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More recent news items
The hour long [Correction, this later turned out to have been 20 minutes, just like on the DVD released later on] program included extensive footage of the press conference that Vangelis and other artists / organizers gave the day before the concert, as well as scenes of rehearsals, preparations, backstage scenery, and so forth.
This may be the same - or partly the same - footage as is announced to accompany the Greek concert broadcast on January 1 (next Tuesday).
Switzerland in the mean time will be able to see the concert on SFdrs on Sunday December 30 starting at 14:40. The sad news however is that they will get a 55 minutes version, which would be more than 15 minutes shorter than the previous international broadcasts.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh
There is no indication yet if this material will also be transmitted over Greece's public satellite stations.
For those in Germany and Austria, be reminded that SAT1 will broadcast the concert in the night from Saturday December 29 to Sunday December 30, now rescheduled to start at 1:55 on Sunday morning, local time. SAT1 is a satellite station broadcasting a PAL signal, so people in some other countries should be able to take advantage of this broadcast as well.
Special thanks to Giannis Miliaresis, also thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
Remember, US broadcasts are listed on Sony's official Mythodea site (www.mythodea.com), a German broadcast on SAT1 will air in the night following December 29 and the Canadian broadcast is expected on CBC, January 17.
Thanks to Knut Hooge
This update: November 29, 2001
Furthermore: Mythodea has been released in France and Finland in the past few weeks.
This update: November 28, 2001
According to press releases, "Vangelis' anthem will feature traditional Korean music from Kim Duk Soo Samulnori, and traditional Japanese drumming from Sony Music artists Kodo.".
Americans should take note that, even though this is scheduled for Saturday evening December 1 in Korea, the time difference might shift this all the way into Friday November 30 for certain regions. Check your TV guides early enough. For Europeans this event happens in the morning of December 1. UK inhabitants for instance can see the show live on BBC2 starting 10:00 local time. This program will last 105 minutes. The BBC world service will air half an hour later (10:30 UK time, 11:30 Central European time) in a 90 minute version. Check your local guides for the most convenient station that will air it.
See also the news update of earlier today:
Some Japanese and Korean media reports have stated that this piece will be sung by American singer Anastacia, but this is false. Anastacia will sing a separate song that is also linked to the World Cup 2002, but this song has nothing to do with Vangelis' work.
Sony Music Germany has said that the DVD and VHS of Mythodea's concert registration will not likely be released before February 2002. In the mean time the show is slowly beginning to get broadcast on television throughout the world and is being received with great enthusiasm by the fans who caught it so far. Broadcast details for the States can be found at on Sony's official Mythodea site (www.sonyclassical.com/music/89191/pbs.html), while data for other countries is welcome at d.lodewijks@chello.nl. The only confirmed upcoming European date so far is Germany's SAT1 station that will air the show in the night following December 29, starting around 0:30.
Thanks to Marcos Ferasso, Martin Dauskardt, Don Fennimore and Sufian Irhimeh, as well as Harada Yasuhiro and Seiya Hirano for their posts to the Direct mailinglist.
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Special thanks to Vili Maunula!
Sony's Mythodea web site plans to present the PBS broadcast list on their site again as of next Monday November 12. Broadcasts throughout the US are expected to commence on November 23, with for instance New York (Mountain Lake PBS) and Rhode Island (WSBE) on November 25, Mass (WGBH channel 2) on November 29 and Texas (KLRU) on January 2, 2002.
In the mean time, "American Public Television" features Mythodea on their web site's front page (www.aptvs.org, aiming at American television programmers), and their Mythodea sub page at http://www.aptvs.org/catalog.nsf/bpt/7412D... contains additional information as well as some press material and resources. The concert's track list (at least in the US) is as announced as follows:
Overture Movement I Movement II Movement III Movement IV Movement V Movement VI Movement VII Movement VII Movement IX Movement X Chariots of FireMost noticeable is the omission of the performance of "Conquest of Paradise". Also omitted is the reprise of Movements IX and X that completed the actual concert.
Any details on local broadcasts outside of the PBS series in the States (those will be covered by Sony's official Mythodea site at www.mythodea.com) are welcome for inclusion on Elsewhere's news pages: d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Joy van Herwaarden, Andrew Smith and Kazi from Hungary.
The film (90 minutes in duration) will run daily (except for Mondays) from November 29 to December 30, starting at 14:00, except for 29-11, 30-11 and 13-12 where it will start at 11:30. The admission is free for museum visitors (which is DFL 15,-). Location is "Het Gemeente Museum", Stadhouderslaan 41, Postbus 72, 2501 CB Den haag, The Netherlands, Tel +31-70-3381111, email: post@gm.denhaag.nl. See also in Dutch: http://users.bart.nl/~filmhuis/web_paginas/picasso.html and http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/agenda_film.htm.
Interesting to note is that the first of the Cantiques des Creatures, "George Mathieu ou la Fureur d'Etre" (1973), will be shown in a Paris cinema next year during a cultural exhibition dedicated to Matthieu.
Thanks to Robert Eichelsheim (Picasso info) and Jérôme Olivier.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Francisco Torres and Patricio Mujica Urzúa.
Thanks to John Norfolk for the US release info.
The same edit appeared on the CD single which is out, somewhere, since some German and Dutch shops "imported" it. But it's not clear where they imported from. If you've found it to be domestically released in your country, please send an email to d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Finland still didn't see Mythodea being released nationally (despite the initial release date of September 24), but now seems to be set for October 29. Their version will also contain the special edit as bonus track at the very end of the album.
TV commercials for the Mythodea album have aired in several countries (at least Germany and Portugal) and will soon in several more (Holland).
