This update: December 30, 2001
Documentary on Greek public television
Totally unexpected (and contradicting the up-to-date TV guides) Greek public TV station ET1 broadcast earlier this evening a documentary about the Mythodea project and the concert in particular.
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).
This update: December 26, 2001
Greek and Swiss Mythodea broadcasts
Greek public TV station ET1 has booked 2 full hours for the January 1 concert broadcast. The time is most likely to be used for the announced exclusive behind the cameras documentary footage, so it's unwise to conclude at this point that it could contain the music that was omitted from international broadcasts (Conquest of Paradise as well as a reprise of Mythodea tracks 10 and 11). Sadly there seem to be no plans to broadcast the same program on satellite station NET, so the audience will be limited to the Greek fans, and the sound will only be relayed in ET1's mono configuration.
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
This update: December 23, 2001
Mythodea to be broadcast in Greece
Greek public TV station ET1 will broadcast the Mythodea concert on January 1, 2002, starting around 9:00 in the evening. The station presents it as being accompanied by unique documentary material regarding the concert's preparations with behind the scenes footage. Earlier broadcasts in Europe, Australia and the US only included about a minute of pre-concert footage of the venue in Athens, so this seems to indicate that the Greek broadcast might be special and different from other countries in that sense.
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.
Mythodea broadcast in Australia
Australians will soon be able to see the Mythodea concert, as their Special Broadcast Service (SBS) will air the show next Friday December 14 starting at 22:00 Sydney time.
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
World Cup 2002 Anthem premiered on Final Draw
Today the World Cup Final Draw broadcast included the orchestral performance of Vangelis' new Anthem for the football world championship. As expected, Vangelis did not perform, nor was he (visually) present at the ceremony. The music was majestic with subtle passages, reminding of the choral version from Hymn. The orchestra was accompanied by a choir and the anthem climaxed in a spectacular combination of Korean and Japanese traditional music.
This update: November 29, 2001
Blake Neely
T minus two days and counting before an orchestra will perform Vangelis' new football World Cup anthem in Korea. Elsewhere has been expanded today with an exclusive interview with Blake Neely, who orchestrated and conducts this peace for Vangelis, just like he did with Mythodea for both the album and concert. Read all about Neely and his work on Mythodea in the new article, to be found in this site's main index, or directly here.
Furthermore: Mythodea has been released in France and Finland in the past few weeks.This update: November 28, 2001
FIFA World Cup 2002 theme premiere
Many TV stations over the world will broadcast the final draw for the FIFA football world cup. As reported earlier, this event will premiere Vangelis' new orchestral theme for this sports tournament. Blake Neely, who also orchestrated and conducted Vangelis' Mythodea album, will conduct the new piece live with a full orchestra at this ceremony in Korea.
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.
This update: Later on November 25, 2001
Release
According to Sony Music Poland, the new Vangelis theme for the World Cup 2002 will be released on an official World Cup album in February. Both Vangelis' music and the song by Anastacia (that has no Vangelis relation) will be used at the opening and closing ceremonies of the mundial.
See also the news update of earlier today:
This update: November 25, 2001
Theme for FIFA's World cup 2002
Vangelis has composed a new orchestral theme for the football World Cup to be played in South Korea and Japan next year. The theme will premier next week December 1 when it will be performed (most likely without Vangelis' participation) at the Final Draw Ceremony, in the Busan Exhibition & Convention Centre in Korea.
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.
Mythodea related news
NASA's site for their Mars mission has been updated to use Mythodea as background music and they have added Vangelis information to their main pages: mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/.
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, as well as Harada Yasuhiro and Seiya Hirano for their posts to the Direct mailinglist.
This update: November 19, 2001
Hungarian Broadcast
As planned, last Saturday night, November 17, the Mythodea concert registration premiered on Hungarian public TV channel M1. The broadcast was presented in 16:9 format (fitted for wide screen TVs). It commenced with daytime shots of the unique location in Athens, followed by the titles and Vangelis' appearance on the stage. All of "Mythodea" was included, as well as the first encore, Chariots of Fire. The concert's other encores, being Conquest of Paradise and a reprise of the album's track 9 and 10 pieces were not included.
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Special thanks to Vili Maunula!
This update: November 10, 2001
Television broadcasts
The first television broadcast of the Mythodea concert now seems to be planned for Saturday night (22:40) November 17 (a week from now) on the Hungarian national TV channel "M1". It's possible that this will later be repeated on M2, which is being relayed internationally via satellites.
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 Fire
Most 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.
Single variations
Apart from the Mythodea single mentioned earlier, there's also variation containing Movement 7 (album track 8) as 2nd track. Additionally there seems to be a promo ("personal copy") with only the special edit that comes in a cardboard sleeve, but this contains a burned CD-R rather then a pressed CD, and could possibly be a "fake"... None of these versions have properly appeared in shops, but some online retailers have offered and delivered some.
IFPI award
Vangelis' 1996 compilation album "Portraits {So Long Ago, So Clear}" has earned itself the "Platinum Europe Award" for sales exceeding one million copies on the European continent alone. Vangelis is the first Greek artist ever to win this sales award, which is being given out since 1996. The album won gold sales awards in 9 countries, platinum in Portugal and no less than quadruple platinum in the Czech Republic.
Thanks to Sufian, Joy van Herwaarden, Andrew Smith and Kazi from Hungary.
Rossif's Picasso movie in Dutch museum
In light of the exposition "De eeuw van Picasso" (Picasso's century), the City Museum of the Hague (Gemeente museum Den Haag) will for a limited amount of time show two Picasso movies in the museum's auditorium. One of these movies is the legendary "Pablo Picasso Peintre" (1982) documentary by Frederic Rossif. This is one of the Cantiques des Creatures series of movies, all scored by Vangelis. This Picasso film also contains classical and period music to complement Vangelis' modern (and partly abstract) work.
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.
Release dates
Shops in France expect Mythodea on the 19th of November. Two more possible release dates; Denmark: November 6, Japan: December 19. The Greek issue seems to have been released on October 22.
Mythodea.com updates
The official Mythodea site (www.mythodea.com) now displays the cover designs of the upcoming concert DVD and VHS on the main page. They are similar to the CD's artwork. Sony also activated the E-card, a Flash presentation similar that can be send to online friends.
Thanks to Robert Eichelsheim (Picasso info) and Jérôme Olivier.
Video clip online
Mythodea's official video clip has now been added to the media section of the www.mythodea.com site, offering the choice between various online viewing formats. Also the Windows Media download feature is functioning as of today.
Releases
Spain saw the release of Mythodea today. Newspapers in Chile last week announced it also for today, but that is yet to be confirmed. Still to follow: France (Oct 30??), Finland (Oct 29?) and Japan (no date set yet) and perhaps some more countries.
Thanks to Sufian, Francisco Torres and Patricio Mujica Urzúa.
Mythodea site updated
Sony has updated their official site for "Mythodea", to be found at http://www.mythodea.com. It's an elaborate site with concert picture galleries, a downloadable multimedia presentation, audio clips from the album, biographical info on Vangelis, Battle and Norman, more liner notes, and soon to be updated with a screen saver, video clip, competition, as well as pictures from the Mars Odyssey Mission that the work has been tied in with.
Released in the USA and Canada
As of today, Mythodea is available in the USA. It's the international version, without the Special Edit. The same version has also been released today in Canada.
Single
All singles appearing on the market and online stores seem to be coming from Holland, although it can not actually be found in stores here. The single's track 2 is not the album's 3rd track, as reported earlier, but the 2nd instead. A theme that partly appears in the edit itself as well. It's named "Movement 2", in line with the German track list rather than the international (and Dutch) titling that starts with "Introduction".
Thanks to John Norfolk for the US release info.
More release updates
Mythodea has now been released in the Netherlands. Although it didn't reach all shops so far, the widespread Free Record Shop chain has it available in all stores. The Dutch release has a custom sticker and includes again the "Special Edit", that so far was only officially available on the German release. Although it also appeared on Italian and some Portuguese discs, without showing up on their track listings.
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 appearances
Now that the Mythodea album is high in the charts in Portugal, their television stations have broadcast a video clip, made for the Special Edit. They have combined space imagery (stars, earth, Mars) with footage from the June 28 concert. The clip has appeared on Portuguese television more than once now.
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.
Papers
Many more papers have had reviews and articles on Mythodea as album and as concert. UK newspaper the Telegraph had a very extensive article that can be found online: "A symphony for alien ears". Sadly these people seem to have only picked up the negative Greek publicity that surrounded the build up to the concert, but didn't pay attention when Greece's press and public positively and unanimously embraced the results as soon as the concert had actually happened and people saw what all the fuss had actually been about.
Update on Antarctica DVD
The producers of the upcoming Japanese DVD release of the Antarctica movie (see second September 28 update) have recently clarified a few details on a Japanese Vangelis fan site. Read in Japanese at www.geocities.co.jp/Hollywood/3637/geobook.html
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, Jussi Jakobsson and Paulo Oom.
