Vangelis: Music of the Past & Future
There are two film scores for which Vangelis is famous. The first is often used as a sitcom punchline – the theme from Chariots of Fire. The second is typically referred to reverently and considered one of the most important pieces of electronic music ever recorded: the score for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
I discovered Vangelis through watching Blade Runner and started recognizing his name on vinyl records when digging through bins. I took home Opera Sauvage and See You Later in high school and they are still two of my favorite albums in my collection.
His music is a bridge between the punchy notes of Wendy Carlos’ soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange into a more ambient form of electronic music; a precursor to Air’s Moon Safari or “aisatsana [102]” by Aphex Twin. While the Clockwork Orange soundtrack reimagines classical pieces written for piano or strings on electronic instruments, Vangelis uses the rules of classical composition to create pieces with synthesizers as the ideal instrument.
Much of his music has a spacey vibe and some of his songs were used for Carl Sagan’s Cosmos TV series. Vangelis has been quite prolific, with a long discography that explores various styles and instruments but carries his fingerprint.
To hear Vangelis at his best, check out “Memories of Green” from Blade Runner.