On the German TV channel N3 a science program called "Sonde" showed parts from the Mythodea concert last Thursday October 18, in relation to an item about the arrival of the Mars Odyssey space probe that will arrive at Mars next Wednesday.
They explain that the mentioned "Antarctica images + Vangelis music clip" is a program called "The nature of Antarctica" showing Antarctic images shot for but eventually not used in the main movie, but it does not contain any unreleased Vangelis music. Interesting to Vangelis fans however is the fact that the "Making of Antarctica" program, that is included on the disc as extra, does contain a (very short, only 1 minute approximately) interview with Vangelis, where he plays some previously unreleased music. Additionally, there is a producer's commentary (which enables the viewer to watch the movie listening to additional commentary mixed into the sound) that at some point discusses Vangelis' music for the movie. In the Japanese language, of course. Finally, also the Japanese trailer is included which is said to contain some unreleased Vangelis music cues.
Thanks to Andreas Möhn, Seiya Hirano, Sufian Irhimeh, Jussi Jakobsson and Paulo Oom.
All of these stations incorporate warnings that their scheduling is subject to change.
The Echoes web site lists the show at www.echoes.org/feature.html#vangelis featuring a few small but nice pictures.
Thanks to Ian Smith, Hogne Pettersen, Paul Dietmar, Kevin Nolan and Sufian Irhimeh.
German stores in the mean time expect to be selling a CD single of "Mythodea" next Monday, October 15. The single will feature the "Special Edit" that appeared as a bonus on the German album (and some international releases), as well as the album's third track. [Correction afterwards: the album's 2nd track] The same German shops seem to list a DVD release for October 22, which would contradict information that the concert film should not be expected so early. Unless these shops refer to a DVD-audio release of the album rather than a video. This remains pure speculation, and on top of that the shops' information could easily be outdated by now.
Dutch stores in the mean time expect the CD to be released on October 22. The Czech Republic
got it a few days ago. Portugal was one of the first countries to see the album's release,
but this fact was so far mistakenly omitted here. Apologies for that. Here two links
to online articles from a Portuguese newspaper, one related to the concert and the other has
some small interview quotes, announcing the album's release. The language is Portugese but there
are also some nice pictures:
semanal.expresso.pt/cartaz/artigos/interior.asp?edicao=1497&id_artigo=ES30631&seccao=actual
semanal.expresso.pt/cartaz/artigos/interior.asp?edicao=1508&id_artigo=ES36738&seccao=musica
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Paulo Oom, Luis de Castro, David and Milan Fajrajzl.
With Mythodea seeing the light of day in more and more European countries, promotional activities are stepping up (articles in papers, magazines, as well as a radio interview in Germany). Some of the international newspaper articles have appeared (partly) on-line:
In a Swiss paper (German language):
http://www.tagblatt.ch/archiv/a_detail.cfm?tb_archiv=12&suche=569938&s01=mythodea&s02=&s03
In an Italian paper (Italian language):
http://www.repubblica.it/quotidiano/repubblica/20011005/spettacoli/46vange.html
An article (English language) on Irene Papas' Vangelis scored play Las Troyanas can be found here:
http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=011008001693
Thanks to Hogne Pettersen, Marco Neri, Sufian Irhimeh and Koski Ville.
Producer John Diliberto previously used the same interview for his article in Tower Records' Pulse magazine (see the September 1 update).
This feature episode of the series should eventually also become available on the internet for online listening during a limited period. More details here when they become available.
To check whether the show can be heard in your neighborhood, check this list: www.echoes.org/statime.html, but take note of the fact that these details change often and the list is not always up to date. It's best to be prepared. Also check your program guides to find the specific date, since the amount of delay (if any) varies per station.
No sign of the DVD or video release yet. It's most likely that they will be released at a later date.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Marco Negri and John Norfolk!
New scheduling details here, as soon as they become available
The menus include a small biography on Vangelis, and are accompanied by Vangelis music from the movie.
The disc has only been released in Italy (PAL, region code 2), and costs approximately 18 Euro.
Dialogues will be in Japanese, subtitles will only be available in Japanese also. The TV signal will be NTSC, but it will play only on region code 2 machines.
For those who can read Japanese: www.tdx.co.jp/movie/mpage/html/077/l18.asp
For those who are curious for the Las Troyanas play, performed this week in Sagunto, Spain, featuring an original Vangelis score, here are a few pictures of the visual spectacle:
Special thanks to Robert Eichelsheim for the Francesco info, Samuel Gomez for the Las Troyanas pictures and Seiya Hirano for the Antarctica information.
More info soon, hopefully.
Thanks to Walter Wachauer, Peter Mellner, Volker Rapp, Olaf Schneider and Sufian Irhimeh.
Sweden expected the release last Monday, but the CD did not appear and release seems to have been postponed to October 15. The same might go for other countries.
Thanks to Don Fennimore, and his vangeliscollector.com site, and also to Johan Edberg.
In the mean time, broadcasts in the US are expected to start in November. "American Public Television" (supplier of programs for US public TV stations) lists the show as 75 minutes in length, being available as of November 23.
The show, performed by "La Fura dels Baus" (famous for their cyber punk style spectacles) with Irene Papas took place in an industrial area, between abandoned warehouses, factories and chimneys full of smoke. A fitting set for a play about despair after war, honor and revenge. The scenery was brought to live by spectacular lighting effects, video projections and other special effects.
Vangelis' original music sometimes took an important part in the proceedings. The main theme reportedly seemed based partly on the "Blade Runner" opening titles music, as the dark and decaying setting and sinister subject matter may have dictated. Other parts featured "soft female choirs" and "dark electronic layers".