Release news
On the release front, the CD has been released in the past few days in countries like Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway and Hungary. Most notably still void of a national release in Europe are Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. Release dates for these countries are vague. Also still waiting are the USA (October 23 looks pretty safe), Canada, Australia and Japan. There has been no sign so far of any CD singles selling publicly in any country.
TV programming
Also still no sign of the delayed broadcast of the Mythodea concert on SAT1, but in the mean time some announcements regarding American TV channels are popping up, for instance in the States there is Boston PBS affiliate WGBH again at www.wgbh.org/schedules/dailytv?month=11&day=29 announcing for November 29 (but they have been wrong before), and Austin's KLRU who (wisely) don't pin a date yet but have it in their upcoming programs listings (at klru.worldpost.com/PublicArea/ViewPrograms.asp?SeriesID=10482) while in Canada it has been planned for January 17 by CBC, as announced on www.cbc.ca/openingnight/episodenewseason2.html.
All of these stations incorporate warnings that their scheduling is subject to change.
Julian Rachlin
In other news, Vangelis and Austrian violinist [Corrected] Julian Rachlin hope to work together in the future. Rachlin visited Athens and witnessed the Mythodea concert in June.
Reminder: Echoes radio interview
If you live in the States, please be reminded that tomorrow's episode of "Echoes" (which will be relayed on various radio stations on specific dates as of the 18th) will feature a Vangelis interview, recorded in Athens shortly after the performance of the Mythodea concert. See the October 2 update for more details.
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.
Mythodea updates
Sony Classical UK has updated a little page about Mythodea at http://www.sonyclassical.co.uk/newreleases/np.php?id=A-89191. It announces the British release to be set for next Monday, October 15. Advertisement campaigns have started on the British Isles with ads in magazines like "Empire" and "SFX magazine". The website expects the concert film to be released in January.
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, Paulo Oom, Luis de Castro, David and Milan Fajrajzl.
Mythodea releases / promotion
Mythodea has reportedly been bought in shops in Sweden so it should be out there now. Norway's expected release date is October 15. Spain may possibly see the album in stores about two weeks from now. In the mean time a 2 track promotional (not for sale) CD single has surfaced in Germany. It contains the special Edit (bonus on German album) as well as another track from the album. The artwork is similar to the album but its elements are differently aligned.
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...
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 and Koski Ville.
"Echoes" radio interview
Echoes is a popular North American radio show featuring electronic, space and new age music. It's being broadcast by a great number of radio stations all over the USA. According to Echoes' web site at: www.echoes.org/comingup.html their October 18 show (certain stations will broadcast the same program on later dates: Oct 20, Oct 21 and Oct 28) will feature an interview with Vangelis, recorded in Athens around the time of the Mythodea concert.
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.
Release dates
Reports indicate that the "Mythodea" CD has been released nationwide in Italy since a few days ago. Sony in the mean time has confirmed earlier reports that the US release date for "Mythodea" will be October 23. They list it on their web site at www.sonymusic.com/music/newreleases.html.
No sign of the DVD or video release yet. It's most likely that they will be released at a later date.
Web sites
Apart from the obvious official Mythodea site at www.mythodea.com,
there's an interesting subsection on Sony's site in Germany, located at www.sonyclassical.de/mythodea/. Also
worth a look is a small interview that NASA recently published on their site, which can
be reached directly at mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/funzone/music.html.
Germans, in the mean time, can win one of 30 Mythodea CDs on PRO7's "Der Maulwurf" site:
www.prosieben.de/maulwurf/.
Thanks to Sufian, Marco Negri and John Norfolk!
This update: Later on September 28, 2001
Mythodea broadcast postponed
One detail on SAT1's removal of the internet and teletext TV guide entries regarding the Mythodea concert, as reported earlier today: the broadcast of the show indeed is off for Saturday night. It has been delayed to a later date, as yet to be determined. It has not been canceled.
New scheduling details here, as soon as they become available
Francesco DVD
As announced in the July 23 and July 25 updates, Italy has seen the release this week of a new DVD with the Francesco movie. The setback for many will be that there is no English soundtrack on this DVD: both sound sources (5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby surround) have the dialogues dubbed in Italian. There are however English subtitles available to follow the story. The good news is that the sound quality is excellent, better than ever before, and the movie is indeed represented in its most complete and unedited version with a duration of a 150 minutes.
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.
Upcoming Antarctica DVD
Another upcoming release, this time in Japan, is the first DVD of the "Antarctica" movie, locally known as "Nankyoku Monogatari". It will feature the normal Japanese theatrical version of 143 minutes (there were both a shorter international edit and a longer special TV edit), but it will include an extra disc with a lot of bonus material. Something interesting is listed, best translated to "Vangelis music clip". Time will tell what this means. The DVD is set for a release on November 21.
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
Las Troyanas pictures
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.
This update: September 28, 2001
Broadcast confusion
Sad news, the German satelite TV station SAT1 that was going to broadcast the Mythodea concert next Saturday has removed all of its programming info regarding Mythodea from their web and teletext TV guides. As of last night they list a science fiction TV series for Mythodea's time frame. Although the EuroTV website still lists Mythodea (www.eurotv.com/scripts/detail.cfm?Program_ID=33942) [Note afterwards: Now void,] it's wise to consider the distinct posibility that the show has been delayed or even cancelled.
More info soon, hopefully.
Thanks to Walter Wachauer, Peter Mellner, Volker Rapp, Olaf Schneider and Sufian.
This update: September 25, 2001
German 1492 DVD
In Germany a DVD has been released of Ridley Scott's "1492 Conquest of Paradise" film. This particular release contains a number of extra's, including the German trailer for the movie, which apparently features previously unheard Vangelis music.
Releases
Mythodea has now also been released in Korea. This particular print does not contain the extra track with the special edit that the Western European version has (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.)
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.
This update: September 23, 2001
First "Mythodea" concert broadcast next week!!!
Next week, in the night from Saturday September the 29th to Sunday the 30th, German satellite station SAT1 will be the first to broadcast the 70 minute registration of Vangelis' "Mythodea" performance in Athens earlier this year. The show has been unexpectedly inserted in the schedule and is therefore not listed in most of the television guides, but it will start at 02:05 in the morning, local German time (CET).
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.
"Las Troyanas" performed
Last Friday, the 21st of September, the "Las Troyanas" play - or call it a spectacle if you will - premiered in Sagunto, Spain, in the presence of Queen Sophia of Spain.
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.
Release date
One more release date: Finland should find the "Mythodea" album in shops around the country on September 24. That's tomorrow. Enjoy!
Thanks to Sufian, Samuel Gomez and Markku Klami.
This update: September 20, 2001
Mythodea web site updated
Today, Sony music has redesigned its Mythodea web site at http://www.mythodea.com, introducing the album in a Flash (browser plug-in) presentation with wonderful concert pictures of Vangelis, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, the choir and all the backdrop visuals. All accompanied by the (old) promotional edit of Mythodea's music. Apparently, more can still be expected as a "full album web site" is announced for "later this fall".
More (unconfirmed) release information: France expects the album on October 30, Sweden on September 25.
Thanks to Sufian, Dan Ferna and Olivier Brigand.
This update: September 18, 2001
Austria, Switserland / Italian magazine / Troyanas
In addition to Germany, the new "Mythodea" album has also been released this week in Austria and Switzerland.
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.
This update: September 17, 2001
"Mythodea" released in Germany!!!!
It's OUT!!! Finally, today, September 17, the new "Mythodea" album sees the light of day in this early release in Germany. As planned it reached the shops today, hoping for a publicity boost from a German reality TV series called "Der Maulwurf" as is also evident from the small sticker on the front of the case.
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.
This update: September 11, 2001
"Mythodea" soundfiles
On popular request, please note that the Amazon CD shop in Germany has all Mythodea tracks available online as 30 second sound excerpts.
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.
This update: September 8, 2001 [Corrected 22:30 CET]
"Mythodea" updates
[Correction: German release set back to September 17]
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
German "Mythodea" release date pushed forward?
It seems that Sony may actually release the German "Myhodea" album as early as next Monday, September 10. A decision on this is said to be taken tomorrow. Previous information contradictively ranged from September 17 to October 23, but plans can change very quickly and were never really set. Release dates in other countries so far seem to be further away from now, so Germany could get an unexpected jump start on this, if it goes on.
This update: September 1, 2001
"Pulse!" article.
The current issue of Towerrecords' free promotional magazine called "Pulse!" features a 3 page article about Vangelis and Mythodea, called "Communing With The Gods". It was written by John Diliberto, host of US radio show "Echoes" and previously known to Vangelis fans for his Vangelis radio interview that was part of the "Totally Wired" documentary series. This new interview he had with Vangelis in Athens will also be used for a special feature on Vangelis in his Echoes radio show, probably somewhere in October. Then, sometime after the show has aired, this will become available as a net broadcast. More news here when the time comes.
