coming up.

First off, the Toronto Film Festival (running from September 4 to September 13) has selected El Greco as part of its Contemporary World Cinema selection. (see for example www.moviehole.net/2008/07/10/toronto-film-festival-additions/).

Other opportunities to see the film will include a screening at a film festival at the European Parliament in Brussels (December 9), screenings in New York (October, most likely) and the still impending national theatrical releases in Hungary and Spain, probably by the end of November. More details will follow.

Sex Power for sale as streaming video

[Note on June 31: Corrected downloading to streaming]

INA - a French institute that specializes in archiving French cinema and television material - has just released the recently digitally restored "Sex Power" movie (see the June 21 update), as streaming video on their site. After a credit card payment of €6, a DivX file can be streamed and viewed on the PC (or DivX stream capable device).

Note that to be able to play this movie a recent DivX player needs to be installed on your computer, one that can handle TIX files and DRM (Digital Rights Management) functionality involved with this purchase.

Visit: www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.php?vue=notice&id_notice=VDD08000001

Sex Power is a 1970 movie with an original score by Vangelis, now mostly remembered because of its soundtrack LP, having become a true collectors rarity.

Report on Sex Power screening.

Reports are coming in on yesterday's special "Sex Power" screening in Nice. A festival included Henri Chapier's "Sex Power" movie, a now almost unseeable French production that Vangelis composed the score for in the early days of the 1970s.

The movie is being described as complicated and abstract. With the narrative jumping back and forth in time, and things happening that often make no rational sense, the story itself is much open for interpretation. As for the title, don't let it fool you, only scarce nudity can be seen, the film is not as erotic as some have speculated.

As it turned out, this score precursored most of Vangelis' other scores, in that the music in the movie differs from the album. Indeed, most of the themes can be found in both, but for most of them goes that the album contains different takes, while there are also pieces in the movie completely unreleased on the album, and bits on the album that do not appear in the movie. Much like Vangelis' later releases of scores like Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, 1492 and Alexander.

Interestingly, the print that was screened yesterday had been digitally restored, which caused for interesting speculation among members of the audience. And indeed, Chapier later that evening confirmed: There are plans to re-release this movie in some as yet to be determined form. There could for instance be a DVD release at some point, although things still need to be worked out, and could take months or years before anything materializes.

Heritage Orchestra's Blade Runner performance.

Tonight London's famous Royal Festival Hall hosted the "Heritage Orchestra"'s performance of Vangelis' score for "Blade Runner", mixed by Massive Attack.

Thanks to some reports from audience members, we can now get a better idea what this was all about. Contrary to what many people expected, the music performed was not a beefed up, remixed, modernized version of the music. Instead, it seems the goal was to stay as close to Vangelis' original music as possible.

Even in terms of structure the performance respected Vangelis' own dealing with the material, as the music they played quite closely followed the 1994 CD (Disk 1 from the Blade Runner Trilogy release), starting out the same way, following the same segues... It included even the "new" tracks like "Rachel's Song" and "Damask Rose". One track most notably added was the one known from Trilogy's CD2 as "Dr. Tyrell's Death".

According to reports, the orchestra carefully imitated Vangelis' sound as closely as they could, at least trying to get every little note just right. Sometimes that worked and sometimes it didn't. Most of the parts were performed with acoustic instruments, to surprisingly great effect; Some of the score's synth leads played on keyboards, not quite encompassing the intended Vangelis' sound. Massive Attack's input must have been very minimal. But overall a very respectful and certainly enjoyable recreation of the score.

On one hand this faithfulness gave bare its short comings, when they simply couldn't quite reach the levels or nuances of Vangelis' studio work. But on the other hand, whenever they really did manage to nail it, the crowd adored it, with performances of Rachel's Song (including live vocals), Memories of Green (including phasered piano sound and little bleeps and blobs) and the End Titles being mentioned as the biggest crowd pleasers. After the End titles, the enthusiastic applause for a while prevented the orchestra to continue into the "Tears in Rain" track, which they had to try and pick up after the audience allowed them to.

