Ваγγелис Папатанасиу: Өмірі мен шығармашылығы

Greek composer and musician (1943–2022)

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis (/v//æ//ŋ/'/ɡ//ɛ//l//ᵻ//s/ vangGHELiss; Βαγγέλης, ), was a Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan. Born in Agria and raised in Athens, Vangelis began his career in the 1960s as a member of the rock bands The Forminx and Aphrodite's Child; the latter's album 666 (1972) is now recognised as a progressive psychedelic rock classic. Vangelis first settled in Paris, and gained initial recognition for his scores to the Frédéric Rossif animal documentaries [[L'Apocalypse des animaux (album), La Fête sauvage, and Opéra sauvage. He also released his first solo albums during this time, and performed as a solo artist. In 1975, Vangelis relocated to London where he built his home recording facility named Nemo Studios and released a series of successful and influential albums for RCA Records, including: Heaven and Hell (1975), Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), and China (1979). From 1979 to 1986, Vangelis performed in a duo with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, releasing several albums as Jon and Vangelis. He also collaborated with Irene Papas on two albums of Greek traditional and religious songs. Vangelis reached his commercial peak in the 1980s and 1990s. His score for Chariots of Fire (1981) won him an Academy Award for Best Original Score and the film's main theme, "Chariots of Fire – Titles" went to number one on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, while his score for 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the film's soundtrack and main theme topped the European charts selling millions of copies. In his last twenty years, Vangelis collaborated with NASA and ESA on music projects Mythodea (1993), Rosetta (2016), and Juno to Jupiter (2021), his 23rd and final studio album. Having had a career in music spanning over 50 years and having composed and performed more than 50 albums, Vangelis is one of the most important figures in the history of electronic music, and modern film music. He used many electronic instruments in a fashion of a "one man quasi classical orchestra" composing and performing on the first take.

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou was born on 29 March 1943 in Agria, a coastal town in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece, and raised in Athens. His father Odysseus worked in property and was an amateur sprinter; Vangelis described him as "a great lover of music". Vangelis had one brother, Nikos. Vangelis recalled a peaceful and happy childhood without interference from his parents, who let him be involved in his activities, mainly consisting of playing the piano, painting, and constructing things with his hands. Vangelis developed an interest in music at age four, composing on the family piano and experimenting with sounds by placing nails and kitchen pans inside it and with radio interference. When he was six his parents enrolled him for music lessons, but was unable to take to formal tuition as he preferred to develop technique on his own. One of his piano teachers was Greek composer Aristotelis Koundouroff. At fifteen he formed a band with school friends who had similar musical interests. Three years later, he acquired a Hammond organ. The group played covers and original material largely written by Vangelis, whose stage name at this time was Vagos, with English lyrics by radio DJ and record producer Nico Mastorakis. After nine singles and one Christmas EP, which found success across Europe, the group disbanded in 1966.