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!
Mythodea update
There's conflicting information on the release date of the new "Mythodea" album. On one hand there seems to be a worldwide release date of October 23, like US magazine Billboard printed in their recent article. But at the same time both Sony Holland and Sony Finland claim that the countries in question will see an October 15 release date. Several international shops in the mean time have been given a September 17 date, which is just simply false.
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!!!
"Billboard" magazine article
The "Billboard" magazine article (first announced in the July 13 update) about Vangelis and the Mythodea concert has now been published in the August 25 issue of the famous US charts magazine. The short article can be found in the "International" section, together with a recent black/white picture of Vangelis. The worldwide release of both the album and the DVD is announced as being October 23 while PBS would broadcast the concert early November.
Thanks to Kevin Gilhuly.
Anniversary: Five Years of Elsewhere
Sorry, no Vangelis related news today, but I'd like to use this opportunity to draw your attention to something else. Today, August 23, it is exactly 5 years ago that this web site went public by means of announcements to e-mail lists, newsgroups and search engines.
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
TV programming mistake
Sadly, but like many suspected, it was too good to believe, and most of all too soon to be realistic. Boston's WGBH channel (PBS associate) had to recently correct their programming information. The announced TV broadcast (published on internet and in print with extra information) will not be able to actually take place. The station forgot to correct the scheduled repeats but the same goes for them, there will not be any Mythodea related broadcasts.
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.
First Mythodea TV broadcast
[Note afterwards: Sadly this turned out to be a mistake in the station's TV programming]
American public broadcast station PBS has its first airing of Vangelis' recent
Mythodea concert scheduled for Sunday August 26, 08 00 pm (EDT), on GBH 2 in the Boston area. This
would be surprisingly early, since the album release isn't due yet for quite a while.
A repeat is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Tuesday the 28th of August.
Any other info on broadcasting in other areas / countries is much appreciated. Please send mails to d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
"Las Troyanas" delayed
The performances of Irene Papas' play "Las Troyanas" for which Vangelis composed the music (see August 7 update) seem to have been delayed to later in September, with the premiere being scheduled for September 21.
Thanks to Gareth Williams and Sufian.
New music for a play, "Las Troyanas"
Irene Papas is directing - as well as acting in - a new stage adaption of Euripides' work "Las Troyanas", to be performed at the Altos Hornos workshops in Sagunto, Spain. Remarkable about this work is that the music is announced to be composed by Vangelis Papathanassiou. This is not a play he created music for in the past, so it seems this could be his first new theater score since many years. The play, being part of the "Bienal de Valencia" festival was originally scheduled for July but was has been delayed to September. More info on both the play and the music on "Elsewhere" when it comes available.
Spanish press coverage and schedules on these internet pages:
- www.turisme.gva.es/touristnet/prvalencia/valencia/p...ncia.htm#9 (currently down)
- www.altearte.net/noticias/010404irenepapas_sagunt.html
- es.news.yahoo.com/010730/4/17egi.html
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.
Francesco DVD
And indeed.... The upcoming Italian DVD of the Francesco movie (announced in the July 23 update) will feature the 150 (!!) minute version of the film, instead of the 105 minute regular version. It will be presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs, and include Italian dubbed speech, but likely will also provide the original English sound. Expected release date is September 20.
Thanks to Don Fennimore.
Concierto Para Margarita CD
In between all of the Mythodea excitement, there's another release from the past to make it to CD for the completists among us. As generally known, in 1976 Vangelis arranged and produced Riccardo Cocciante's "Concerto Per Margherita" album. A soft pop album sung in Italian, with support of Vangelis' synths and his usual Guy Protheroe directed choir. All was recorded at the Nemo studio, resulting in a sound that is very recognizable to Vangelis fans.
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.
Mythodea Real Media stream
Italian news site "Il Nuovo" has a page about Vangelis' recent Mythodea concert, and it includes a Realmedia video fragment with some excerpts from the Athens concert. For broadband users the quality is rather high (click on ADSL under the video screen).
www.ilnuovo.it/nuovo/TG/articles/0,1344,4031--300,00.html
Thanks to Sufian.
Francesco DVD release
Italian film distributor "Istituto Luce" will soon release a European DVD of the "Francesco" movie that Vangelis composed the music for in 1989. There is am American DVD of this film, but it contains the 'usual' edition of this film, which is badly edited down to a shorter duration, which is very visible and audible in the movie when the music stops or hick-ups to a later cue. The last time Luce released a version of this film on VHS it contained the full and original edit, containing much more music than the usual 105 minute version. This videotape however is a rare find these days. It's easy to speculate this DVD could also contain the long version. Time will tell.
Thanks to Giovanni Benzon.
Czech TV
In two days from now, on July 15, Czech TV will have a small item featuring on Vangelis' recent Mythodea concert. Public TV station "Prima" (prima-televize.cz) has a show called "Svìt 2001 a pøece se toèí" (English: World 2001 and yet itself running) airing at 08.35 AM local time, presenting an item on the concert apparently lasting between 5 and 15 minutes.
For those who can receive it, good luck recording.
Thanks to Milan Fajrajzl.
More coverage
Furthermore the leading US magazine on Musical Charts, Billboard, will feature an interview with Vangelis in their July 30 issue. The interview was made in Athens, on June 30.
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/...
Thanks to Frits Couwenberg of KLEM (taz.uci.kun.nl/~matheu/klem), Marco Negri, Irma Arancibia and Gareth Williams.
TV coverage
Appart from the obvious Greek TV news broadcasts, there are also international TV stations who have featured or are still featuring the concert in their news or cultural programming.
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.
Internet press coverage
Other than the previously mentioned El Pais and CNN internet articles, there have been many internet press reports on the concert and all related topics in the last few weeks. here's a sampling from those web pages.
After the concert
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
Before the concert
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
Miscellaneous
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.
Looking back on the Mythodea concert
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.
|
|
|
Mythodea CD pre releases
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.
Internet
CNN's web site has a small article on Vangelis, which includes a few interview quotes: www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/07/03/space.vangelis.reut
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.
This update: 14:59 Greek local time, June 29, 2001
Positive press
Because of some controversies in Greece over the concerts' location and its high budget, the reaction of the press on yesterday's event was unpredictable, and the good news is that all the newspapers seem to hail the concert as a wonderful success. All the stories are full of praises and superlatives.
Thanks to Diego Lugon and others.
Spectacular concert performance
Vangelis' amazing concert performance of Mythodea was a true artistic success, being spectacular both in music as in visuals.
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.
This update: 10:00 Greek local time, June 28, 2001
Rehearsal pictures
With the start of the actual concert now being less then 12 hours away, here´s a first impression of the visuals that can be expected. These pictures were shot last evening (June 27) from outside of the Olympeion's fences, while music and projections where being rehearsed.
Press conference
|
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.
Tests
In Athens at the moment, 22:15 Greek time, crew are testing the giant screen, lifting it up across its towers, projecting images of Mars and playing choral music apparently from CD.
Thanks to Sufian and Robert.
More about the Mythodea concert
More pictures of the construction work. These are - like those of yesterday - a couple of days old by now. Click on the pictures to see larger versions:
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
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.
Construction work for Mythodea
Click on the pictures to see larger versions:
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
More details related to the concert
Greek news paper "Ta Nea" has an ad today for tomorrow's issue which will have a feature on Vangelis, presented in a special section. Apparently this will contain an interview. A picture can be seen at www.in.gr/innews/kiosk/nkiosk.asp?ord=1&date=22/6/2001&ctg=0&nid=2
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 and others.
French honors
Vangelis is going to be rewarded with another major French cultural award next week, when French Educational Minister Jack Lang will decorate him with the "French Distinction of the Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour", for his contributions to Greek and European culture and the cultural multiformity of today's world. The award will be presented to him after the Mythodea concert on June 28 in Athens.
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.
Publicity in Greece
Journalists in Greece have discovered the upcoming concert as an interesting topic for their writings, although the level of journalism can hardly be called more than "gossiping". While yesterday most papers focussed on public sneers by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis who thinks the concert's budget of over a billion Drachmae (US $2,650,000) is too high for any concert, displaying an apparent jealous side of his character. The papers however looked into it, and found that Vangelis is not getting any payment for his efforts for this concert. The show is aimed at publicity for Greece, which will be seriously generated when the recordings - made on Sony's costs - will reach most of the world on public TV stations. One paper estimated the total income for the government - from publicity and possibly also royalties - to be around 3 billion Drachmae, almost three times the cost of the event.
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
Costs, according to the papers
It could be interesting to have a look at what the papers dug up on the costs that are being spend:
- Construction, land formation / configuration totals 661 million drachmae ($1653100) of which 140 million drachmae ($35000) is reserved for the 3000 seat construction that will remain in use for future events at other locations.
