|
|
1492: Conquest of Paradise
|
|
|
Composed, Arranged, Produced and Performed by:
Vangelis
Ensemble Vocals by:
The English Chamber Choir
|
|
LABEL & RELEASE DATE
| |
|
|
ALBUM AVAILABILITY
| |
Regular U.S. release. A European album contains two extra score tracks.
|
|
AWARDS
| |
Nominated for a Golden Globe.
|
|
ALSO SEE
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Buy it... if, obviously, you consider yourself any basic kind of
Vangelis enthusiast or if you're a fan of new age albums in the style of
the group Engima's early 1990's material.
Avoid it... if you expect to be convinced in any way that Vangelis'
style is true to the settings of the 15th Century.
BUY IT
 | Vangelis |
1492: Conquest of Paradise: (Vangelis) In the rush
to release films marking the 500-year anniversary of Christopher
Columbus' discovery of the New World, director Ridley Scott's 1492:
Conquest of Paradise succeeded Christopher Columbus: The
Discovery by a short while and is considered the vastly superior
production. His examination of Columbus is far more rooted in the facts
of the man's life, aided in their well-researched presentation by
screenwriter Roselyne Bosch. The film explores both the magnificent
heights of the man's discovery of the Americas, as well as the tragic
betrayals, a final bittersweet return to America, and the dictation of
his memoirs before his death. Scott collaborated famously with Greek
classical and new age composer Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou, known
to the world as Vangelis, for both Bladerunner and 1492:
Conquest of Paradise, alternating between and eventually choosing
Hans Zimmer as his later provider of music. Some have argued that
Zimmer's electronically-laced music for Scott's films like
Gladiator owe some inspiration to Vangelis, though Zimmer has far
more obvious sources that have been documented to even the halls of the
courts of law. The scores for Bladerunner and 1492: Conquest
of Paradise are both cult classics in a sub-genre of the film
score-collecting world, fueled by the extremely wide following of
Vangelis, especially in his native Europe. It's hard to argue with the
effectiveness of music for Bladerunner in the context of its
film, for the future seems to be a remarkably apt pairing for Vangelis'
style of composition and synthetic rendering. The past, however, is an
entirely different issue, and while 1492: Conquest of Paradise is
a far superior score in its beauty and presentation than
Bladerunner, it's a simply terrible distraction within most of
the film itself. Despite the score's Golden Globe nomination, critics
slammed Vangelis' score almost as uniformly as they would for Oliver
Stone's Alexander a dozen years later (despite, once again, an
outstanding standalone piece of music written by Vangelis).
Even famed critic Roger Ebert, who only comments on the
scores in the rare occasion that they actually make a significant impact
on the films he watches, said of 1492: Conquest of Paradise:
"Scott's version is particularly handicapped by a score by Vangelis
which alternates between breathless angelic choirs and brooding jungle
music. The soundtrack instructs us what to think about many of the
shots; the quasi-ecclesiastical strains seem to suggest the church will
indeed save many souls in the New World, while the Indian theme suggests
that these simple forest people were already well on the way to
inventing New Age music." All funny sarcasm aside, Scott indeed was in
search of a non-traditional score when he hired Vangelis for the
project. He wanted Vangelis to provide him with "something which is both
appropriate for the period and is also contemporary." Vangelis did, at
least, make an attempt to address the "period" side of that equation. As
usual, he performs most of the score himself, using his rich array of
synthetic effects and electronic keyboarding in a distinctly new age
fashion. But he adds a handful of soloists to his ensemble (for the
period), including roles for Spanish guitar, mandolin, violin, and a
variety of flutes. The biggest impact is made by the massive vocal tones
of the English Chamber Choir, for whom Vangelis writes a complex role.
He alternates the male and female voices and very well employs only
portions of the group for various cues, although the more memorable
usage, of course, comes from the full ensemble chants and wordless
crescendos. The chants specifically are performed without any particular
language in mind; most of what the ensemble vocalizes is a gibberish
form of pseudo-Latin. When all of these parts of Vangelis' ensemble are
put together, he creates a lovely and balanced presentation that
emphasizes each part well. The mix of the recording is, as usual for
Vangelis' works of this size from the last two decades, extremely wet.
That echoing atmosphere extends the score further into new age territory
and, with the normal lack of abundant subtleties in Vangelis'
constructs, helps to hide the simplicity of the music be making it sound
harmoniously overwhelming.