The play will run until next week with performances on September 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and 29. Sagunto is a small town near Valencia in the East of Spain.
Hopefully some pictures can be added here soon, or at the "other works" section of this site.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Samuel Gomez and Markku Klami.
More (unconfirmed) release information: France expects the album on October 30, Sweden on September 25.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Dan Ferna and Olivier Brigand.
On other topics, an Italian magazine called "Famiglia Cristiana" recently published a two page article on the Mythodea concert, with a very positive review and a small series of impressive color pictures.
Furthermore, the first performance of "Las Troyanas" play with Irene Papas, for which Vangelis composed new special music, is still set for September 21. After a series of delays earlier this year, it seems this start date is final. The show reportedly costs a total of around a million Euros. Plans are to stage the same spectacle at later occasions in both Rome and Athens. See earlier reports for more details.
Thanks to Markus, Dietmar Paul, Matteo Golfetto, Marco Negri and Samuel Gomez.
The album's booklet contains extensive liner notes by Vangelis, Jim Garvin, Johanns Kepler and Laurence Bergreen.
The special edit that has been added to the end of the album is, like Sony's early promo track releases, a combination of the album's last two Movements. But it now features even more sound effects, while the more aggressive passage that was cut in the first edit, has now been 'reinserted'. The track combines some of the most accessible parts of the album to achieve a certain compact hit quality, and may indeed do great work attracting people's attention when it gets air play on radio and eventually air play on TV as soon as its planned video clip is released to the world's TV stations.
When exactly the other countries will see the release of "Mythodea" is not quite clear yet. Some unconfirmed dates include: Holland: October 15, UK: October 15, USA: October 23... Any information on release dates for other countries is very welcome, please email to d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Special thanks to Olaf Schneider.
Listen to these Real Audio files at http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005O11.....
Thanks to Olaf Schneider, Peter Ravn, and all the others who tipped or requested this info.
In Germany a reality TV series called "Der Maulwurf" (The Mole) will make use of an edit of Mythodea as its titles theme. The music will also be used in the trailers that will promote the series. These trailers will air as of tomorrow, September 9 on Pro7 and will refer to Vangelis' album. There will also be commercials to promote the album itself on channels Pro7 and Sat1.
Germany will also be the first country to broadcast the Mythodea concert on TV. Sources contradict each other on the content, but the plan (not final so far) is for Sat1 to broadcast either the entire concert, or a "highlights" show of about an hour on Saturday night, September 29.
The German release has now been set back again and fixed at Monday, September 17, the date that Sony originally passed to the shops. Many other countries (including UK, USA, etc.) seem to have to wait a little bit more, probably till October. Sadly, Sony's plans for a single release have been shelved. There will however be air play on radio so it's still possible that there will be a promo single for DJs only.
Furthermore, sources close to Vangelis reveal that the titles for the album's tracks have slightly changed. The opening track - consisting mostly of dark synthesizer sound effects - initially titled "Introduction" on the promotional CDs has been retitled to "Movement I" and the subsequent Movement numbers have all been shifted up. As sort of a bonus track, a special edit has been added after the end of the main work.
1. Movement I 2:43
2. Movement II 5:55
3. Movement III 5:44
4. Movement IV 5:50
5. Movement V 13:39
6. Movement VI 6:05
7. Movement VII 6:49
8. Movement VIII 4:55
9. Movement IX 3:09
10. Movement X 5:00
11. Movement XI 2:31
12. Mythodea Special Edit 3:57
This update: September 6, 2001
This update: September 1, 2001
The "Pulse" article can be read in the online version of the magazine, located at http://pulse.towerrecords.com/contentStory.asp?contentId=1199 but if you live close to a Towerrecords store, the issue can be picked up there free of charge.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh!
There are also plans for a special single version of Mythodea, that will be used as a PROMO for radio air play and will possibly be released in shops as well. Two obscure Sony promo compilation CDs from several months ago also contained a special promotional edit of Mythodea, which sounded quite different from the actual album recording. It combined Mythodea's last two movements and had different sound effects. But it remains purely speculation if this version or another edit would be used as radio version.
In the mean time, Sony Holland notes that the Mythodea album may actually contain additions to the album's promo CD that journalists have had since the concert in Athens. Whether this would mean additions in the mix or the inclusion of an extra track (like for instance the above mentioned radio version), is again purely up to speculation.
Special thanks to Frits Couwenberg (KLEM) and Jussi Jakobsson!!!
Thanks to Kevin Gilhuly.
The "Ask the Mountains" CDmaxi and "Portraits" compilation CD were the latest European releases, and word had it that a new Greek movie called "Kavafis" featured an original musical score by Vangelis.
Five years seems like a short time, but a lot has happened in that time span. The internet could hardly be compared to what we surf today. It has changed, both technically and culturally, and exploded in its expansion of both audience and web sites. On-topic we have been able to follow the releases of new albums, performance of concerts, ballets and plays. We saw rereleases, compilation albums, fan conventions and now even upcoming DVD specials.
I thought now would be a nice occasion to thank everyone for their interest, for checking for updates so often, for putting up with flawed English as well as the occasional correction of a factual goof. But most of all for the input that so many people have provided over these years. The "about" page lists well over a hundred people by now, who all contributed in small or big ways. And those are just the ones whose names I had the decency not to overlook. To everyone who ever helped: So much appreciated.
In order to celebrate the occasion, we temporarily feature a silly background.
Warm regards,
Dennis Lodewijks
Any news on the broadcasts that will eventually happen, when it comes available. Don't expect anything this and probably not next month.
Thanks to Don, Gareth, C and Sufian.
Any other info on broadcasting in other areas / countries is much appreciated. Please send mails to d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Thanks to Gareth Williams and Sufian Irhimeh.