- Apparently Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle, the conductor, orchestra and choir members receive about 171 million Drachmae ($427575).
- Artistic production (logistics, traveling, accommodation, rehearsals, sound checks) total 268 million (=$671000).
Broadcasts
According to the newspapers, the concert will be broadcast worldwide - at later dates - on mostly public TV stations like PBS in the USA, BBC in the UK, ARD in Germany and NHK in Japan. More on that here when details become available.
Release date
In the mean time Sony has mentioned September 10 as release date for the upcoming Mythodea album.
This update: Afternoon, June 15, 2001
Other options (tickets)
As for the other options... There is a ticket agency called Ticket Hellas (www.ticket-hellas.gr) that arranges tickets for interested people, and sells them over the phone. They can be paid by Credit Card. They are not as direct as "Liriki Skini", and charge 16% extra on the tickets price, but for many of us they may be the only hope. They seem to have been able to help people today to get tickets for the Vangelis concert.
|
Their web site has an order page, listing also Vangelis' concert, but it's just a way to pass your details for an intended reservation. You have to call to confirm, and some of the details on this page are wrong. It by no means directly orders anything! So it's better just to phone them. Their phone number is 6189300, or from abroad that would make +30-1-6189300 (+30 for Greece, that's 0030 in most countries, then 1 for Athens, then their local number as you can find on their web page). Tickets can be picked up at various spots in Athens when you are there, or could be send to your hotel. Please note, this web site has no affiliation with them and takes no responsibility. A lot of people are e-mailing me asking how to get tickets. In my opinion and as far as I could find out, this is the best way to get them if you live outside of Athens. Good luck.
Exhibition extended
Then, on another topic, which should please people flying over to Athens for the concert, the exhibition called "A Hundred Years of Greeks" due to popular demand has been extended to October. As reported earlier (See April 17 and May 3 updates) this exhibition displays amongst a lot of other things a number of awards won by Vangelis, including his Oscar for Chariots of Fire.
Reported in English on www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12913&m=A35&aa=2&eidos=S.
This update: Morning of June 15, 2001
On sale.
Indeed, tickets are for sale since this morning at "Liriki Skini" in Athens. There are no particular queues outside but the office warns they have very few tickets available to start with. There are three price ranges. University (Greek???) students can buy tickets for 15000 Drachmae (aprox. US$40), 2nd class tickets go for 40000 Drachmae (about $100) and 1st class tickets go for 50000 Drachmae (about $125)
Other options to get tickets are still under investigation.
Tickets?
Word is that finally, after a small delay, tomorrow morning Friday the 15th of June, tickets for the Mythodea concert will go on sale in Athens. Possibly at only one place called the "Liriki Skini". Not that they had actually received any physical tickets or final details yet earlier today, so everything is still unclear. Price is expected to start at 40000 or 50000 Drachmae per ticket. That's between $100 and $125 in US dollars.
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/
More in Greek papers
This Greek newspaper article (English language) contains similar info on the concert, perhaps with a bit more clear details on the stage that is being developed: www.ekathimerini.com/news/content.asp?id=86171.
Thanks to Sufian.
Nothing on TV5
Sorry, the information on TV5's Athens special turned out to be incorrect. There was no Vangelis to be found anywhere in the program. Except for a few bars of his choral Athens 2004 theme in the far background of an item about the Olympics. The newspaper will be dutifully send to the trash can. Apologies for this 24 hour mistake.
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.
This update: June 9, 2001, afternoon
Mythodea concert: More in the newspapers
Witness this Greek newspaper article in Greek: http://www.enet.gr/online/online_p1_text.jsp?c=113&id=29526 (no pictures).
|
It has extra details about the stage that is being build, and about the problems that some organisations have with it. See also on the right the picture of the goings on at the Olympeion, that was printed in the newspaper.
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.
This update: morning of June 9, 2001
Vangelis on TV5???
[Note afterwards: This turned out bogus]
Starting less than 2 hours from now, French international TV station TV5 will have a 24 hour program dedicated to everything to do with Greece's capital Athens.
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.
Archaeologists complain.
"In.gr", Greece's biggest Internet company featured an article on their web site this morning about archaeologists' reactions to Vangelis' upcoming concert at the "Temple of Zeus" site in Athens. This article contains some details about the apparently extraordinary set and stage that is being build especially for this event.
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.
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.
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.
Mythodea Concert
The upcoming Mythodea concert in Athens, on June 28, 2001, is now officially being acknowledged by Sony. They have updated their web page for this album (www.mythodea.com) and list some of the details, confirming its date, location and list of performing artists.
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.
 |
|
The chosen location, an archeological site, in the center of Athens but usually closed for the public, will no doubt be a limiting factor in the number of people who can attend. It's an open space with the ruins of the giant temple of Zeus, of which only a part is still standing. It has never been used for a real public performance, although some celebrations where held there in the past, once having Maria Farantouri as a performer. It's within walking distance from famous landmarks in Athens, like the Acropolis, the Plaka, Syntagma Square, and the Olympic stadium. It practically borders Hadrian's Arch and the Zappion
Sadly, there is no news so far about possible tickets being sold publicly.
More info will appear here as it comes available.
Radio interview
This is a little late, but it seems Vangelis appeared in a small radio interview in April. The radio show focussed on the "1er PENTATHLON PRO CELEBRITIES" games in Monaco. Although another composer, Michel Polnareff, wrote the music for this event, Vangelis contributed with an original official graphical design as poster artwork and also of the medals for this event.
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)/C5F...
or in English: http://www.gouv.mc/Dataweb/Actus.nsf/(ListCh)/D10...
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.
More about the awards exhibition
As reported earlier (see the April 17 update) Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" Oscar - along with several other awards - has been put on display as part of an exhibition at the Athens' Cultural Center. The entire line up of statues and plaques on the picture below belongs to Vangelis. Near the right (also on a seperate picture here) shines the prestigious Academy Award, better known as Oscar. One of the other awards is a Greek token of appreciation for his contributions to the Olympic Games.
|
|
"Mythodea" Web page
Sony has resurrected a page at their domain for Vangelis' new album "Mythodea" (which seems to have been retitled from "Mythodia", as it was called in 1993). It contains an apology for former inaccuracies. Have a look at www.Mythodea.com.
Patty Pravo's "Tanto"
In the mean time an old album by Patty Pravo has recently been re-released on CD in Italy. The album called "Tanto" (1976) was arranged by and performed with Vangelis and has quite a few songs that show his influence on the sound very clearly. This album was pressed on CD before but was available as part of an expensive and rare 10CD box set only, keeping it out of reach for many fans. This newly issued version is not different from the first pressing (no remastering, no repackaging) but has a low price and is available separately.
Thanks to Sufian, Enzo Casiraghi and Robert Eichelsheim.
Vangelis' Oscar on display
An exhibition currently on display at the Cultural Center in Athens, Greece allows the public to have a look at important awards and honors given to Greeks in the past. As part of this the visitors can see a selection of awards that Vangelis has won over the years, including his Oscar for 1982's best original score, "Chariots of Fire".
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.
Sony webpage
Sony music has put up a web page today about Vangelis' current project, "Mythodea", located at www.Mythodea.com [note: April 15, the page seems to have been removed.] [note: April 20, There's a new page without the details and with an apology.]. It has come to our attention that there could be some misprints or misinformation on Sony's page. According to sources close to Vangelis, "Sony will correct the announcement within the next week."
More info of course will follow soon on Elsewhere's news section, as soon as it becomes available.
Thanks to Sufian and certain other sources.
Newspapers Concert / NASA
Nothing has been announced officially so far, but the Greek newspapers have published lists of events that will happen in connection with the Cultural Olympiad, leading up to the Olympic Games in Athens, 2004. One of the published events is apparently scheduled for June 28, in Athens, and would be a concert by Vangelis, performing "Mythodia", the orchestral opera that will also form his upcoming new album. Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle who perform on the album will also appear at the concert.
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 and Diego Lugon
Mistake
There we go again, another mistake by the Greek press. Earlier reports about Vangelis composing music for a new Greek political party, widely appearing in the Greek media and picked up by this site on march 12 are completely false. The music used in fact was a well known piece by Greek composer Nikos Skalkotas (1904-1949).
Very reliable sources confirm that the reports claiming Vangelis's music was used are inaccurate.
Music for Greece's "Free Citizens Movement"
[Note afterwards, this turned out completely false, Vangelis had nothing
to do with this event.]
And while everyone is waiting for the eventual release of the "Mythodia" album,
some unexpected new music popped up on Greek national television when Athens'
major Dimitris Avramopoulos announced the start of a new political party backed
with unknown music by Vangelis composed especially for the occasion.
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 for his info pointing at several substantial resources and links
Jarre's remarks "totally inaccurate"
Yesterday's update, reporting on Jean Michel Jarre's internet announcement that his upcoming Greek concert may involve a collaboration with Vangelis, should best be ignored. Sources close to Vangelis say that the remarks made are totally inaccurate.