To show Vangelis' apparent blessing to the event, the time before the concert started - as the audience entered the hall - was accompanied by images being projected on a screen, showing unique and never before seen footage of Vangelis in action at Nemo Studios, back in 1982, actually working on the Blade Runner score. This was inter cut with scenes from the movie, all of it accompanied by live sound effects generated on stage.

Judging from the reactions so far, it's certainly a pity that details on this event came out so late and tickets sold out instantly, so that only a small section of the score's hard core fans managed to secure access to this performance. As it turns out, those who did were the lucky ones!

Rumors about documentary music.

A number of news paper publications in Poland have been reporting on an as yet unsubstantiated rumor claiming that Vangelis would be commissioned to compose (some of?) the music for a documentary called "Swiadectwo".

According to these articles, the film about late pope John Paul the 2nd will be intended both for the cinema and in an extended version for broadcast as a short series on TV. The cinema version is expected to premier in October this year.

But all this info is premature; we will have to wait and see if the news papers are correct. More later...

More awards...

The "4th Annual Athens Hellenic Heritage Achievement & National Public Service Awards Dinner" was held at the Grande Bretagne hotel in honor of both Vangelis and Kitty Kyriacopoulos, with hundreds of guests witnessing Vangelis being honored by the American Hellenic Institute, in the presence of several ministers as well as the American Ambassador to Greece.

Vangelis was also presented with the "The Golden Lyre of Apollo" award which had been officially bestowed upon him on an earlier occasion.

Unique opportunity to see the "Sex Power" movie.

In 1970 French journalist and film maker Henry Chapier directed an experimental movie called "Sex Power". He commissioned Vangelis to write the music, resulting in the first non Greek movie with an original Vangelis score. A soundtrack album was released on the French market (in small quantities) thus "Sex Power" became Vangelis' first solo LP.

The movie however, by no means a mainstream effort, was quickly forgotten and we can safely conclude that it is now only remembered as the "mysterious" source for Vangelis' ultra rare and collectable LP.

With no sign of the movie ever airing on TV, never released on VHS, DVD or any of the home cinema formats of the past years, it is in fact quite impossible to find people who've actually seen this film. Hence, any details we know are sketchy and were derived from old press statements or preserved articles from the time of its release.

That's why it is so unique that there will finally be a chance to see this movie. On Friday June 12, barely a week from now, the "Cinémathèque de Nice" Acropolis cinema in Nice, France for one single time will show the movie on the big screen, as part of a Henry Chapier theme night. The film will start around 16:30. There is a minimum age of 18 years for entrance.

The hall has 252 seats. Reservations are not generally possible, but the operators don't expect a lot of people at all. On the same day however, director Henry Chapier will make an appearance at the same venue. There will be the "Soirée Claudia Cardinale", a recording of a Henry Chapier television interview with Claudia Cardinale, which will in fact be attended by both Cardinale and Henry Chapier themselves. This event, taking place in the evening of the same day, June 20 2008, is expected to draw crowds and may be hard to attend.

More information:
www.cinematheque-nice.com/programme/index.php?date_debut=2008-06-20&date_fin=2008-06-20

This update: June 6, 2008

About "Paris, May 1968"...

It's time to evaluate the Ta Nea premium CD containing Vangelis' "Paris, May 1968", previously known as "Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit".

Judging by the sound, the audio has been sourced from an LP. For most tracks it's not that bad at all, but usually at least some distortion in the high tones, crackle and other noises give away the nature of the source.

For the CD release, the two sides of the LP have been faded into each other, so that instead of 2 separate soundscapes of segueing parts, there is now one large soundscape of segueing parts, split into 10 seamless tracks. No list of names is available for the tracks.

