Vangelis - Mythodea - Live

Starring: Vangelis Dvd Release: 6th May, 2002 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Region 0 Encoding

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Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou better known as Vangelis is a world-renowned new age & electronic musician. His best known compositions are the Academy Award -winning 1981 theme to the movie Chariots of Fire & the entire score to Blade Runner. He also composed the anthem of Football World Cup 2002. Born in Volos, Greece, Vangelis began composing when he was 4 years old & is largely a self-taught musician. He refused to take traditional piano lessons & throughout his career he did not have substantial knowledge of reading or writing musical notation. He studied classical music, painting & film direction at the Academy of Fine Arts in Athens. In the early 1960s he formed the pop group Forminx, which became very popular in Greece. During the student riots in 1968 he moved to Paris & formed progressive rock band Aphrodites Child with Demis Roussos & Loukas Sideras. They had a hit single in Europe called Rain & Tears. The group was disbanded in 1972, although Roussos made several appearances on Vangelis later work.

For radio or television programs that are broadcast in real time, rather than being recorded & broadcast at a later date, see Broadcasting#Recorded or live & live television. Live is also used in jargon references for objects under voltage. For the transcendental concept you may be looking for life as in being biologically animate or alive. Live is the name of an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania. The band Live is comprised of Ed Kowalczyk Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer & Chad Gracey. The original name of the band was First Aid, formed in the early 1980s. Several name changes followed, including Public Affection, under which they released The Death of a Dictionary. After a series of unsuccessful attempts at cracking the music business, the group recruited Jerry Harrison to produce Mental Jewelry, an album based on the writings of J Krishnamurti, an Indian philosopher. Live established a following & returned with Throwing Copper which was also popular, pushed by the success of singles Selling the Drama, I Alone & Lightning Crashes.

Stunning ! I got this about a week ago now & have played it through every evening since then,and Im still held spellbound by the sound & spectacle of it all.

Vangeliss music was the my first audio love in my teenage years & now as I approach 40 years old,when Classical music is my main preoccupation,this virtual "choral symphony" from the master is truly a marriage made in Heaven,as far as Im concerned.

The concert setting of the Temple of Zeus in Athens could not be more atmospheric if it tried & those cosmic & Hellenic artefact images projected onto the backdrop are superbly integrated with the music.

Aside from the man himself dominating centre stage at a most imposing keyboard "altar",the other forces involved are the London Metropolitan Orchestra ,two timpani ensembles & two sopranos .All these brilliant performers are held on a tight rein by the slim,dapper figure of the conductor Blake Neely who is a most charismatic figure on the podium & his baton seems more akin to a magic wand at times,the way it appears to conjure up musical enchantment at will.

If you come to this work as an established fan of Vangelis,but with no real experience of the classical repertoire;you may struggle to fully appreciate what is so wonderfully achieved here.Although not derivative of any single composers work,I do hear echoes of Haydn in such things as the magnificent "sunrise" crescendo that deservedly gets a standing ovation from the audience.Also,the very fine string & woodwind parts summon up the ghosts of Mozart & Berlioz at times.The ravishing soprano aria executed so perfectly by Jessye Norman in movement 6 has echoes of such sacred gems as Schuberts "Ave Maria" & indeed Mythodea as a whole has a very spiritual feel about it,and shorn of the Mars connection could easily be perceived as a modern oratorio in every respect.I wonder,could the great man ever be persuaded to set the text of the Latin Mass ? There is a libretto that would fully exploit his talent to the utmost & on the merits of this outing he would no doubt make a fantastic job of it.Heres hoping !

Whatever your background or taste in music,I strongly urge you to buy this DVD immediately.In terms of artistic & production values it has set a benchmark that I dont expect to see surpassed anytime soon,and it is wonderful to finally see in action one of the most exciting composers that the planet Earth can boast in the 21st Century.

P.S:The single encore is marvellous & the shout of recognition that goes up as those oh-so familiar horn motifs sound out is magical .

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