This update: February 28, 2001
Vangelis to play at a Jarre concert?
[Note afterwards: This turns out to be false, see March 1 update.]
European synthesizer composer Jean Michel Jarre's official personal web-site at
www.jarre.net (click on "Rendez Vous in Greece") has announced that his upcoming
concert in Athens may involve a collaboration with Vangelis.
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.
This update: February 18, 2001
Mythodia / Record label
As reported by collector Don Fennimore on his renewed web site about Vangelis collecting (A highly recommended place to visit, for its incredible display of images with detailed information on Vangelis releases and collectors items) a promotional disc from "Sony Classical" was given out to certain visitors at the Sundance film festival in the USA. The disc is titled "Confidential - Sundance 2001", but the important part is the inclusion of a short track by Vangelis, called "Promotional Edit from Mythodia". This would confirm rumors printed earlier on in a film score magazine, claiming the upcoming album is called "Mythodea" with sopranos Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle supported by a famous London orchestra and the Athens opera choir (Vangelis' usual after "1492"). The fact that this disc has been released on "Sony Classical" would reveal the identity of Vangelis' new record label, after the "Reprise 1990-1999" compilation concluded his work with East West / Warner. Take note however that Vangelis has not yet officially confirmed any of this information.
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.
Corrections on Cosmos
Two more remarks on the Cosmos CD and DVD releases.
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.
Press reports: Sean Connery / Vangelis project
A small but interesting item appeared in the Greek and Dutch press during recent days. Sean Connery is visiting Athens with his painter wife who has an exhibition in the Greek capitol. He met up with Vangelis there as could be seen briefly on local television. Apparently they announced the preparation of a film about ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. According to the press reports Connery will star in the lead role, and Vangelis will compose the score. A director has yet to be appointed. According to a Dutch newspaper the idea for the movie was Vangelis', who brought it to Connery.
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 25, 2000
E Tu correction
A correction on the info recently given on the Claudio Baglioni remastered CD. This
CD had a fresh new sound that was generally believed to have been the result of actual
remixing in the remaster process, but as it turns out this alternative version
has existed all along since 1974. It simply involves the recording as
featured on the Spanish LP issue. So by now both versions have been
released on CD, the usual Italian edition and the different Spanish edition that has the
same language but a different mix and arrangement.
Thanks to Don Fennimore.
Cosmos DVD
The Cosmos DVD has been sent out to a number of the people who ordered at the
official site. First to Japan and now also US customers have received their
orders. The DVD does in fact contain a number of instances where the Special Edition
music is used that Vangelis composed especially for the 1986 version, but not all
the Special edition music is used in this version, and disappointingly it appears
that when the music & effects channel is played to bypass narration, some of the
new music is replaced by the Portraits version of Alpha. In the mean time the
site's shop at http://www.carlsagan.com/cosmosstore is also taking orders from other parts of the world, but they ask
outrageous packaging and shipping prices, so other on-line shops like http://www.amazon.com turn out to be much cheaper.
There is no sign yet of the 2CD at any shop and so far it hasn't been sent out by the Cosmos site
either.
Thanks to Seiya Hirano, Harada Yasuhiro and Patrick Gleeson.
Remix
Ferry Corsten released a single called "Tenshi" under the name of Gouryella, but the
music of this single is lifted straight from Vangelis' "Light and Shadow" from the
1492 soundtrack. Vangelis is uncredited.
Thanks to Jacques Povee.
Commercial
Vangelis composed original music for a large number of commercials in the
past, and one of those is a rather legendary anti fur commercial by David Bailey, made
in the mid eighties. This commercial is at this moment featured as MPG movie at a
commercials website on the internet, so this provides a rare chance to see it and
hear Vangelis' unusual composition. http://www.usatvads.com/favoritead.html
Thanks to Sufian.
|
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. |
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". | |
Cosmos videos release date
American online stores such as http://www.amazon.com are currently taking pre-orders of the DVD and video sets of the famous Cosmos TV series. This legendary Carl Sagan TV series production contained a lot of Vangelis music and possibly spawned more Vangelis fans than the "Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner" scores together. For many of them this video release will be a good opportunity for a big dose of nostalgia. It's not likely that 1986 special edition episodes with Vangelis' original and new music will be included. Planned release date is listed as December 12. 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. | |
Details on "E Tu" remaster
Some additional details on the new remaster of Claudio Baglioni's "E Tu" album (see the November 23 update below). Strangely enough the track list printed in the artwork is identical to the original LP/CD, while the tracks actually presented on the disc are as said before different in length. One is a few seconds shorter, most are a number of seconds longer, while especially tracks "E Tu" and "Quanta Strada Da Fare" are of considerable extended length. 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. |
|
This update: November 23, 2000 Remasters in Italy
RCA in Italy is currently releasing low priced but remastered versions of their seventies catalogue. This recently gave birth to Riccardo Cocciante's "Concerto per Margherita" and now spawns a new release of Claudio Baglioni's "E Tu". Both are seventies pop albums that had extensive input by Vangelis and his team. Cocciante's album (1976) has the most recognizable sounds of the two, being officially "arranged and realized" by Vangelis, recorded in his London's Nemo studio. Guy Protheroe (H&H, Mask, 1492) conducts the choir. Baglioni's album (1974) is pre Nemo but Vangelis plays an impressive range of instruments, including drums, electric piano, harp, flute, and of course synthesizers. 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. | |
Bounty DVD
The good news is that "The Bounty", 1984's remake of the classic Mutiny on the Bounty story starring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, has finally been released on DVD. Both image and sound quality are perfectly presented in this digital format, that most often surpasses the previously invincible Laserdisc format. 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. | |
Dick Morrissey
In much sadder news, British newspaper "The Independent" reported earlier this month the passing of saxophone player Dick Morrissey. His performances with Jon & Vangelis on tracks like "And when the Night Comes" or "State of Independence", and perhaps most of all the mesmerizing sax performance on Blade Runner's love theme have touched the hearts of many Vangelis fans. Morrissey's career spanned more than 40 impressive years, working with people like Jim Mullen, Michael Garrick, Terry Smith, Dave Quincy, Paul McCartney and others. He will be sadly missed. | |
Albedo fan magazine takes a breakThe famous Albedo fan magazine announced in its 9th publication that was recently distributed that it will stop its publication, possibly temporarily. The tone of the final issue is depressive and angry, raving constantly about a 'lack of support' it apparently demands from Vangelis' management. For the rest there is no news in the magazine, many of its contents have been copied straight from this website, yet have been twisted and distorted to include more bitterness from the editor's disappointed perspective. Some nice articles though do show what a loss the non existence of an offline information source will be for people without internet access. Thanks to Michael Thomas Roe, Dave Leech, Adam Saunders (on Direct), Antas, Robert Eichelsheim, Giovanni Benzon and Sufian for their tips and information. |
Track list of upcoming cosmos 2CD
Project Voyager, the company that carries Carl Sagan's legacy and owns the rights of the Cosmos series has announced the track list of its upcoming 2CD collectors edition of the "The Music of Cosmos" album. This album was already suspected to contain Vangelis' unreleased music for the 1986 "Special edition" episodes of Cosmos (see down for the third part of the August 23 update), and this is now confirmed. The special edition also contained remakes of older tracks used in the Cosmos series, being "Alpha" and "Heaven and Hell 3rd Movement", but the times on the track list suggest the old album versions are represented on this CD.
The complete tracks:
DISC 1
01 Heaven & Hell, Part 1 - Vangelis 4:09
02 Symphony No. 11 in G Minor "1905" - Shostakovich 5:38
03 Alpha - Vangelis 5:42
04 Depicting the Cranes in Their Nest - G. Yamaguchi 1:00
05 Clarinet Concerto A Major, K.622 - Mozart 7:53
06 Canon in D Major - Pachelbel 6:24
07 Metamorphosis - Boydstun, W.J. 3:34
08 The Sea Named "Solaris" - Bach / Isao Tomita 6:04
09 Partita No. 3 - Bach 2:53
10 The Four Seasons, Spring - Vivaldi 3:21
11 Sonata in C Major for Trumpet, Oboe & Bassoon - Finger, Godfrey 1:21
12 Concerto for Mandolin & Strings in C Major - Vivaldi 2:34
13 Tale of Tsar Saltan - Rimsky-Korsakov 6:35
14 Legacy - Fast / Synergy 5:47
15 Russian Easter - 7:44
DISC 2
01 Pulstar - Vangelis 5:13
02 Symphony No. 19 - Hovhaness 4:02
03 Melancholy Blues - Bloom, Melrose, Schoebel 2:59
04 Aquarius - MacDermot, Ragni, Rado 3:56
05 One Of These Days - Pink Floyd 5:51
[Note 18-2-01, this has been omitted from release]
06 Beaubourg, Part 2 - Vangelis 3:14
07 The Planets "Mars" - Holst 7:09
08 Alien Images 1 - Boydstun, W.J. 3:24
09 Fly Night Bird - R. Buchanan 7:43
10 Entends-tu les Chiens Aboyer? - Vangelis 2:50
11 The Rite of Spring - Stravinsky 10:31
12 Bulgarian Shepherdess Song - Izlel je Delyo Hajdutin 5:01
13 Comet 16 - Vangelis 3:48
More info can be found at http://www.projectvoyager.com/onecosmos_outpost.html [Corrected to not include shopping cart info, thanks MW!!!].