One confusing aspect is that while the disk was manufactured as a pressed CD, some papers have turned up with the album burned as a CD-Recordable. Although it's not clear how these came into circulation, theories suggest that these may be copies returned unsold from newsstands, that went back into circulation. If some newsstands returned fake copies hoping to resale the originals on ebay, these fake returns may have actually shipped out internationally. Needless to say, the CD-Rs look of lesser quality and may appeal less to collectors, but sound exactly the same. Should your copy be a CD-Recordable, it could be a good idea to contact the shop or individual you bought it from. The pressed CDs (which are correct, original) can be distinguished as being more silver on the back, subtly quoting the text "FABEL SOUND 2008 NEO PAPATHANASIOU" (incl. incorrect spelling) near the hole, where the (possibly fake?) burned CD-R instead has some random numbers.

This update: May 31, 2008 Ta Nea article Today's update just to confirm that the Ta Nea newspaper is in Greek shops today, available with "Paris, May 1968", the CD edition of Vangelis' "Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit". The CD is packaged in a jewel case, with a front sleeve and back inlay, appropriately minimalistic for a newspaper premium. Furthermore, the art section of this paper comes with a small interview article, spanning parts of two pages.

Obtaining the "Paris May 1968" CD

As many have noticed, it is extremely difficult (if at all possible) to order Greek news papers online, even more so when looking for the optional bonus goodies like this "Paris, May 1968" CD.

Luckily, Greek Music Shop (www.greekmusicshop.gr) makes an exception this time and will include this edition of the paper in their stock temporarily, because of its musical nature. The offer will probably be limited, since the newspaper is available only for one day.

As usual, they allow ordering from abroad, and when needed their web site interface can be switched to the English language in the right top of the page.

"Paris May 1968" is Vangelis' 1972 album "Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit", now finally available on CD, but, at least at this point in time, only in Greece for one day as part of the Saturday edition of the "Ta Nea" news paper. See the May 28 update.

For the record, this site has no affiliation with this or any other shop. Any purchase will be purely between you and the retailer you deal with.

Special Greek CD release of "Fais Que Ton Reve...."

Ta Nea, one of Greece's most important national newspapers today advertises this Saturday's edition. On Saturdays this paper can be bought (for 2 Euro extra) as a version with a bonus CD included. The Saturday May 31 2008 edition will come with a CD called "Paris May 1968". This is in fact a CD edition of one of Vangelis' most loved early solo albums, "Fais Que Ton Reve Soit Plus Long Que La Nuit".

The album, sometimes referred to as Vangelis' "Poeme Symphonique", has never before been released on CD. The original LP first saw the light of day in France in 1972 in quite a luxurious gatefold sleeve, now an expensive rarity for collectors, later re-released in Greece as well as some other European countries as simpler editions, always only on vinyl, long before CDs were invented or sold.

This work being a concept album in every positive sense of the word, Vangelis took his inspiration from the famous student protests in Paris, those days back in May 1968. In an almost visual sense of the word, the listener catches a glimpse of the mood, the setting, the emotions and the atmosphere of that place and moment in time, as Vangelis may have experienced it wandering through Paris during the events. The music is intermixed with sound scapes, news excerpts, songs and other related recordings, resulting in what feels like a very real sense of witnessing something quite remarkable and important, in its own way.

It's easy to conclude that this release is due to those events taking place exactly 40 years ago, this month.

More details on this release later....

Vangelis to be Honorary Doctor / Professor Emeritus The board of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has unanimously decided to grant Vangelis the title of Honorary Doctor, inviting him to become Professor Emeritus at their Faculty of Primary Education. Vangelis will be welcomed into the University's Community because of his "exceptional contribution to the overall education of the Greek people and to the international promotion of Hellenism". A proclamation ceremony will take place next week in the beautiful ceremony hall of one of the university's most prestigious buildings.

El greco DVD details

A few additional details about the "El Greco" DVD, recently released on the Greek market:

To correct an earlier misunderstanding: There are no English subtitles on the current Greek release. This should not be too big a problem; The majority of dialogs and all monologs are in English. However, certain scenes between Greek or Spanish actors are spoken in their local languages.