Spanish press coverage and schedules on these internet pages:
Unrelated to this, there are reasons to believe the Mythodea album's release is now set for October, rather then September. Sony's UK site for instance changed their release date reference to October 9.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
Thanks to Don Fennimore.
At the time, the same album was recorded in the Spanish language, and released on LP in Argentina, and possibly in Spain. A rare find nowadays.
Recently the regular Italian version of the album had been remastered and sold for a low budget price in Italy. Now, so shortly after, the rare Spanish version has also made it to a CD release, again for a special low price. The main tracks on this BMG release are the same 10 tracks from former LPs / CDs with the sound and roughly the same length, except that the words are sung in Spanish. As a bonus this CD has six extra tracks from older Cocciante albums but there seems to be no Vangelis relation for those pieces.
Title: Concierto Para Margarita, catalogue: BMG Ricordi/RCA 184704 2
Tracks are:
1. A Pesar De Todo 3:28 2. Margarita 4:31 3. En La Orilla Del Rio 4:02 4. Invierno 3:52 5. Primavera 4:57 6. Violencia 4:10 7. Otra Vez 3:47 8. Cuando Se Quiere Tanto 3:36 9. Cuando Yo Me Ire De Aqui 3:25 10. A Pesar De Todo 2:28
Be careful in the shops: there is also still a CD called "Concert Pour Margarit", a '77 or '78 acoustic rerecording in the French language, that has none of the mentioned Vangelis connections. [Corrected:] This French version has not been rereleased, only the Italian (now again) and Spanish versions were remastered and rereleased this year. (
As on-line shops still have a tendency to confuse titles, this one seems to be labeled as released on June 22 2001. The disc falsely titled "CONCIERTO PARA MARGHERIT" at http://www.proxis.be has indeed proven to be the new Spanish CD edition. However, "Elsewhere" prefers not condone any record stores, and is not affiliated with them in any way.
[Added:] The Vangelis Movements (www.vangelis.myweb.nl) site has a nice overview of all details on this album: www.vangelis.myweb.nl/concertopermargherita.htm
Special thanks to Robert Eichelsheim for all info and providing the image.
www.ilnuovo.it/nuovo/TG/articles/0,1344,4031--300,00.html
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
Thanks to Giovanni Benzon.
For those who can receive it, good luck recording.
Thanks to Milan Fajrajzl.
Apparently Italian TV station Rai 1 had an item about the concert in their 8 o'clock evening news on Monday July 2, a couple of days after the performance.
For good measures, one last concert related item on the internet, this time on the BBC's web space:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/music/newsid_1411000/1411883.stm
Thanks to Frits Couwenberg of KLEM (taz.uci.kun.nl/~matheu/klem), Marco Negri, Irma Arancibia and Gareth Williams.
An example is Euronews' "Cult" program that has an item using the press conference as well as clips from the concert itself. This item is repeated several times per day and is likely to be seen again for a short while longer.
If anyone has seen (or recorded!) specific broadcasts on any international or Greek channels, please email me at d.lodewijks@chello.nl with information - or a report - and possible info on repeats. Any info is (or recordings are) welcome.
Thanks to Peter Baeten and Patrick Gleeson.
www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/07/03/space.vangelis.reut
dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010702/en/music-vangelis_2.html
entertainment.flash.gr/music/concerts/2001/6/29/6256id
entertainment.flash.gr/lecture/happenings/2001/6/29/6255id
www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=87558
ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=87270
ta-nea.dolnet.gr/neaweb/nsearch.print_unique?entypo=A&f=17076&m=P03&aa=1
www.elpais.es/articulo.html?d_date=20010630&xref=20...
active.naftemporiki.gr/news/story.asp?id=146002
asia.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/06/28/greece.cursedconcert.ap
archives.theglobeandmail.com/s97is.vts?action=View&VdkVgwK...
entertainment.flash.gr/music/portrait/2001/6/28/6238id
dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010627/en/music-vangelis_1.html
entertainment.flash.gr/music/concerts/2001/6/27/6228id
www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=86903
ta-nea.dolnet.gr/neaweb/nsearch.print_unique?entypo=A&f=17075&m=P12&aa=1
http://active.naftemporiki.gr/news/story.asp?id=145954
http://active.naftemporiki.gr/news/story.asp?id=145800
http://active.naftemporiki.gr/news/story.asp?id=145702
http://active.naftemporiki.gr/news/story.asp?id=145537
e-music.gr/news/article_details.asp?NewID=1129
www.iboom.gr/entertainment/article.asp?uid=12947&category=Entertainment&subject=Features
www.eone.gr/portal/news/news_find.asp?rs=149332&sp=69503
www.mad.gr/news/new_3715.html
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
Time to look back at the concert, which has been generally accepted as a
true artistic success by both fans and media, who visited either the concert
or the giant live screen projections that were offered to the Greek population
for free at the giant Panathinaiko stadium.Everyone who visited the concert itself was handed a large program, presented in a beautiful red cover sleeve. The booklet contains texts in Greek and English, presenting the concert's credits, an introduction by Evangelos Venizelos (Greek minister of Culture), notes on NASA's Mars Odyssey mission by Dr. Jim Garvin, Vangelis' own thoughts on science and Mythology - and more specifically the importance of being in touch with historical memories, as well as information on Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and the concert's historically important location.
Almost all the Greek newspapers presented their stories with beautiful color pictures. The stories were written in positive superlatives, and some even apologized for their former negative attitude. Photography during the concert was forbidden, but the visually equipped press was allowed in before the last encore - a reprise of Mythodea's final minutes of music - commenced. This is the reason that all the published pictures feature more or less the same color style and backgrounds.