Note that also the Cosmos series will be available in a version that is both restored and updated, on a set of VHS tapes or DVD discs.
This update: Later on October 1, 2000
Vangelis' Greek closing ceremony contribution
The Greek part at the closing ceremony in Sydney lasted a bit over 14 minutes and was completely accompanied by Vangelis' music, custom made for the event. For more details see the update of earlier today. This update is only to bring you images from the TV broadcast and a small low quality sound sample of the (totally) new piece that was played during the flag handover itself.
sydneycl.mp3 (1:06, stereo, 64Kbps, 520KB).
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Olympic closing ceremony first report
While the olympic closing ceremony festivities are still going on, the Greek part seems to have finished. The Greek cultural display was very simple and elegant, a resting point in the rather loud and pop and rock induced celebrations.
A number of elegantly dressed Greek young ladies slowly entered the stage and performed rituals before and after the flag hand over. The music started with a new piece, slow and atmospheric, non melodic but with uplifting horn sounds, perhaps a slight reference to the Chariots of Fire opening tones. It was followed by two themes that Vangelis previously wrote for the Olympic emblem presentation earlier this year in Athens. The versions heard here seem to have been re performed, in a somewhat slower and more restrained fashion. The TV broadcast also showed snippets of the computer animation that accompanied the earlier presentation. Vangelis' emblem music was interrupted for another new, orchestral sounding piece, also definitely by Vangelis [corrected].
More later.
This update: September 26, 2000
Fan address / false rumor / T-minus
- The Vangelis' fan mail address (p/a Sharon Chevin) published by Andrew Hoy in a letter to the Albedo fan club magazine two years ago is no longer functioning. A new way to deal with fan mail will be set up in due time.
- It seems that newspapers goofed again, as reliable sources reveal that the stories claiming Vangelis will write the score for a Czech/Greek movie called "Cool Rain" (see Sept 20 update) are false and have nothing to do with reality at all.
- T minus 5 days and counting for Sunday's Olympic closing ceremony with Vangelis' input in the Greek part. Notice by the way that the Australian Sunday evening may very well happen on a different day in your region. For Western Europe this means the Sunday morning, but it's best to check your local TV guide for proper times and check the days around the 1st of October.
Thanks to Peter Ravn for his date correction.
This update: September 22, 2000
"Chariots of Fire" remaster available
| ||
 |
Thanks to Alwyn Clayden and Andrew Hoy for providing and allowing the images...
This update: September 20, 2000
Project details in filmscore magazine
The August 2000 issue of "Music from the Movies" magazine lists the following reference in its news section:"Vangelis has a new non-film album coming up, "Mythodea", which was recorded in mid-August with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Air Lyndhurst studios, featuring Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle."
This reference seems fact based and refers to Vangelis new project that was appeared in rumors in the past and which according to Greek newspapers was to be performed live in Athens earlier this month. The papers spoke however before their turn as concert plans were abandoned for the time being, and no album release has been announced, nor should it be expected soon.
The recorded album however seems to be an update of the 1993 concert in Athens, at the time being performed by Vangelis with some additional instrumentalists and lead vocals by Markella Hatziano and Luccienne Deval.
New filmscore?
With the Greek newspapers' recent mistake in mind, it is still interesting to hear that newspapers in the Czech Republic recently wrote a story claiming Vangelis will create the soundtrack for a new film called "Cool Rain", a Greek and Czech co production currently in preparation.
Thanks to Chris Landor for his posts to alt.music.vangelis and the Direct mailinglist, and thanks to Milan Fajrajzl for his tip regarding "Cool Rain".
This update: September 13, 2000
Olympic closing ceremony
As first reported here last November, Vangelis is involved in the closing ceremony of this years olympic games in Sydney, Australia. It is an olympic tradition that during this ceremony the olympic flame is official presented to the nation that organizes the next games, Greece, in this case, hosting the 2004 games. Also according to this tradition this country will then perform a show of its own. This part in Sydney will, according to the Athens 2004 information center, be created and produced by Vangelis. This suggests that besides his creation of new music, Vangelis has full control over this show, not unlike the Athletics championship in 1997 that he completely directed. In fact, sources say that Vangelis is involved in even smaller details, designing some costumes himself.
The closing ceremony will take place in the evening of Sunday October 1 local Australian time, and it will be broadcast all over the world (check for your local time which may differ as much as a day). Keep the video recorders ready for this.
Polydor remasters
On another related topic, Polydor plans to re release their Vangelis catalogue on CD, with improved artwork, additional linear notes, occasional bonus tracks and digitally remastered sound quality with Vangelis' own involvement. The series will start with "Chariots of Fire" being released in Europe (UK only???) on September 25, to coincide with the Sydney Olympic games.
According to Mark Griffin of the Albedo fan club (long overdue issue is now in preparation) this new version has been remastered by Vangelis himself and the artwork has been redone by the original sleeve designer, Alwyn Clayden. He also reports that initially an unreleased version of the main theme with a female choir was to be included, but skipped at the last moment due to time constraints.
Thanks to Diego Lugon and the Athens 2004 Information Center for some ceremony details. Thanks to Elf and Mark Griffin for the Polydor rereleases information.
Releases
A couple of interesting recent and/or upcoming releases with Vangelis music included:
Cosmos reissue
The soundtrack album of Carl Sagan's legendary "Cosmos" series will soon be reissued
in (at least) the USA. The artwork has been updated. This album which was originally
released on LP did appear on CD before but went out-of-print very quickly, raising
its collectors and sales value to crazy heights, especially on auction facilities
like ebay.com. The new CD will bring the much wanted selection of music available
to a larger audience. The CD includes selections from artists like Synergy and Tomita
as well as traditional classical pieces. And of course a number of excerpts from
Vangelis albums.
Cousteau tribute
"Cousteau's Dream, a Benefit album" is the name of a new various artists album of
which the proceeds partly (!!) go to the Cousteau foundation for preservation and
study of the environment. Other contributing artists include Kitaro, Kenny G and
Richard Burmer, attracting quite some attention from certain circles. Sadly both
included Vangelis tracks are previous album releases, having been taken from the
"1492" soundtrack album. Fans hope that one day some parts of Vangelis' original
music for a number of Cousteau documentaries will be released, but this album is
not the realization of that dream.
Planned Cosmos 2CD
More intriguing is the following planned release. A new 2CD called
"Music of Cosmos" will be released on October 16. This is said to contain "some
of the 'Comet' selections never before available." It could just mean that there
will be more tracks included compared to the old album, but there is another
chance for old dreams to come true.
In 1986 when the Comet of Halley was about to pass the earth a "special edition"
series of "Cosmos" episodes was created and aired. For this special event Vangelis
composed a number of original pieces of music. He also rerecorded some old favorites
(including Alpha and the 3rd Movement of Heaven and Hell) that had been previously
adapted by the series as its main musical themes. These recordings were heard in
the broadcast but never released on any audio medium. A series of tracks called
"Comet part 1 to 21" appeared on a list used by publisher Spheric bv, and -
stimulating the imagination of many fans - was often mistaken for an
'unreleased' album rather than a set of cues for use in television show. With
the expansion of the Cosmos album, and the statement that it will contain
unreleased Comet selection there is plenty of room for speculation that on
this CD a number of much wanted tracks by Vangelis will finally find their
way into our CD players.
If more news about this comes up, it will be presented here. If you have anything to add, feel free to report it to d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Thanks to Walter Wachhauer and Don Fennimore for the Cosmos reissue information.
Thanks to Sufian for forwarding the statement on the Cosmos Special edition 2CD.
This update: July 19, 2000
No concert news... Delayed??
Vangelis' management still has not made any official announcement on the concert that newspapers in Greece reported about unofficially two weeks ago. There are sources in France claiming that the concert will not happen this September, and that the papers were wrong with their information, in their attempt to report the news as early as possible.
Since this involves an outdoor event depending hugely on the weather, it's possible to speculate that a delay would not likely be a small one, this could turn out a very long wait. If news appears you'll be able to read it here, but don't expect too much soon.