The good news is that it's been released as a 2 disk set, in luxurious packaging. No other editions are available at this point. Disk 1 contains the movie, plus its trailer, while disk 2 contains an assorted set of extra features. A small booklet is included, with photographs from the film, as well as Vangelis and director Smaragdis.

The film's visual quality on the DVD is absolutely perfect. The audio depends on the chosen channel with three options available (all in the same mix of languages).

Disk 2 includes about two and a half hours of footage, excluding the photo galleries:

The "Making Of" documentary is the same as broadcast late last year on Nova TV, but sadly the small segment of Vangelis visiting the set has been cut from this particular version.

This release can be ordered on-line from the following Greek web shops, with the ordering process available in the English language:

Remember that Region2 DVDs in the PAL TV format do not properly playback on equipment in certain countries. See for info:
www.paradiso-design.net/DVD_RegionCodes.html

Live Remix of "Blade Runner" by Massive Attack and The Heritage Orchestra

Southbank Centre in the UK has announced a rather unique upcoming event. Trip Hop pioneers Massive Attack are set to perform a live session, essentially remixing an orchestral live performance of Vangelis' score for "Blade Runner". The "Heritage Orchestra" will perform the score, probably in their loose and almost jazzy, cacaphonic style, while the two members of Massive Attack add their electronics and transform it to the final results.

The event will take place on June 17 in London's famous Royal Festival Hall, as part of the "Southbank Centre's 2008 Meltdown Festival".

Tickets have been selling like crazy from the festival's official site:
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/all-events/meltdown.

With the exception of a few chairs, they have essentially sold out. However, it seems Ticketmaster still has tickets available at:
www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1F004098C04A4C47?artistid=943151&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=203

Be sure to realize Vangelis will not be performing: He does not seem to be involved in the event at all. This is essentially a cover / remix concert, which receives massive attention because of the source material's legendary status, as well as the high profile artists set to perform and mix this material. Expect the music to be very different from the original score, both in sound and feeling, but it will be based on Vangelis' original work.

New Vangelis interview in Greek newspaper's Sunday edition

Greek fans who happen to read this update as early as today (Sunday April 13) would better rush to the news kiosks, as the "ViMagazino" insert of today's edition of national news paper "To Vima" features a large new interview with Vangelis. This is available in news stands throughout Greece, only for today!

Quoting to the magazine's introduction:

One of the most popular Greeks globally, composer Vangelis Papathanassiou remains a big mystery. What are his thoughts, his views about our country, music and politics? What will happen, at last, with his well known house in Dionisou Aeropagitou that is in "the way" of the new Museum of Acropolis? His answers are impressive. Interview by Margarita Sfetsa.

The article spans 7 pages, while Vangelis' portrait is pictured on the cover of the magazine. The article includes several photographs, some have not been seen before.

El Greco DVD release in Greece

Even before El Greco has opened in theaters outside of Greece, Greco's country of birth will be able to rent as well as buy the DVD release of Smaragdis new film. The Vangelis scored movie will be available in Greek rental shops as of tomorrow, April 1, and for sale reportedly about 10 days later.

The DVD will have subtitles, both in English and Greek, boosting it's appeal for fans throughout the world. [Note afterwards: this was a misunderstanding, there are no English subtitles on the current Greek DVD release.] No word on any extras. Greek TV has previously aired a "Making Of" documentary, briefly showing Vangelis visiting the set, but no word yet on whether this might be included on the disk. More info later. Either way, no doubt fans will want to hear Vangelis' music within the movie it was created on and compare whether really all the music from the movie appeared on the soundtrack release.

It looks like Greekmusicshop.gr, which comes highly recommended by many people who ordered the El Greco soundtrack CD from their site (thanks to everyone for writing their experiences), will stock up properly for fast delivery upon the DVD's release. They now take pre-orders from their product page here:
www.greekmusicshop.gr/eshop/product.php?productid=3344&cat=27&page=1, switch to English in the top right corner.

Another shop that comes highly recommended by many is http://www.musical.gr/, but it does not seem to list the El Greco DVD yet.