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As reported earlier, while the worldwide release of the album has yet to
occur (reportedly on September 9 or September 10, Sony's statements on this
seem to concentrate on those two dates), two promotional releases of the album have been
presented to a selected audience. First off Sony handed promo CDs in a
cardboard sleeve to journalists at the press conference on the day preceding
the concert. It's not clear whether this will be the artwork on the official
release. The track list reads:
1. Introduction 2:43
2. Movement I 5:55
3. Movement II 5:44
4. Movement III 5:50
5. Movement IV 13:39
6. Movement V 6:05
7. Movement VI 6:49
8. Movement VII 4:55
9. Movement VIII 3:09
10. Movement IX 5:00
11. Movement X 2:31
Secondly, all guests at the official Zappion dinner during the night after the concert were handed the same disc but presented in a beautiful luxurious blue custom-made Mythodea case.
Another recent international web page featuring this topic is www.elpais.es/articulo.html?d_date=20010628....., written in Spanish.
The concert section of this Elsewhere Vangelis site will be updated later this week, featuring various eye witness reports by different spectators of last weeks concert.
Thanks to Diego Lugon and others.
The audience was seated in a circular construction, which ensured everyone attending had a good view on the events that took place on the stage.
The stage, set up at the floor of the temple's ruins, presented the male and female choirs, the orchestra, Vangelis and the opera divas. The orchestra - The wonderful London Metropolitan Orchestra (http://www.lmo.co.uk) was flown in all the way from London - was split up in two separate sections, with Vangelis being situated in between, seated behind a special construction holding his synthesizer setup.
The large screen behind the performers - used as a backdrop extending to more than the total length of the former temple - was used for projections of overwhelming visuals. They existed mostly of slow fading combinations of Greek visual elements, as well as NASA's space images and a photo of Mars.
The Mythodea composition being performed in all its majesty captivated the audience as was made clear by the ovations after the work's finale. The performance started with a powerful fast marching theme using both choirs and thriving drumming, slowly building up to the evening's first climax. It was followed by the entrance of the two divas, Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, whose voices shined throughout the rest of the evening's performances.
The approximately 60 minutes of Mythodea's performance where followed by three encores, in the shape of orchestrated versions of Vangelis' two most famous hits, "Chariots of Fire" and "Conquest of Paradise" as well as a reprise of the final Movement of the Mythodea work.
Vangelis was presented with his new French cultural award later in the evening at a large official dinner in the beautiful setting of the famous Zappeion building, close to the concert's location. Greek cultural minister Evangelos Venizelos and French minister for national education Jack Lang congratulated and thanked Vangelis, after which mr. Lang presented him with the medal itself.
Hopefully more on the concert later today or tomorrow, with reactions of spectators and Greek or international press, and possibly some images.
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Today, Wednesday June 27, the plans for Thursday's Mythodea concert were presented to the assembled Greek and international press at a center of the Greek ministry of culture in Athens.
Topics discussed included the controversy around the location of the Temple of Zeus, the financing of the concert, the ticket price, the benefits that Sony and NASA will have from each other in this remarkable artistic and commercial partnership, and a number of details were confirmed. After the presentation Vangelis, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and representatives from the cultural ministry and Sony answered questions from the attending journalists.
One of the new facts revealed today came in the official announcement that, while the actual concert tickets itself were indeed rather expensive, everyone is invited to follow the event live for free on a huge video screen, from the famous Panathinaiko stadium in Athens, which is only a 5 minute walk from the actual concert location. The Panatinaiko can host over 100000 spectators and formerly functioned as location for Vangelis concerts in 1988, 1990 and the famous opening ceremony in 1997.
Both Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman expressed their interest in the project rather by thanking Vangelis for the opportunity and by explaining how they felt upon first hearing this unique piece of music.
Journalists were provided with a CD of the album. It is divided in 10 Movements ranging in length between 2:31 and 13:39, totaling up to almost an hour. The work combines majestic moments with subtle passings, and although Greek influences may remind of "El Greco", choral parts might remind of "1492", it is as a whole an entirely different album from anything Vangelis has released before.
The soprano's are brilliant, the orchestra shines, the synths add depth and dimension, the sound is mixed with absolute perfection. It may be a little heavy for those who like to whistle the pretty tunes that were on some albums, but anyone appreciating the more serious side as well as the more operatic side of Vangelis will no doubt embrace this album as a new jewel to treasure. A truly impressive masterpiece.
The large dynamic range, variations in volume and intensity, should make this work perfect for the live performance that will take place tomorrow.
A special note to those who are asking me by e-mail: There will not be actual live broadcasts for the concert. The show will be recorded and broadcast at a later date (September or October) on many TV channels all over the world. More info will be published here when the time comes. Also, emails will be responded to with a delay because I am currently in Athens and accessing the internet is not so easy at the moment.
Thanks to Sufian and Robert.
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Thanks to JAXx for these pictures. Courtesy of www.planetjaxx.com and www.jarre.net.
Another article in the Greek press, presented in English, summarizes all the details in a pleasant read: www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12915&m=A39&aa=4&eidos=S
Furthermore, as announced yesterday, the Greek newspaper Ta Nea has a feature today about Vangelis, with unique pictures, a large bio and in fact a small but new interview with the man himself. Their online edition also his this material available in Greek at ta-nea.dolnet.gr/neaweb/nsearch.print_unique?entypo=A&f=17071&m=R10&aa=1. An English translation will appear in the interviews section of this web site later today. [Note, now added to the interview section. (GO)]
Greek national TV station ET1 has started broadcasting short ads for the Mythodea concert. They include slow choral music from the upcoming Mythodea album.
