When it comes to film composers, Evanghelos Odyssey Papthanassiou, better know simply as Vangelis, is one of the more unusual. Where most composers write for huge orchestras (here’s looking at you, Hans Zimmer), Vangelis sits behind his huge banks of synths creating beautifully elegant and purely electronic pieces. While in Aphrodite’s Child, Vangelis started to become involved in other projects including early scores for short films and also recording a number of solo electronic albums (he also released material under the name Odyssey and worked with Yes singer Jon Anderson), but it was one of his scores to wildlife documentaries, Opera Sauvage, that brought him to the attention of some of the worlds top film makers and lead to his work on Chariots Of Fire (1981). A period piece where an electronic score shouldn’t have worked, Vangelis won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, and the opening theme of the movie – still a hummable classic – topped both the UK and US charts. His work on Blade Runner is one of the best examples of underscoring in the history of cinema, never intruding upon the film while perfectly representing the themes present within the narrative. And while it took twelve years for the score to be released officially, following a disagreement with the studio, its impact upon electronic performers such as Air and Aphex Twin (and many others) cannot be doubted. Vangelis went onto work with Ridley Scott again on 1492: Conquest Of Paradise and Oliver Stone’s ill-fated Alexander. But with the re-issue of the Blade Runner score as a three disc set (featuring unreleased pieces and a new album of music inspired by it), it will surely prove to be his greatest work. Essential listening:* Aphrodite’s Child: 666* Odyssey: The Definitive Collection* Vangelis: China* Chariots of Fire Original Score* Blade Runner Original Score: 3 disc box set