After The Forminx split, Vangelis spent the next two years mostly studio bound as a composer and producer. He wrote the score to several Greek films–My Brother, the Traffic Policeman (1963), 5,000 Lies (1966) by Giorgos Konstantinou, Antique Rally (1966), Frenzy (1966), To Prosopo tis Medousas (1967) by Nikos Koundouros, and Apollo Goes on Holiday (1968). In 1967, the 25 year old Vangelis formed a psychedelic/progressive rock band with Demis Roussos, Loukas Sideras, and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris. Initially known as The Papathanassiou Set, they were encouraged by the Greek division of Philips Records to try their luck in England after their demo was passed onto Mercury Records and was well received. The relocation appealed to the group, as the political turmoil surrounding the 1967 Greek coup limited their opportunities. However, Koulouris was called up for military service, causing the band to travel without a guitarist. Their debut single "Rain and Tears" was a commercial success in Europe, and was followed by the albums End of the World (1968) and It's Five O'Clock (1969). Vangelis conceived the idea of their third, 666 (1972), a double concept album based on the Book of Revelation. In 1971, the group split following increasing tensions during the recording of 666, although Vangelis would produce several of Roussos' future albums and singles. Vangelis recalled after the split: "I couldn't follow the commercial way anymore, it was very boring. You have to do something like that in the beginning for showbiz, but after you start doing the same thing everyday you can't continue." A soundtrack album recorded for a 1970 wildlife documentary series by Frédéric Rossif was released as L'Apocalypse des animaux in 1973. In 1971, Vangelis took part in several jam sessions with various musicians in London, the recordings from which were released on two albums released in 1978 without his permission–Hypothesis and The Dragon. He took legal action and had them withdrawn. In 1973, Vangelis released his second solo album Earth, a percussive orientated album with various additional musicians, including Koulouris and Robert Fitoussi. In May 1973 he performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London supporting Tempest, but looked back on the concert as a failure. Several months later Vangelis returned to England to audition with the progressive rock band Yes, after singer Jon Anderson had become a fan of his music and invited him to replace departing keyboardist Rick Wakeman. After problems with obtaining a work visa and a rejection from the Musician's Union, plus his reluctance to travel and tour, Vangelis declined. Yes chose Swiss player Patrick Moraz, who used Vangelis's keyboards in his audition.

By the end of 1974 Vangelis was finally able to relocate to England, by which time he also felt he "outgrew France" musically. He settled in a flat on Queen's Gate, London and set up a 16 track recording facility named Nemo Studios on Hampden Gurney Street in Marble Arch, which he named his "laboratory". In August 1975, he signed a four album deal with RCA Records, for which he released a series of influential electronic based albums that increased his profile. The album went to No. 31 in the UK, and was performed live in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1976. The album was followed by the UK top 20 Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), and the spontaneous Beaubourg (1978), each having their own thematic inspiration including astronomy and physical cosmology, Tao philosophy, and Vangelis' visit to the Centre Georges Pompidou, respectively. During the same period, Vangelis composed the score for Do You Hear the Dogs Barking? directed by François Reichenbach. This was released in 1975 under the French title Entends tu les chiens aboyer? and re released two years later as Ignacio. Rossif and Vangelis again collaborated for Sauvage et Beau (1984) and De Nuremberg à Nuremberg (1989). By 1979, Vangelis signed with Polydor Records. His first release was China (1979), based on Chinese culture. Vangelis returned to his Greek roots by recording new arrangements of Greek folk songs with actress and singer Irene Papas. The first set of songs were released under Papas' name as the album Odes, which was an instant success in Greece. The first two albums produced three hit singles "I Hear You Now", "I'll Find My Way Home" and "State of Independence", with the latter later becoming a hit for the second time when covered by Donna Summer with production by Quincy Jones. Vangelis' music was brought to an even wider audience when excerpts from Heaven and Hell and Albedo 0.39 were used for the soundtrack of Carl Sagan's 1980 television documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. In 1986, Vangelis composed new music for a special edition episode. The soundtrack album was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks and sold one million copies in the US. In March 1982, Vangelis won an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, but refused to attend the awards ceremony, Vangelis commented that the "main inspiration was the story itself. The rest I did instinctively, without thinking about anything else, other than to express my feelings with the technological means available to me at the time". Vangelis received numerous subsequent offers to score films, but he turned them down because he wanted to avoid becoming "a factory of film music". Critics have written that in capturing the isolation and melancholy of Harrison Ford's character, Rick Deckard, the Vangelis score is as much a part of the dystopian environment as the decaying buildings and ever present rain. The score was nominated for a BAFTA and Golden Globe award. Blade Runner has subsequently become one of Vangelis' best known works, despite problems that prevented its release on album for many years. A disagreement led to Vangelis withholding permission for his recordings to be released, so the studio hired musicians dubbed the New American Orchestra to release orchestral adaptations of the original score. The problem was eventually resolved twelve years later, when Vangelis's own work was released in 1994. Even then, the release was considered incomplete, since the film contained other Vangelis compositions that were not included on the record. In 1992, Paramount Pictures released the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise, also directed by Ridley Scott, as a 500th anniversary commemoration of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World. Vangelis's score was nominated as "Best Original Score – Motion Picture" at the 1993 Golden Globe awards, but was not nominated for an Academy Award. Due to its success, Vangelis won an Echo Award as "International Artist Of The Year", and RTL Golden Lion Award for the "Best Title Theme for a TV Film or a Series" in 1996. In the 90s, Vangelis scored undersea documentaries for French ecologist and filmmaker, Jacques Cousteau, one of which was shown at the Earth Summit. The score of the film Cavafy (1996) directed by Yannis Smaragdis, In 2001 he composed for a third play which starred Papas, and for
a version of William Shakespeare's The Tempest staged by Hungarian director György Schwajdas.