This update: July 11, 2000
Blade Runner documentary
No show last week on the expected clip (see July 5 update) but Blade Runner fans might be interested in a special documentary that Channel Four will show in the UK on Saturday July 15, called "the Making of Blade Runner". This newly created program about the legendary film featuring Vangelis' unforgettable score has already caught a lot of attention because director Ridley Scott finally puts all the debates to rest confirming that Deckard - the film noire styled detective portrayed by Harrison Ford - is in fact a "Replicant"; one of the artificial humans that he is hired to hunt down.
The show will start at 11:10 PM, but will be preceded by the Director's cut of the movie that features Vangelis music in full glory.
Thanks to Patrick Foly for the tip
This update: July 5, 2000
Rain and Tears clip on Dutch TV
From information in a TV guide it seems that Dutch commercial TV station RTL5 will air the videoclip of Aphrodite's Child "Rain and Tears" as part of the show "Wintertijd", starting around 22:30. [Note afterwards: There was sadly no sign at all of the videoclip. Apologies...]
Thanks to Peter Dekker for his tip.
This update: July 3, 2000
BREAKING NEWS: Concert in Athens, newspaper reveals.
Neither Vangelis's management nor his recordlabel have yet issued statements on this, but the Greek newspaper "Ethnos" announced today the first official details of an upcoming Vangelis concert to be held in Athens somewhere in September. Vangelis' live performance are very rare, so this will be a unique new event. Although rumors in the past claimed that it would be a private concert, the intended location as announced in the news paper would suggest otherwise, since it says the aim is for the Panathinaiko stadium, the massive historical location where the 1997 Athletics championships were opened with a Vangelis performance.
According to the newspaper the Greek tourist organization, EOT, has been asked for clearance for this location, since it will first need to be restored from damage sustained in the earthquakes last year. The EOT will look for a substitute location should the Panathinaiko stadium be impossible to use.
The newspaper has no information yet on what will be played.
An article can be read in Greek at www.in.gr/news/narticle.asp?nid=24073 where there is also a recent photograph of a happy looking Vangelis. The article itself in Greek with another photograph can be read at www.ethnos.gr/pages/2000/jul/3/p050103.htm
More news about this upcoming event expected soon.
Thanks to Noel Koutlis for information and translation.
This update: June 19, 2000
Kavafis on TV
Australian TV channel "SBS" will broadcast the Greek movie "Kavafis" on Wednessday June 21, starting at 10:00 PM. This presents a rare chance for many people to hear Vangelis' romantic Greek 1997 score. Be sure not to miss it if you can.
More about "Fair Play"
Some more details on Vangelis' donation of "Chariots of Fire" for use in
sports events (see June 17, 2000 update): The cause this is linked to is
called "Ef agonizeste" (dating back to the first Olympics and ancient Greek
poet "Pindarus"), which means "Fair Play".
The original Greek idea to start an organisation that will promote "fair
play" in words and deeds both in and out of sports was accepted at European
level in November 1998 and important sports personalities from all countries
of Europe will now help promote these ideas to the public. It is this organisation
that Vangelis has donated music to. It has been mentioned that this involves
a new recording of "Chariots of Fire", in a more upbeat version. Should be
interesting.
The Greek media reported that Vangelis, when asked for his cooperation by the
lady who started the initiative, not only refused money for the rights to the
music but also hugged her, saying "I am Greek, how can I ever say no?"
Thanks to Aleks for his post to the Direct mailinglist about Kavafis and to Ioannis Dikeakos who provided most of the additional information about "Fair Play".
This update: June 17, 2000
Sports music (2x)
On Friday June 16 a Vangelis composition was presented in Zapion, Greece, as a hymn for all sports. It's not clear whether this is the theme for Chariots of Fire, or a new version of it, or a complete new theme. Apparently a video will be made to promote this composition for use for any sports event that would like to. This Greek initiative apparently gained Vangelis' cooperation for free. An English translation of yesterday's news article announcing it:
Revolution in sports begins with the hymn "Chariots of Fire"
Athens: Greece offers again its culture to the service of sports today 8:30 in the evening in Zapion with the presentation of the composition of the hymn of sports, of tolerance and good competition. The ambassadress of Greece for sports and good competition, Katerina Panagopoulou, and the deputy minister of sports George Floridis emphasized the meaning it has for Greece, the promotion of another Greek idea, by the composition of Vangelis Papathanassiou "Chariots of Fire", from the movie with the same name, who won the Oscar prize.
"Everything starts with a hymn, the revolutions or all kinds of actions, so sports and good competition makes its own revolution with this hymn", told Katerina Panagopoulou. "It's a proposal I submitted in Lisabon the November of 1998 and it was accepted from all the ambassadors of sports, of tolerance and good competition. The hymn, is going to have an important role in the sports in the millennium that comes".
Mrs Panagopoulou noted that Vangelis Papathanassiou participated for free for the composition of the hymn and noted that he is in contact with people/organisations to make it acceptable to play the hymn before any sports event.
"The initiative belongs to the athletes, those who have won olympic prices and metals" added the deputy minister of sports George Floridis. "The representation of the hymn will be made by the same people".
George Floridis emphasized that the rights for the music composition and the video that will be circulated belong to the deputy ministry, but it is clear that there will be no commercial use: "This is besides the aim of the hymn, to be against the commercial use of sports that is expressed with various ways like doping, and therefore, the availability of the hymn will be free. In addition, the sports movement is in danger and its principles tend to overrule with its professionalism and commercialism" ended George Floridis.
Read the original item in Greek at www.in.gr/innews/narticle.asp?nid=22586.
Additionally, Vangelis recently contributed new compositions as background music for a ceremony in Athens, where the olympic flame was lit and set off on its journey to Sydney for this summer's Olympic games. The ceremony took place the 20th of May in the Panathinaikon Stadium, where he once directed and performed the opening ceremony to the Athletic World championships. The new compositions could be heard on TV broadcasts in Greece but also in other countries over the world. The music is being described as quiet, and typical for his one go recording technique, for example a part with piano with layered strings.
Did anyone record this TV broadcast? Please contact me at d.lodewijks@chello.nl.
Special thanks to Noel Koutlis for the translation of the article.
This update: May 30, 2000
New projects
With rumors about Vangelis' new projects getting more and more specific, Vangelis management was kind enough to share this official statement with us:
"Vangelis is currently engaged in preparations for a major new project. As with all projects in work, it is in that truly creative stage where everyone involved holds their breath. It could well include a concert performance. There is, at this time, no confirmed concert date or venue. If and when such an event should become reality, it will be formally announced, along with all other details concerning the project. Vangelis never considers it lucky to speculate too much on dreams and plans until they are sure to be realized."
The Elsewhere site will respect this and will withhold from publishing the rumors so far. Rest assured though that work is in progress in Athens.
This update: April 27, 2000
Successful convention in London
On Saturday the 22nd of April the "Albedo" Vangelis fanclub organized a Vangelis fan convention in London. A very nice venue was home for a day to fans from countries all over Europe. Sadly the turn up was rather low, with an attendance of about 70 people in total, where the maximum had been set at 150. Fans were able to watch rare videos, buy CDs, listen to dedicated poetry and much more.
Highlight of the day were the appearances of two people who worked with Vangelis, Keith Spencer Allen and Alwyn Clayden. Keith engineered at Nemo studios from 1975 to 1979 (the voice on Albedo 0.39) and spoke about his technical work, Nemo in general and also about the work with other artists in the studio. Alwyn Clayden's work on sleeve designs in cooperation with Vangelis showcase some the most famous albums and he shared his insights in the general process of recordsleeve design. Both were interviewed by organizer Mark Griffin, but also mingled with the fans and shared some of their memories and were willing to answer questions, to the delight of the attending visitors.
Another highlight was the listening session to some unreleased improvisations on the Direct device as well as an older improvisation that includes the famous happy birthday melody. Both were mentioned in Griffin's book but rarely heard by anyone.
The evening program existed of concerts by EM musicians "Demo Art" and "Mark Jenkins", both being appreciated by the big number of electronic music fans in the audience. The finale was a slightly out of place, vocal based soft synthpop-ballad concert by the bandmembers of ex-Vangelis engineer Raphael Preston, who himself sadly had to cancel due to illness.
All in all the day was very successful, as an enjoyable meeting with many fans, a chance to see and hear some rarities and of course to hear the anecdotes that Keith and Alwyn were kind enough to share. It was a pleasure to hear and speak with these people who clearly appreciated what they were part of and where kind enough to share a bit of their memories.
This update: April 5, 2000
Official Vangelisworld back online
When early this year the Vangelisworld website disappeared, fans were disappointed as it seemed to end hopes for the official site to materialize properly. The domain name expired and was reserved by three fan-sites to present links to their own pages. However, the good news is that it was only a mistake by an internet hosting service and plans for the official website where never really given up. On request, we have returned the domain name to the initial owners, and the original Vangelisworld announcement has been resurrected. Hopefully this will mean that eventually a real "Vangelis information World" website can be explored on the internet.