Reactions mailed here where less positive however about Studio 52, the third Greek music shop allowing ordering in English that was mentioned here. Many Readers have emailed their complaints about inexplicably late dispatching of orders, often with many weeks of delay as opposed to the very rapid shipments of the other two Greek online stores that took their orders very seriously.

The BBC Radio 4 interview

The BBC's week-long archive period for the Vangelis episode of Front Row has expired. By popular request, here's an mp3 recording of both relevant parts, the announcement and actual interview, edited together:

Vangelis interview on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 has just aired a rare new interview with Vangelis, where he talks to Mark Lawson about creating the scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, as well as other topics. Vangelis also demonstrates his skills improvising some new music and a variation on the titles music for "Chariots of Fire".

The interview was part of a daily program on culture, called "Front Row". It should be available for online listening for almost a week on the BBC's listen again service.

• The program's contents description: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/frontrow/past_programmes.shtml.
• Listen to previous episodes, click on "Front Row"'s "Wed" link: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/listenagain.shtml#f.
  Vangelis' part starts around 9 minutes into the program and lasts for almost 10 minutes. [Note: The archival periode has now expired, see the January 11 update for an mp3 recording]

"El Greco Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" review

It's interesting to see how Iannis Smaragdis' tale of El Greco's struggle against the oppressive forces of power brought out a completely different side of Vangelis then we saw when he revisited Blade Runner. Released almost back to back, it's impossible not to be in awe at the contrast of Blade Runner's urban angst against El Greco's elegant delight, or at how one artist can so masterfully rule two of such different kingdoms.

Vangelis opens the album with the part of the movie everyone has kept talking about: "the" choral theme, which so graciously supported the movie's emotional climax. A humming choir starts a melody beautifully melody of restrained glory, almost like a new "Hymne", seemingly simple but constantly evolving and developing, pressing all the right buttons along the way. For the album release, the piece has been extended by about a minute to become an entity in its own right. The beautiful piano version that accompanied the end titles and the graceful choral humming bridging the two pieces are saved for the very end of the album.

The movie's opening titles are presented as Part 2. An ancient rhythm drives an enigmatic theme on a plucked instrument, supported by a crystal clear chanting choir, setting the time and place of the story that is to follow.

After that, things quiet down, in a beautiful way. In his lush, romantic manner Vangelis colors the scenes and sets the mood with his delicate compositions. These may not all be the top choices for a greatest hits selection, but it's often when he's not trying to prove the heavy might of his music that Vangelis shows his true gentle soul. Be it in part 7 with its bright harp and string melodies, in Part 4 with piano, flute and synth string, or Part 12's synthesizer voices with several overlaid strings modestly reflecting the drama, it's always laid back, sensitive and with a strong touch of the Vangelis magic we are always looking for.

The guest artists fit in very well. Part 5, performed with the choir of the Historical, Cultural and Folklore Association of Chania, Crete, features a passionate traditional Cretan chant, while Vangelis plays gracefully along on his synthesizers, not unlike what we've enjoyed in "Rhapsodies" with Irene Papas. Part 8, composed and performed by Psarantonis, is a fiery dance on traditional acoustic instruments, performed at a party in the movie, adding a touch of authenticity to the album, before Vangelis takes you back to his musical story telling. The last of the intermezzos is Part 11 with Loudovicos Ton Anogion's soft warm voice lamenting to the rhythms of one or two of Greece's distinct plucked instruments.

As promised, the album ends with the piano reprisal of the gorgeous main theme. Vangelis raises the bar for elegance, as choirs slowly and softly support the delicate piano performance. The only downside of this piece is that at some point, it ends, and with it the "El Greco" album. It just seems as if the silence that follows sounds just a bit brighter than it did before. Lovely.