Vangelis collaborated in 1976 with Italian singer Patty Pravo with the album Tanto and with Italian singer Milva achieving success, especially in Germany, with the albums Ich hab' keine Angst also translated in French as Moi, Je N'ai Pas Peur (1981) and Geheimnisse in 1986 (I have no fear and Secrets), also translated in Italian as Tra due sogni. An Italian language Nana Mouskouri album featured her singing the Vangelis composition "Ti Amerò". Collaborations with lyricist Mikalis Bourboulis, sung by Maria Farantouri, included the tracks "Odi A", "San Elektra", and "Tora Xero". Vangelis released Soil Festivities in 1984. It was thematically inspired by the interaction between nature and its microscopic living creatures;

There were another five solo albums in the 1990s; The City (1990) was recorded during a stay in Rome in 1989, and reflected a day of bustling city life, from dawn until dusk; and two classical albums about El Greco – Foros Timis Ston Greco (1995), which had a limited release, and El Greco (1998), which was an expansion of the former.

The Sport Aid (1986) TV broadcast was set to music specially composed by Vangelis. While no official recording of this composition exists, the music can be heard accompanying the presentation of the emblem of the 2004 Athens Games. In 2002, Vangelis created the official Anthem for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His work from Chariots of Fire was heard during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. His work Conquest of Paradise (1992) (from the movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise) is now the theme song of famous Trail Running competition Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc.

In 2001, Vangelis performed live, and subsequently released, the choral symphony Mythodea, which was used by NASA as the theme for the Mars Odyssey mission. This is a predominantly orchestral rather than electronic piece that was originally written in 1993. In 2004, Vangelis released the score for Oliver Stone's Alexander, continuing his involvement with projects related to Greece. Vangelis released two albums in 2007; the first was a 3 CD set for the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner, titled Blade Runner Trilogy and second was the soundtrack for the Greek movie, El Greco directed by Yannis Smaragdis, titled El Greco Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. On 11 December 2011, Vangelis was invited by Katara Cultural Village in Qatar to conceive, design, direct, and compose music for the opening of its outdoor amphitheater. The event was witnessed by a number of world leaders and dignitaries participating in the 4th Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations held in the city of Doha. British actor Jeremy Irons performed in the role of master of ceremonies, and the event featured a light show by German artist Gert Hof. It was filmed for a future video release by Oscar winning British filmmaker Hugh Hudson. In 2012, Vangelis re tooled and added new pieces to his iconic Chariots of Fire soundtrack, for use in the same titled stage adaptation. He composed the soundtrack of the environmental documentary film Trashed (2012) directed by Candida Brady and starring Jeremy Irons. A documentary film called Vangelis And The Journey to Ithaka was released in 2013. For the 12 November 2014 landing of the Philae lander on Comet 67P (part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission), Vangelis composed three short pieces titled "Arrival", "Rosetta's Waltz", and "Philae's Journey". The pieces were released online as videos accompanied by images and animations from the Rosetta mission. He was quoted by ESA as saying, "Mythology, science and space exploration are subjects that have fascinated me since my early childhood. And they were always connected somehow with the music I write". In September 2016, the works were released as part of the new studio album Rosetta. In 2018, Vangelis composed an original score for Stephen Hawking's memorial. While Hawking's ashes were interred at Westminster Abbey, the music which backed Hawking's words were beamed by the ESA to the nearest black hole to Earth. It was a personal tribute by Vangelis, and a limited CD titled "The Stephen Hawking Tribute" was shared with the family and over 1,000 guests. On 25 January 2019, a new studio album, Nocturne: The Piano Album, was released which includes both new and old compositions played on a grand piano and were "inspired by night time, and by Vangelis's long held passion for space". However, Vangelis recalled he was kind of pressured by the record company to release it and include old compositions. In the same year, Vangelis wrote an electro orchestral score rooted in ethnic music for The Thread, a modern dance piece created by Russell Maliphant inspired by Greek mythology and Hellenic dances. and its CD & DVD was released in a special limited edition by Andromeda Music. On the Maliphant's project he also collaborated with fashion designer Mary Katrantzou for whom composed new music for her fashion shows. On 24 September 2021, Vangelis released Juno to Jupiter, his last studio album. It was inspired by NASA's Juno spacecraft, featuring the soprano Angela Gheorghiu on several tracks.

