Vangelis—the composer who scored Blade Runner, Chariots of Hearth, and plenty of different movies—has died, Reuters reviews, citing the Athens Information Company. A explanation for loss of life was not revealed. In line with The Related Press, the musician died at a French hospital. Vangelis was 79 years outdated.
Born Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, Vangelis was largely a self-taught musician. He discovered success in Greek rock bands such because the Forminx and Aphrodite’s Baby—the latter of which bought over 2 million copies earlier than disbanding in 1972. One among his earliest movie scores, written whereas he was nonetheless in Aphrodite’s Baby, was for a French nature documentary known as L’Apocalypse des animaux.
An innovator in digital music, Vangelis is arguably greatest recognized for his work on Chariots of Hearth and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. It was famous by many upon the discharge of the Harrison Ford–starring movie that Vangelis’ rating was as necessary a element as Ford’s character Rick Deckard in bringing the futuristic noir movie to life. Years on, it’s thought of by many to be an indicator within the chronology of digital music.
Vangelis’ work on Chariots of Hearth earned him the 1981 Academy Award for Greatest Unique Rating. The soundtrack album additionally reached the highest of the Billboard 200 albums chart in April 1982. The movie’s opening theme—known as “Titles” on the soundtrack album—topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 the next month. The theme has featured typically on the Olympic Video games.
In 1973, Vangelis began his solo profession along with his debut album Fais que ton rêve soit plus lengthy que la nuit (Make Your Dream Final Longer Than the Night time). Throughout the ’70s, he was extensively rumored to affix the prog-rock band Sure, following the departure of keyboardist Rick Wakeman. After rehearsing with them for months, Vangelis declined to affix the group. He and Sure lead vocalist Jon Anderson reunited later within the ’80s, and so they went on to launch a number of albums collectively as Jon & Vangelis.
Vangelis launched his remaining studio album, Juno to Jupiter, in September 2021 by way of Decca. The document was impressed by the mission of NASA’s Juno spacecraft and featured soprano Angela Gheorghiu.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s prime minister, eulogized Vangelis on Twitter. “Vangelis Papathanassíou is not with us. For the entire world, the unhappy information states that the world music agency has misplaced the worldwide Vangelis. The protagonist of digital sound, the Oscars, the Fable and the nice hits,” he wrote, in accordance with the positioning’s translation. “For us Greeks, nevertheless, figuring out that his second title was Odysseus, implies that he started his lengthy journey within the Roads of Hearth. From there he’ll at all times ship us his notes.”