The track list:

El Greco, original motion picture soundtrack by Vangelis
Polydor 06025 1760670 8

More ordering "El Greco"

While the previously mentioned www.greekmusicshop.gr/eshop/product.php?productid=3137&cat=0&page=1 has wisely stocked up more copies of El Greco, two more Greek online stores with English interfaces join the market:

• Studio 52 is known to be a little slow, but certainly reliable. See: www.studio52.gr/info_en.asp?infoID=00000wre.
• Several people report having had good experiences with musical.gr, offering the CD at: www.musical.gr/cddetails.php?gui_language=2&CD_code=0602517606708&cat=2.

Ordering "El Greco"...

It's a little early to tell really what the most reliable, affordable and efficient way to order Vangelis' new "El Greco" soundtrack album, but because of the high volume of emails about this topic, here are a number of possible options. All provided as is, order completely at your own risk.

Obviously, if you live in Greece, check out the better CD stores. Most of them have placed it in the soundtrack section. Not all of them have been fast ordering it or stocking it in their shelves, but for instance, Metropolis in Athens has had it in stock since this Thursday.

For ordering from outside of Greece, there is one store that's offering international delivery, presented in an English language interface. This is www.greekmusicshop.gr, with the CD offered on www.greekmusicshop.gr/eshop/product.php?productid=3137&cat=0&page=1. Note the language selector to the top right of your screen, which can be set to English. One problem is that their site only offers copies they have in actual stock. In normal circumstances that is great for reliability, but in this case it may sell out very quickly. For impatient customers it could have been more efficient if pre-ordering it was possible. Good luck.

HMV in the UK is offering what seems to be an import (as no domestic British release has been announced). They take pre-orders for a December 28 shipping date. Which may be hard to keep if everyone orders there, but it still seems like a reliable gamble: www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=220;1;8;-1&sku=754855.

In the United States, it's Amazon who's offering something that may or may not be the new soundtrack album. The current dollar/Euro exchange rate makes this a very expensive CD for American standards, especially since the unclear naming means this could technically still be the '95/'98 studio album. Nevertheless, some may want to try this option. www.amazon.com/El-Greco-Vangelis/dp/B0011U50KI.

Expect a review of the album soon, most likely by tomorrow.

"El Greco" soundtrack artwork

More about Vangelis' new "El Greco, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" after the weekend, but for now, here's the artwork for his score to "El Greco". A few quick details: The digipak contains a booklet with stills from the movie. Tracks are titled Part 1 to Part 18.

"El Greco" soundtrack released

It's confirmed, Vangelis' new soundtrack album for "El Greco" (2007) is now available in Greece, to be found for sale in CD stores. More about this release very soon, hopefully by this weekend.

"Blade Runner Trilogy"

Although by now released in many European countries (including the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Germany) and the United States, the new "Blade Runner Trilogy" album can be quite a hard find in many places. Due to high demand, it seems in general online orders may be given preference, while stock in shops will grow substantially after Xmas. It looks like for now, if you don't find it in a store near you, the fastest way to obtain it is by ordering it online.

As for the States, sales of the domestic release are going exclusively through major on-line retailer Amazon.com who have been shipping out copies since a few days ago. Canadian residents will have to wait until after Xmas as their release has been delayed until December 26.

ANOTHER new album: The "El Greco" soundtrack!

These are exciting times... While most countries are still waiting for Vangelis' new "Blade Runner Trilogy" album to reach the stores, fans in Greece can start looking forward to a another treat. Very reliable sources report that in less than a week from now, on December 19 to be exact, Universal Music SA Greece plans to release Vangelis' brand new soundtrack album to Iannis' Smaragdis' "El Greco".

The album is supposed to contain 18 tracks, 15 of which have been composed by Vangelis, all of which have been arranged and produced by Vangelis. The three other tracks involve source material from within the film, played at parties and any such occasions enjoyed by the on-screen characters.

A few facts, just to set the record straight, as the "El Greco" topic has caused some confusion before. "El Greco" is a new Greek movie for which Vangelis wrote the musical score. This score has nothing to do with Vangelis' famous studio album, known as "Foros Timis Ston Greco" (1995), later expanded and rereleased worldwide as "El Greco" (1998). For "El Greco" (2007), the movie, Vangelis composed a completely new score, not even reminiscent of the '95/'98 studio album. This new album, now due for release on December 19, contains the new music from the movie and has been titled "El Greco - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Vangelis". It should, at least for now, be available only in Greece.