For a musician of his stature, very little is known about Vangelis' personal life; and he rarely gave interviews to journalists. Vangelis did not have children; in 2005, he was in his third long term relationship and said: "I couldn't take care of a child in the way I think it should be taken care of." A 1982 interview with Backstage suggests that Vangelis was previously married to Greek singer Vana Veroutis, who provided vocals for some of his records. Although a very private person, according to many accounts he was an "inordinately approachable", "really nice" and "humorous" man, who enjoyed long friendly gatherings, was fascinated by Ancient Greek philosophy, the science and physics of music and sound, and space exploration. Vangelis died of heart failure on 17 May 2022, at the age of 79, at a hospital in Paris. He was suffering from several health issues in the last couple of years and, according to some reports, died of COVID 19 complications.

The musical style of Vangelis is diverse; although he primarily used electronic music instruments, which characterize electronic music, his music has been described as a mixture of electronica, classical (his music was often symphonic), progressive rock, jazz (improvisations), avant garde/experimental, and world. Vangelis is sometimes categorized as a new age composer, Vangelis's music and compositions have also been described as "a distinctive sound with simple, repetitive yet memorable tunes against evocative rhythms and chord progressions." In an interview with Soundtrack, a music and film website, Vangelis talked about his compositional processes. For films, Vangelis stated that he would begin composing a score for a feature as soon as he had seen a rough cut of the footage. In addition to working with synthesizers and other electronic instruments, Vangelis also worked with and conducted orchestras. For example, in the Oliver Stone film Alexander, Vangelis conducted an orchestra that consisted of various classical instruments including sitars, percussion, finger cymbals, harps, and duduks. He explains his customary method of approach. As soon as the musical idea is there, as many keyboards as possible are connected to the control desk, which in turn are directly connected to the applicable tracks of the multi track machine. The idea now is to play as many keyboards as possible at the same time. That way, as broad a basis as possible develops, which only needs fine tuning. After that it's a question of adding things or leaving out things. While acknowledging that computers are "extremely helpful and amazing for a multitude of scientific areas", he described them as "insufficient and slow" for the immediate and spontaneous creation and, in terms of communication, "the worst thing that has happened for the performing musician". that the "music exists before we exist".