Like his later score for Alexander, Vangelis'
1492: Conquest of Paradise is dominated by one spectacular,
primary theme and populated later by lyrical motifs that share more in
tone and performance style than they do in actual structure. The theme
this time around is the rhythmic choral piece in "Conquest of Paradise,"
an intoxicatingly infectious, harmonious chant that builds in intensity
to a few frenzied and victorious synthetic interludes that raise the
same positive spirit as the composer's famed theme for Chariots of
Fire. This cue, heard over the end credits of the film, is easily
among the highlights of 1992, and alone it sold countless albums with
its cross-over similarities to the music of popular new age group Enigma
at the time. Like Vangelis' other popular scores, however, he would fail
to adapt this theme very well into the remainder of the score.
Development and reprise of thematic ideas has never been his
inclination, and of the major cues in this score, only "Twenty Eighth
Parallel" elaborates on this title theme. The remainder of 1492:
Conquest of Paradise is far more consistent than Alexander
would be, and while that would produce a better listening experience on
album, it would absolutely cripple the music in the film. For most
listeners, the album for this score plays like a standard new age
product, each cue providing a new exploration of the same general sound.
In the film, however, the score throws aside the concept of
synchronization points and often disregards changes of camera angle or
scene in favor of long and continuous development of one musical idea,
even if the changing visuals on screen are too disparate to use the same
cue. It is "stream of consciousness" music in its most beautiful
incarnation, and Scott and Vangelis obviously intended for that stream
to act as a free-floating element of discovery in the film. Fortunately
for them, nearly every listener of the music (or reader of this review,
for that matter), will only be concerned with the music as heard apart
from the visuals, so a stunning album is all that matters. As a
standalone experience, 1492: Conquest of Paradise is arguably
Vangelis' most powerful and gorgeous work.
There are very few detractions on the commercial album
for 1492: Conquest of Paradise. Despite significant hardship in
the film, ranging from introspective tragedy to a massive hurricane,
Vangelis' score only marginally reflects these troubled waters. The
presentation on album is passive until "Hispanola" (which still finishes
with a lovely flourish of harmonious tones) and "Moxica and the Horse,"
which seems like a failed attempt to truly address the musical needs of
the indigenous cultures. Outside of the title track's thematic
highlight, the score's best moments are the immediately following
"Monastery of la Rabida," which hauntingly introduces the religious element
into the score, and "Twenty Eighth Parallel," which soothingly conveys the
title theme with Vangelis' elegant touch at the keyboard. A resolute
choral progression in "Light and Shadow" is one of the score's more
ambitious moments, alternating between stark chanting and lyrical
performances by the full choir while moving relentlessly forward with
forbidding percussion. The solo flute mix in this cue is outstanding. A
choral crescendo in the latter half of "Deliverance" is frightfully
gripping. A somewhat flimsy expression of native rhythm at the outset of
"Eternity" is gradually overtaken with a pretty, electronic and choral
interlude that would also be thrown onto the last minute of the album
for good measure (after a lengthy cue in "Pinta, Nina, Santa Maria" that
would play to some slight rock rhythms for all of the players and
singers). That album be a disappointment for many of the biggest fans of
the score, for its contents, while mixed quite well for a limited
55-minute presentation, are missing some of the score's more varied
moments. International releases of Vangelis' score would include two
additional, short cues, but it would only be a matter of time before
full 2-CD bootlegs would arise on the secondary market. Unfortunately,
these initial bootlegs featured poor sound quality and sound effects
from the film in parts. There is no doubt that 1492: Conquest of
Paradise deserves an extended treatment on album, but that appeal
exists because of the score's great merits on its own. Its role in the
film remains, sadly, a misfire. @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: **
- Music as Heard on Album: *****
- Overall: ****
So good David Lounsberry - November 13, 2008, at 12:20 p.m. |
1 comment (2756 views) |
Rip-off !! Expand >> roybatty - March 4, 2007, at 9:39 a.m. |
2 comments (4834 views) Newest: November 21, 2009, at 4:22 a.m. by Edmund Meinerts |
vangelis nashaat morgan - December 26, 2005, at 6:12 p.m. |
1 comment (2771 views) |
Total Time: 54:50
1. Opening (1:21)
2. Conquest of Paradise (4:47)
3. Monastery of La Rabida (3:39)
4. City of Isabel (2:16)
5. Light and Shadow (3:46)
6. Deliverance (3:28)
|
7. West Across the Ocean Sea (2:53)
8. Eternity (1:59)
9. Hispanola (4:56)
10. Moxica and the Horse (7:06)
11. Twenty Eighth Parallel (5:14)
12. Pinta, Nina, Santa Maria (Into Eternity) (13:19)
|
The insert includes notes about both the film and the score. It also features a
menacing, downright evil (and almost humorous) picture of Vangelis adjacent to those notes.
|