"El Greco" is a huge success in Greek movie theaters and has already won numerous awards, including for Vangelis' music. Nevertheless, the release of the soundtrack comes as quite a surprise, with Vangelis' other new album "Blade Runner Trilogy" in the middle of its world-wide launch, while for Vangelis the release of a soundtrack album is never as mandatory as it is for many other great film composers. A particularly pleasant surprise that, together with the two new CDs from the Blade Runner Trilogy set, should make for the 3rd CD of Vangelis music to look forward to.

More news on this soon...

"Epilogos" award for Vangelis

Between all the excitement about the release of "Blade Runner Trilogy", let's not overlook other news, appearing in Greek newspapers this week. The press has been reporting on a new honor bestowed on Vangelis, citing him as a "paragon of a multi-faceted personality who exemplifies the Arts, Culture, and Greece herself."

The award - embodied in the shape of a Silver wreath - was presented to Vangelis on Monday, December 3 at the amphitheater of Athens' Benaki museum. Presenting the award was Aris Spiliotopoulos, the Greek minister of tourism, quoted by the papers proclaiming "...this award is only the slightest honor that can be bestowed on people like Vangelis, who are devoted to the propagation of the Hellenic spirit to the ends of the earth."

The ceremony was also attended by Greek minister of National Health (also former mayor of Athens) and other dignitaries.

Inscribed on the award are the following words:

"'Epilogos' 2007 Annual Literary and Cultural Review honors VANGELIS, for, joining together Pythagoras, Plato and Aristoxenos, he transformed the Harmony of the Cosmos into melody. The contributing committee: Athens, 3/12/2007"

Official web pages

Just for the record, Universal in the UK has published two official pages associated with the "Blade Runner Trilogy" release..

• www.umtv.co.uk/bladerunner
• www.umtv.co.uk/release.php?id=574

Blade Runner Trilogy review

And there it is. Finally available to the public in UK shops by tomorrow morning: Vangelis' unexpected but much welcomed return to "Blade Runner".

Eagerly awaited by a very diverse audience, including fans of the movie, fans of the music and even fans of countless artists who have repeatedly professed to have been greatly inspired by this legendary soundtrack.

Needless to say the announcement of an upcoming rerelease with no less than two bonus disks caused quite a shockwave of chatter and speculation. Since disk 1 in the set contains the 1994 album, carefully remastered but untouched as far as the actual content is concerned, it's time to explore what exactly those two new CDs are all about.

Disk 2 - Blade Runner Previously Unreleased and Bonus Material

The disk the soundtrack fans have been waiting for. We travel back to 1982, to explore those parts of Blade Runner's music that, to the disappointment of many, could not be incorporated into the album Vangelis released in 1994. Added to this are a few compositions made for the movie, that didn't make it into the actual movie, or any of its reincarnations...

To first answer the question inevitably raised by the movie's many die hard completists: Does it contain absolutely everything? That is, in short, a "no". Some of the very minimal background music, the retro futuristic club dances, the market place and, most surprisingly, the actual opening titles music are still not available outside of the movie.

What it on the other hand does offer is a wealth of those dark, moody, intense pieces that so beautifully accompanied Blade Runner's exploration of this less-and-less-distant future, pondering the question of what it is to be human. On one level cold, sad and dystopian, on another more alive, intimate and humane than many other great scores have managed to be. No wonder so many people have kept wanting to explore this music outside of its original context for the last 25 years.

All these tracks are presented in perfect sound quality. They subtly segue into each other, but for this disk Vangelis chose not to add any new music, effects or dialogs, presenting most pieces in as complete and pure a state as possible. This results in quite a few surprises. "Mechanical Toys" for instance sounds oddly familiar being an obvious part of the score, but in fact only a small fraction of it has been heard in the movie. A fascinating listen that does instantly connect with memories of its subject matter.