As a musician who always composed and played primarily on keyboards, Vangelis relied heavily on synthesizers and other electronic approaches to music, although his first instrument was the piano. He also played and used many acoustic and folk instruments when required

Both grand pianos, the Roland SH 3A and the Rhodes 88 were retained for Vangelis' active late 1970s and early 1980s setup, which also featured newer synthesizers by Yamaha (CS 40M and GS 1), ARP Instruments (Pro Soloist, 2500, Odyssey), Oberheim Electronics (TVS 1A, four and eight voice Polyphonic Synthesizers), Sequential Circuits (Prophet 5 and Prophet 10), Roland (Jupiter 4, ProMars Compuphonic and the modular Systems 101, 102, and 104), a Korg Polyphonic Ensemble, an RSF Kobol Black Box, and a MiniMoog. Other studio equipment during this period included the Solina String Ensemble and EKO Stradivarius string synthesizers; sequencers by ARP, Roland (CSQ 100 and CSQ 600), and Oberheim (DS 2); drum machines by Simmons (SDS V), Korg (KR 55, Mini Pops 120), Roland (CR 5000 Compurhythm), and Linn (LM 1); vocoders by EMS (Vocoder 1000) and Roland (VP 330 VocoderPlus Mk. I); and the Dubrecq Stylophone 350S. Vangelis also added a Crumar Compac piano and a Yamaha CP 80 to his piano set up. For the mid 1980s, Vangelis retained his Roland modular systems and ProMars Compuphonic synthesizers, but added the SH 101 and JX8 P models, and the MKS 80 Super Jupiter rack mount module, as well as a Yamaha GS 1. Other holdovers from previous active setups were the Fender Rhodes 88 and Yamaha CP 80, the MiniMoog, the Prophet 10, and the grand pianos. For drum machines, he retained the Linn LM 1 but added an LM 2 LinnDrum and an E mu SP 12; his chosen sequencers for this period were the Roland CSQ 600 and the ARP; and he upgraded to the Mk. II version of the Roland VP 330 VocoderPlus. Vangelis disliked programming oriented sampling devices like the Fairlight CMI (considering them to be too far removed from being relatable instruments) and remained unimpressed by many of the later commercial 1980s polysynths such as the Yamaha DX7; however, he did use the E mu Emulator sampler,

Vangelis' favourite keyboard was the Yamaha CS 80 polyphonic synthesizer, which he began using from 1977 and which allowed him to employ a distinctive and expressive vibrato technique by varying the pressure exerted on the key. He would use this instrument throughout the 1970s and 1980s to the point that its timbres, abilities, and idiosyncrasies became closely associated with his musical signature. In a 1984 interview, Vangelis described the CS 80 as "the most important synthesizer in my career – and for me the best analogue synthesizer design there has ever been It needs a lot of practice if you want to be able to play it properly, but that's because it's the only synthesizer I could describe as being a real instrument, mainly because of the keyboard — the way it's built and what you can do with it." In 1988, Vangelis closed Nemo Studio and embarked on the more nomadic lifestyle he would continue for the rest of his life, moving between homes and hotels in different countries according to whim and circumstance. For this, he made a drastic switch to a portable, all digital instrumental setup based around the Zyklus MIDI Performance System, which was first heard on his 1988 album Direct. For the last part of his career, Vangelis used a custom keyboard set up with built in volume and mixing pedal controls, enabling him to improvise, play, arrange, and orchestrate his music live without overdubbing or needing to move from one sitting position. This ensemble, and the set up he used for his irregular concert performances, appeared to be based around various Korg and Roland machines as well as the E mu Proteus rack module.

In 1989 Vangelis received the Max Steiner Award. France made him a Knight of the Order of the Arts and Letters in 1992 and promoted him to Commander in 2017, as well as Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2001. In 1993 he received the music award Apollo by Friends of the Athens National Opera Society. On 16 September 2013, he received the honour of appearing on the Greek 80 cent postage stamp, as part of a series of six distinguished living personalities of the Greek Diaspora. In May 2018 the University of Thessaly in Vangelis's hometown of Volos awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in electrical and computer engineering. The American Film Institute nominated Vangelis's scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire for their list of the 25 greatest film scores.