Post by jdv on May 23, 2022 15:43:39 GMT -5
Vangelis, one of the great film composers of all time has passed away in France at age 79.
Although he did not score many films, the ones he did were made immeasurably better by his music.
He's certainly most famous - and rightly so - for his score to CHARIOTS OF FIRE, which is in the top 10 of all scores ever. I literally just heard the title track on a pop radio station last week - an amazing thing considering a) it's an instrumental, and b) from 40 plus years ago.
That score is simply an incredible achievement.
His score for BLADE RUNNER comes in at a close second. He also provided music for THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, a forgotten gem of a film. His music from his album HEAVEN & HELL was heavily used in Carl Sagan's COSMOS, including for the theme of the show.
Self taught, he could not read music and thought of himself almost as a scientist, claiming that music is the language of the universe. He was by all accounts a righteous dude who perhaps more than any other human, legitimized the used of synths as "real" instruments.
There are a very few people who I wish I could have met and/or worked with, and he's right at the top of the list.
RIP genius