This update: later on March 25, 2000
More about the ballet
More details have come in about the Frankenstein ballet. As mentioned before, the show contains 3 seperate ballets. The Vangelis ballet, being by far the most spectacular, is saved till last. In fact, there is a break between the ballets that lets the technicians rebuild the stage, nessesary for all its special tricks: moving stages, people emerging through hatches, the orchestra in the middle comming up from the floor, beautifull settings...
Peter Dekker saw the opening and writes (translated from Dutch): "It was an incredible experience, this was the best ballet I ever saw."
"The music was typical for Vangelis' 85 style. although at points there were sounds that sounded more recent, like some very biautifull strings. The style seemed somewhat newer than Mask, but was very much alike. Also something of the Bounty style was recognizable."
People who are going to see the show should be advised: After the curton had fallen and the audiance gave its warm ovation, the dancers in turn greeted the audiance, supported by the orchestra. Another aspect that could easily miss your attention is that during the 40 minute break (prior to the ballet), a short film is shown in the foyer, showing two dancers preparing for the performance. This film, ALSO features music by Vangelis. It could be the music from the ballet, or it could be different music. It's not clear. But be advised to take note.
Here are some pictures from the ballet:
|
|
|
|
|
Special thanks to Peter Dekker, for info and the images.
This update: March 25, 2000
Frankenstein - a Modern Prometheus
Last evening the performances of the ballet started in Amsterdam, and the good news is that, contrary to what the theater claimed earlier on (see March 22 update), the original Vangelis recordings where used afterall! So, still the unique chance to hear Vangelis' compositions and recordings from 1985. The confusion about the orchestra can be explained by the fact that at a certain point in the ballet, a ballet comes up from the floor, playing a walz, obviously composed by Vangelis for this spectacular staging.
Expect a full review of the performance here on Sunday evening. In the mean-time the word is that the music is fantastic and definately worth the while of a visit to Amsterdam. Tickets can be reserved by phone, and more info you can still find on: http://www.het-nationale-ballet.nl/english.
Thanks to Peter Dekker for the information.
This update: March 22, 2000
Update
The "Frankenstein performance" of tonight has indeed been canceled (see earlier news item), but all other performances will take place as planned. People who had reserved have been called by the theater over the phone to shift their reservations to later dates. The performances will now start on Friday
This update: March 21, 2000
Premiere cancelled?
It seems that due to technical problems tomorrows premiere of the Amsterdam "Frankenstein" balletperformances (see earlier news items) has been canceled. It looks like later performances will go on as planned. More details or certainty (any confirmation!) about this here soon.
Thanks to Peter Dekker for his message.
This update: March 19, 2000
Details about the "Frankenstein - Modern Prometheus" ballet performance
The ballet performances of the Vangelis composed ballet that start in Amsterdam on Wednesday will not feature Vangelis' original recordings from 1985. Instead the music will be performed by the "Noordhollands philharmonisch Orkest", the local philharmonic orchestra. The performance will last 35 minutes. Sadly, neither the music nor the visuals will be recorded for any kind of release. Also there are no plans to restage any of the other ballets that Vangelis composed music for.
Thanks to Ivar de Vries and Minou Bijl for the details.
This update: March 10, 2000
"Frankenstein" ballet to be reperformed!
In 1984 Vangelis wrote the music for Wayne Eaglings ballet choreography "Frankenstein - Modern Prometheus", based on Mary Shelley's legendary gothic horror novell. This music - like the other Vangelis compositions for Wayne Eagling ballets - remained something of a mystery for most Vangelis fans, as none of the music was ever released and only snippets were heard in radio and TV interviews with Eagling.
In the period between March 22 and April 9 the show will be staged again. The events will take place in "Het Muziektheater" in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, also known as "De Stopera". It will be performed by "Het nationale Ballet", the national Dutch ballet, of which mr. Eagling is the artistic director.
The music will probably be Vangelis' original recordings on tape, as they were used for the original performances in London in 1985 as well.
Dates for the perforances are: (day of the month followed by the local time)
Corrected! The 26th is an afternoon, the 24th an evening)
March 2000:
22 (20:15) [Cancelled!]
24 (20:15)
26 (14:00)
28 (20:15)
29 (20:15)
30 (20:15)
31 (20:15)
April 2000
01 (20:15)
02 (20:15)
04 (20:15)
05 (20:15) [Cancelled!]
06 (20:15)
08 (20:15)
09 (14:00) [Cancelled!]
You will find the webpages of "Het nationale ballet" in Dutch at http://www.het-nationale-ballet.nl or the English version at http://www.het-nationale-ballet.nl/english Choose program and follow the "Eagling-Van Schayk-Brandsen" link for a bit more information.
Thanks to Ivar de Vries for the breaking news!
This update: february 28, 2000
Reprise in the USA
The "Reprise 1990-1999" compilation album is about to be released in the USA, on the Atlantic label. Release date has been set to March 7, 1999. The album was released in Europe late last year and contains 2 preveously unreleased tracks from the soundtracks of "Bittermoon" and "the Plague".
The CD version of the album "Earth" (1973) that is currently out of print, is said to be reissued as well on March 7, but it is not clear in which country. Possibly only in Greece again (where it was available untill recently), but it could be more or other countries this time. Label will be Polygram/THID.
Thanks to Brian T. Hamer for his tip.
This update: February 13, 2000
Chicane
A peculiar reference to Vangelis appeared in an interview with the man behind "Chicane", a "trance" act (floating electronic pop/dance music) that scored a hit together with Irish synthfolk band Clannad, while reworking with them their famous "Theme from Harries Game" song. In an interview for the BBC he was asked "So you've worked with Clannad and Bryan Adams, given the free choice which artist would you choose to work with?" and he answered: "Fortunately I'm going to be working with Vangelis this year. He's a huge fan. Also, one of my biggest idols, Jean Michel Jarre has been on the phone and he wants me to remix some stuff. " An oddity, as Vangelis is said to dislike most of the current dance oriented pop music. As usual, time will tell. The interview can be read at http://www.uio.no/~ulfb/odd/bbc.htm.
Thanks to Dietmar Sittek for his mail to the Direct mailinglist
Other releases
The announced Demis Roussos DVD that contains Vangelis related material has been released in European shops and has been sent to people who ordered it at the BR music webpages. It can still be ordered at http://www.brmusictwo.com.
In the mean time one of Vangelis' current engineers, Frederick Rousseau, is releasing no less than three new solo albums this month. They will at first only be orderable via his website, and will be released in shops only after a few months. In total there will be five new albums forming a series entitled "Terres De legendes". His music generally appeals to many Vangelis fans so it's wise to check out at http://home.worldnet.fr/antas/rousseau.htm [Edited afterwards, the URL is now: http://www.anunna.net/rousseau.htm].
Sadly, there is still no news about Vangelis' new work that has been mentioned to be in the pipeline, and there is no news yet about him signing a record deal.
This update: January 22, 2000
DVD delayed
The release of the Demis Roussos DVD that will contain various Vangelis related videoclips has been delayed to February 14. It will cost f75,- guilders in Europe (including sending from BR music if you order it there) or 80 Dutch guilders (about 35 US dollars) outside of Europe. Distribution to shops will reach all of Europe. Its catalog number has been changed to "DVD 2047", still of course on the BR Music label. (www.brmusictwo.com)
Vangelisworld domain expired
Hopes seem gone for Vangelis' official website that was announced with the release of Oceanic in 1996 but never materialized through the following years. More than a month ago the old announcement disappeared, leaving a not found page, and a few weeks ago the domain name (the vangelisworld.com name that uniquely addresses the webpage) has been given free by the Network Solutions organization that registers domainnames.
It has been suggested that the idea for a website was rather East West's idea (the record label) than Vangelis' own initiative, so the development could be related to Vangelis' reported planned change of record label. Rumors persist that he might sign for Sony records. There's always hope for new website plans.
In the mean time the available vangelisworld domainname has been reserved by the makers of a few Vangelis fan-sites to put up links to unofficial sites in the near future, so that surfers will find their way to the information they are looking for.
This update: January 5, 2000
Another Forminx rerelease
In addition to the upcoming new 2CD with all the Forminx tracks ever recorded (see December 18 update), the previous Forminx CD has also been rereleased in Greece last year. This CD had been available earlier in the nineties very briefly, and used to be an LP released in Greece in 1975, consisting of music from singles released in the early sixties by Vangelis' hischool band.
The tracklist of this CD is:
1. Jeronimo yanka 2. Our last September 3. Mandjourano's shake 4. And maybe more 5. Somebody sent me love 6. Greek holidays 7. Ah say yeah 8. The jenka beat 9. Say you love me 10. A precious white rose 11. Il peperone 12. A hard night's day 13. Dream in my heart 14. School is over
Missing from this collection are a number of covers and Christmas songs that are un available on CD until the new 2CD will be released.
Thanks to Henk Engelen for the news and details