Most of what everyone was waiting for is finally here. The choral climaxing music that plays when Roy murders Dr. Tyrell, the ominous discomfort during the final duel between Deckard and Roy, the wondrous icey music for Chew's genetic laboratory... The disk ends fittingly with the immensely popular piece known as "Tears in Rain", presented here without Rutger Hauer's monolog heard on disk 1, for the purest possible enjoyment of the music.

Perhaps the best surprises of this disk are the two bonus tracks. These pieces add credibility to what's being said every once in a while: Some of the best music Vangelis has put into this world is as yet unreleased. Well, in this fortunate case, 25 years of hiding end with the release of Blade Runner Trilogy. While a part of Desolation Path was heard by fans who managed to explore the famous "Work print" of the movie, or some of the countless bootlegs, it never before sounded this good, this complete or this delicately beautiful.

"One Alone" has been completely unheard of, leaving it fully to the listener to imagine what sort of scene would have enjoyed this beautiful piece of music. Vangelis plays his synths as warm and gentle as it gets. "One Alone" is a ballad that manages that rare mix of sweet melancholy and hidden passion that cannot go anywhere but straight to the heart. A true gem.

All in all, listening to this CD is a special experience in many ways. While, as a fan, it feels great to see such collective patience (and let's be honest, persistence) finally pay off.

Disk 3 - BR 25

There are countless traps an artist could fall for when revisiting a legendary work. Perhaps one of the most dangerous ones would be to try and recreate the original in a modern way, or worse, to make extensions artificially in the old way. Vangelis sidestepped this trap brilliantly. His 25th anniversary album - 12 tracks of new Vangelis music, in the mood of Blade Runner - does not sound exactly like the 1982 score, nor does it copy or imitate everything that made it so successful in the first place. Instead, in a contemporary way, it finds new ways to pull the listener into that fascinating, over-populated, over-urbanized world. Sure, the occasional melody from the movie re-appears, as a celebratory or nostalgic nod to the movie we're commemorating, but whenever possible, those familiar pieces are retro-fitted into something new, yet undeniably "Blade Runner" in its own way. Ultimately exploring yet another part of Los Angeles, 2019...

One could say, listening to this music, that it's not the same street, not the same room you visit, not even the same characters you hang out with. Instead, each piece of music visits another part of town, another aspect of life. Yet all this takes place in this same fictional - or is it "futural" - world that Ridley Scott set out to tour us around in, all those years ago.

Musically, the album is nothing less than surprising. It's been a long time since Vangelis experimented this much, toying with new ways to arrange music, playing with new sounds and styles, creatively widening his horizons even further than before. The music switches or combines flavors as diverse as Oriental new age, a classical piano etude, hypnotic electro, loungy jazz and... well, bonus points will be awarded to anyone who manages to classify the wacky "BR Downtown". But no matter where he goes, the music always keeps in line with the integral ambience.

Which of these tracks stand out will come down to personal taste, but to name a few, "Piano in an Empty Room" is a delicately beautiful composition performed solely on one single piano, a recording both intimate and completely engaging.

Sweet Solitude starts with Vangelis on a gentle electric piano, soon joined by wonderful jazzy percussion and a sensual saxophone performed by Dimitris Tsakas. On the other side of the spectrum is a track like "No Expectation Boulevard", driven by a slow but strong beat, nervously exploring those noisy crowded streets we've seen in the movie.

The spoken word inclusions are subtle, never overshadowing the music. They mostly help abridge pieces, or add a multi cultural feeling to fit the perception we have of Blade Runner's world.

BR 25 is a carefully detailed work, perhaps best listened to on headphones, so that nothing of what's happening is missed, making sure it does not drift to the background. It's a pleasure to let it guide, encourage and inspire your imagination.

And most of all, it's a worthy addition to the Blade Runner legacy and an evocative part of a very special release.