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A correction on yesterday's update, the $427575 part of the budget goes not only to Battle and Norman, but also covers the choir, conductor, British orchestra, etc.
Ticket Hellas, the only service that was selling tickets over the phone (also accepting credit cards) says it has sold out all its tickets. Liriki Skini (the Athens opera house) however claims they still have tickets left, but they only sell for cash locally in their office (not over the phone). Both offices reassure people that no one should worry about the reports on cutbacks on seatings. Tickets that have been sold will remain valid.
Thanks to Lala for the wonderful pictures. Also thanks to Sufian Irhimeh and others.
In the past, Vangelis already received the prestigious "Chevalier Order Of Art And Letters" in France.
In English: www.ana.gr/cgi-bin/hwebwww.exe?-A=479937&-V=www_ape&-P&-w=&-Dviewrecen.html.
In the mean time the ticket offices in Greece say that the possible cutting down of seats does not effect tickets already sold. Liriki Skini also still has tickets available.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
Theodorakis' upset was easily soothed when the Greek minister of culture offered him nice words about his own historical involvement
to Greek music, and assuring him that he will remain a central person to the cultural
olympiad. One wonders who likes to spill his ink or bytes on this. However, In.gr's article
is worth a look for the picture of the current construction work for the stage:
http://www.in.gr/innews/narticle.asp?nid=70902.
Today's favorite topic is the previously published problem with archaeologists that has popped up again because a new find has been made due to current construction work for the concert. To preserve this newly found ancient well shaft, the organizers seem to be making small adjustments, scaling down the huge screen that is part of the entire setup for the concert. According to Kathimerini the seating construction will also be cut back from 3000 to 2000, but this has not yet been officially confirmed anywhere. More on that later, should the rumor persist.
English:http://www.eKathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=86608
Greek: http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/neaweb/nsearch.print_unique?entypo=A&f=17068&m=P04&aa=1, which has a picture of the construction work you can click on to enlarge: http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/D20062001/1pa4a.jpg
All this according to the Greek newspapers. Believe it or dismiss it at will.
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Reported in English on www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12913&m=A35&aa=2&eidos=S.
Other options to get tickets are still under investigation.
The place, "Liriki Skini" is located at the Akadimias 59 in Athens. Phoning them is useless, they don't sell over the phone and they don't take credit cards.
Hopefully more details here tomorrow. There may still be other options to buy them, and they are being investigated.
Two related links, in Greek:
www.enet.gr/online/online_hprint.jsp?q=%CC%F5%E8%F9%E4%DF%E1&id=30569
entertainment.flash.gr/music/concerts/2001/6/12/5950id/
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
On a totally unrelated topic, Caroline Lavelle who worked with Vangelis on Voices ("Come To Me") has released a new solo album recently and agreed to answer a few questions especially for this site, about her work with Vangelis but also her new album. Located in the More related artists section.
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According to the article 8 platforms of 8m height will be placed behind the theatre for lighting, 3 of 4,6m for the cameras and one 15m for the projector machinery. Vangelis' "Mythodea" concert will be the "asset" of the cultural olympiad, and will be granted with 1 billion drachmas (2.5 mill $USD) but cannot be officialy announced in the program because the sponsor, SONY Classical, is a competitor to the official sponsor of the Olympic Games, PANASONIC. Therefore the concert will be part of the "Cultural dominion".
Permission to use the archaeological space was granted by the Central Archaeological Council, with a set of conditions, none of which were related to the constructions currently being prepared. In detail, the approval was granted for the south of the temple, where Maria Farantouri last year performed for the August full moon. But currently it is being prepared on the far opposite side, where the ground still hides a larger number of artefacts.
The position for the 85 member london metropolitan symphonic and the 123 member choir was to be at the plato in the south of the temple, while currently it is being put in a light contruction with wood on top, and the choir will be positions in the edge inside the temple.
The consultatory response was clear on not to use the temple itself, and to preserve the fence surrounding the temple. Also there will be limitation on special guests. Meanwhile the lighing and other supplamentary construction designs should be presented for approval by the ministry. With a direct ministerial decision, everything was approved but the final plans where not presented to the ministry.
A Greek news paper writes that this show will include, amongst of course a great lot of other things, an interview with Vangelis. They provide no information about where and when this will be broadcast. But the fact that this would be the first TV interview with Vangelis to be broadcast in as many as 9 years time makes this a unique event, and some of us might like to have their VCRs running along to try and catch it. In case this newspaper is correct, of course.
Good luck.
TV5 has a web site about this marathon broadcast, but there is no proof of Vangelis being interviewed. Visit it for any other details at www.tv5.org/athenes
The program starts at 12:00 GMT. You can see the current GMT time at GreenwichMeanTime.com.
More news about the concert's preparations is expected later today.
The article can be seen in Greek at www.in.gr/innews/narticle.asp?nid=69824, with also a new picture of Vangelis included.
They wrote, translated to English:
Archaeologists expressed their fear on the huge metal construction that is being put in the temple of Zeus for the Vangelis concert on June the 28th.More news will be posted here as it comes available. Possibly there will also be pictures - in the near future - of the stage being build.A huge wooden theater for 3000 people in a space of 2500 sqrm with a stage of 450 sqrm with glass basement will be build in front of the temple for Vangelis' big concert. Behind the temple a concave construction of metal pipes with a white cloth will cover the whole temple in size of 170m wide and 24m high, in order to project lasers.
The Archeological Council offered the space with a lot of conditions that have no relation to the structures being build at the moment. As the article in "Elevtherotypia" paper says, "the council has approved the concert in the south of the temple where there are least and dotted antiquities.", "but the concert will be held at the far opposite side, where the most antiquities are in the ground."
Archeologist express their displeasure with the gigantic instalments and the use of the temple itself for the large member choir and also for the stage construction. For the large cloth it may be a concern if the wind goes south, it might bring the whole construction upon the temple.
As reported earlier, Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle will appear as sopranos. The London Metropolitan Orchestra will perform Vangelis' piece together with the National Opera Choir (Greece), 20 percussionists, and of course Vangelis himself on synthesizers. Organization wise this concert is part of the Greek cultural Olympiad, that leads up to the Olympic games in Athens 2004. Thematically the concert will be tied with NASA and their current mission to Mars but also of course the ancient Greek mythology, which should provide for an interesting combination.
Sony's web page announces that the concert will be filmed and will - likely in addition to TV broadcasts in the US and other countries that were reported earlier - be released on VHS and DVD.
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Sadly, there is no news so far about possible tickets being sold publicly.
More info will appear here as it comes available.
Vangelis, Prince Albert of Monaco and the composer were interviewed on radio RadioMonteCarle on April 20. This is special, because Vangelis never gives interviews, since about 1993. In the interview Vangelis confirmed that he paints since his child hood, but this is the first time he accepted this type of job.
Vangelis also mentioned the concert that is still expected to happen on the 28th of June in Athens. This concert has not yet been announced officially, so it seems not a full 100% certain yet. There is also no information so far on tickets, if they will be available and how. Vangelis mentioned in the interview that he is working day and night on it, calling it a "Symphony chorale" to be performed with Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle at the Temple of Jupiter, which would be the temple ruin better known as the Temple of Zeus, or the Olympeion, situated in Athens roughly between the Acropolis (Mythodia '93 / Night of Poetry) and the Olympic stadium (Athens '97 show).
A reference to Vangelis' contribution to this event in Monaco in French:
http://www.gouv.mc/dataweb/Actus.nsf/(ListDate)/C5F7D311172D341BC1256A09004C9DA0
or in English: http://www.gouv.mc/Dataweb/Actus.nsf/(ListCh)/D1005907D86F81CD88256A34007D4410
An MP3 audio file with the interview (in French): Monaco.mp3 (1MB). Vangelis himself joins in only near the end of the conversation.
A picture of the event that shows a small portion of Vangelis' design in the background: http://www.pentathlon.org/Competitions/Procel/gala3.jpg. His name can be seen on the figure's left shoulder.
Many thanks to Marc Vanholsbeeck for information and details.
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Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh, Enzo Casiraghi and Robert Eichelsheim.
Other awards on display have been won by people like Maria Callas and Merlina Mercouri. "A Hundred Years of Greeks, the Greek Presence in the World Since the Beginning of the 20th Century" can be visited until May, 30.
More info at this news online article: www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=79033
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh.
More info of course will follow soon on Elsewhere's news section, as soon as it becomes available.
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh and certain other sources.
However, be very cautious, there were no official announcements yet and the Greek newspapers have let us down several times before. This time even they note that their source, the Greek ministry of culture was unable to tell whether these events were set or still up for change or cancellation. Do not book for Athens yet, but await official announcements. As soon as more news becomes available or anything can be confirmed it will appear on these pages.
An interesting note appeared on the innews page of "in.gr", they claim that the music of Mythodia has been granted for use by NASA in its campaign for her new mission to Mars, which launched last Friday. However, a page on NASA's own web site claims that Vangelis is currently writing new music inspired by this 2001 Mars Odyssey mission. Again, none of these claims have been officially confirmed.
A link to a Greek news page listing the concert (in Greek): www.in.gr/innews/PolOlymb/polymb02.htm
The NASA reference can be found at mars.jpl.nasa.gov/marsrocks
Thanks to Sufian Irhimeh and Diego Lugon
Very reliable sources confirm that the reports claiming Vangelis's music was used are inaccurate.
The press conference, held at the famous Athens' Zappion building, caught a lot of attention and newspapers all wrote about Vangelis' musical contribution, which reportedly accompanied "slick videos of images such as a child's hand in that of an adult and a setting with a sun rising over an ancient ruin and morphing into the party emblem".
The centrist party, named "Free Citizens Movement" is pitched as "the antidote to political malaise and citizens' apathy". More information can be found - in English - at two Greek news sites: Athens News and Kathimerini - English Edition.
Thanks to Diego Lugon for his post to the Direct mailing list and to Sufian Irhimeh for his info pointing at several substantial resources and links
Jarre is going to perform June this year at the famous Herodium theater at the Acropolis,
as he was invited for a charity concert by the Elpida foundation and the Greek
government. He will play his own classics, and music by his new French/Japanese
techno band, but - as he announces himself in a Realmedia video message - the highlight could be
one or two collaborations with Vangelis. He adds that this is still under
negotiation:
"That's still a project, because he is very busy on his side
and I don't know at the moment if it's going to be possible or not. Because
he is going to release his own album around these days." Something Vangelis
has yet to officially confirm.
A reminder on "Mythodia"; this was an opera (or an oratorio as classical purists might insist on calling it) composed and performed live by Vangelis in 1993 at the Herodium theater of the Acropolis, invited by the Greek Elpida foundation. At the time Markella Hatziano and Luccienne Deval performed the two main soprano parts. The music at the performance was very classical, serious and moving, with tasteful Greek influences.
For the recommended visit to Don's Vangelis collector site proceed to vangeliscollector.sycast.net.
Firstly, this page's December 15, 2000 update mentioned an error in the Japanese subtitling of the first episode. Apparently the producers have noticed this and are correcting their mistake on future pressings. Some customers have been promised a replacing disc as soon as it is finished, so contact your supplier if you were disadvantaged by this mistake.
Secondly, one should note that the track listing for the 2CD Collectors Edition Cosmos soundtrack initially provided by Onecosmos on their web site and listed in the October 4 2000 update on this page was incorrect, as the "One Of These Days" Pink Floyd track was omitted from the actual release. Reasons for this change are unknown.
Thanks to Don Fennimore, Seiya Hirano, Ivar de Vries and others.
On other topics, a lot of current speculation involves Vangelis' upcoming new opera album, but no official information has become available so far. Also the Cosmos 2CD has become available from the web site (See earlier reports), having been received by people who ordered it around the world. The Comet 16 track (the main theme Vangelis wrote for the 1986 special edition of the series) is reportedly presented in wonderful audio quality.
For the Connery topic thanks go to Yannis (on the Direct mailinglist), Agnes Donkel, Jan den Boef and everyone else who provided reports and information on this matter.
This update: December 15, 2000
Goofs...Two goofs in recent Vangelis related releases... The worst mistake I suppose is the Claudio Baglioni CD that was recently released as reported here. Well, it seems that a number of those discs have a manufacturing error, which in this case means that they actually printed the CDs written markings on the audio side of the discs. These gold discs don't really show any difference per side so it's a mistake easily made. The fault becomes apparent when the disc refuses to play when it is inserted with the writings on top, and it starts playing for a short while when it is put in up side down. Obviously it plays only for a short while until the CD player encounters the print and looses track. This can be problematic for people who order abroad from online stores as it may be tiresome to get the disc replaced for a correct working version. If possible, ask the store to verify the disc's working order before they send.Another goof is the Cosmos DVD set that apparently has already been sent to very small group of customers, while others got notices that the release has been further delayed. One DVD set showed up in Japan and proved to have the wrong episode's subtitling on the first episode, making it incomprehensible for anyone who can't understand English. Subtitling is an option that can be turned on and off on DVDs. It's also possible to select a language for this feature. It's not clear yet if the other languages have the same mistake. It is also not clear yet if the special edition music is used in this release or not. Thanks to Henk Engelen for the Baglioni information and to Seiya Hirano for the Cosmos information.
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This update: December 6, 2000
Jon Anderson performing "State of Independence" liveThe "British Rock Symphony" is a unique combination of legendary rock performers currently on tour in South America, including Jon Anderson of Yes and of course "Jon & Vangelis", Alan Parsons, Tony Mitchell, Alice Cooper and Tony Hadley from Spandaut Ballet, together with the Sao Paulo orchestra. On the recent performances in Brazil they have been performing, among a great number of other classic rock and pop track, the Jon & Vangelis song "State of Independence". The version was very different from the album version, with the symphony orchestra playing a big role in the arrangement. Anderson's other main performance was of Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart".
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Cosmos videos release date
International buyers, beware, the video tapes will be in NTSC format. This means that American, Canadian and Japanese VHS players will have no problem to play them, but systems in other countries often will be unable to view these VHS tapes. Make sure your country uses the NTSC system or that you have a VCR that will play NTSC on your local TV standard. The DVD is not region coded, so it can be played on every DVD player. Many DVD players are also able to play any format (NTSC, PAL, SECAM) on your local TV, although it may loose some quality (smooth motion) in the process.
Episodes:
I The Shores Of the Cosmos
II One Voice In the Cosmic Fugue
III The Harmony Of the Worlds
IV Heaven and Hell
V Blues For A Red Planet
VI Travelers' Tales
VII The Backbone of Night
VIII Travels In Space and Time
IX The Lives Of the Stars
X The Edge Of Forever
XI The Persistence Of Memory
XII Encyclopedia Galactica
XIII Who Speaks For Earth?
There is no sign yet of pre-order possibilities for the expected 2CD version of the soundtrack, that will include an unreleased Vangelis composition for the 1986 special edition.
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Details on "E Tu" remaster
The mixing is very different, with less reverb, and a more balanced and clear impression it sounds much less dated and more sharp and clear. Purists will no doubt regret the changes, but for others it seems to be a "must have" because of the new (and possibly "better") way to enjoy this album, for this (in Italy) very low price. Importing the disc will no doubt cost some extra money but it will be cheaper than importing the slightly "rare" original CD. Thanks to Marcio Ribeiro Justo for the British Rock Symphony information and to Don Fennimore for the "Cosmos" tip.
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This update: November 23, 2000
Remasters in Italy
The new releases have been very well produced, being presented in a special cardboard box that reminds of certain CDmaxi releases. The discs have been printed on gold, supposedly to make them more endurable. The sound of Margherita is not so different from the original CD pressing, which makes sense as remastering was hardly needed. The Baglioni album however is said to have been completely remixed from the multitrack tapes, resulting in a very different and reportedly "more Vangelis" sound production and sometimes even longer tracks. Being different from the original release it will likely be a controversial disc, not able to replace the first release that is slowly getting 'rare'. Both the old and the new releases of these CDs are only available in Italy, or as imports from specialized shops.
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Bounty DVD
The bad news however is that the stunning endtitles music (which in the film is significantly different from the version released on the "Themes" compilation album) has been faded out at the end of the titles, where it should have been allowed to reach its end like it was on the laserdisc edition. Previous Vangelis scored movies that have appeared on DVD are Chariots of Fire (quality acceptable in the US, but far superior in France), Fransesco (not great, the short but most common international cut, in fair quality), Blade Runner DC (excellent in quality) and 1492 Conquest of Paradise (in France only, but the absolute winner in quality, and take note of the included teaser that featured a tiny bit of unreleased Vangelis sounds). Word is that "The Plague" has also been released in France, but this remains unconfirmed at the moment.
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Dick Morrissey |
