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From Facebook:
New Vangelis movie score: "Le Crépuscule des Ombres"
Some good news here! There will be a new original score by Vangelis to look forward to. Vangelis has composed the music for an upcoming French Algerian movie with the title "Le Crépuscule des Ombres".
Sources close to Vangelis confirm his part in the project. The score is entirely performed by Vangelis on his synthesizers.
The movie sees Algerian director Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina return to the art of movie production and direction after almost 30 years. He is one of the foremost names in Arabic cinema and is most well known for his epic "Chronique des années de braise" (Chronicle of the Years of Fire / Chronicle Of The Years Of Ember) about the Algerian war of independence, which won a Palme d’Or in 1975.
The story is said to deal with Algeria's struggle for freedom and independence from France in the last century.
Some patience will be needed, as these are fresh developments. Check back for more details here, when they become available.
Source: Elsew.com
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Posted: |
Jun 17, 2015 - 4:53 PM
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By: |
Washu
(Member)
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Reports on Vangelis' new original score for "Crépuscule Des Ombres" (posted: February 26, 2015).
Yesterday marked the first occasion in Western Europe to view a public screening of the latest Vangelis scored movie: The French Algerian co-production of "Crépuscule Des Ombres" at the Film Festival in the Belgian city of Mons.
Here follow the first two reports we received on this event:
Great variety of Vangelis music
Yesterday I was in the lucky position to attend the screening of Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina's new movie. Although not completely sold out, Lakhdar-Hamina faced a well filled audience when he introduced his work.
The music.... "Crépuscule Des Ombres" contains plenty of Vangelis music, all of it new. Some of it reminds a bit of Vangelis' improvisational style we've heard from the "El Greco" score (2007) and "Chariots of Fire - The Play" (2012). For other scenes it feels like Vangelis went further back in time, to earlier films like "1492: Conquest of Paradise", "Francesco", or "The Bounty".
After a short title sequence played on harp and strings, there is no music for the first 10 or 15 minutes, but once the music starts it never leaves the film unattended. Much of the score feels improvisational and in the background, while there are passages when the music comes to the foreground, at moments where the drama requires this. One memorable piece of music that comes back several times throughout the film is iconic-ally Vangelis: it features a throbbing bass line and a captivating riff that only Vangelis can create. During the movie's end credits Vangelis takes this theme and builds it into a full blown version. It is a truly satisfying moment to hear a Vangelis track like this in its entirety, full of vigor and so distinctly Vangelis.
The mixing of the score is fantastic and it to be commended, the mix feels detailed and wide, probably the best sounding production I've heard since the El Greco score or even Oliver Stone's Alexander.
I know this is stating the obvious, but cliches are often true: This Vangelis score really needs a release!
- A fan from Belgium
Review of the OST of "Le Crépuscule des Ombres", presented at the "Festival du film d’amour de Mons" (Belgium, 25 February 2015):
In his introductory speech Algerian director Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina – a very young man of 85 ! - emphasized the fact that a film is a total art production, benefiting from various talents and artistic disciplines from poetry to photography. What I can say is that Vangelis really gave the best of his art to this daring film. Without the music, the film is already very powerful, makes you think deeply about the oppression of man against man – in this case in context of the independence Algerian war - and benefits from exceptional photography (of the Algerian desert in particular). It is also a philosophical tale about tolerance and violence, freedom and faith. But with the music, it takes yet another level of significance and becomes truly humanistic and universal, beyond the Algerian context.
Just let me say that this is IMO one of the very best of all the soundtracks that Vangelis has composed in his whole career. It is also one of his most diverse works with echoes from his 1980s electronic sound, elegantly mixed with oriental/Arabic style – the sound of the lute is recurring here - and his now trademark symphonic way of playing the synths. The music is not omnipresent, but when there is music, it always plays a prominent role in the story and is very often mixed in the foreground. In this respect the soundtrack of Le Crépuscule differs from other recent Vangelis works for movies, such as El Greco or the score in Trashed. There is not one single "hit" theme (although the end theme is not easy to put out of your mind once you have heard it: see infra), but a huge variety of inspired pieces.
Here follow my main impressions after having attended the Belgian premiere of the film at the "Festival du film d’amour de Mons" on the 25th of February 2015.
First it is noticeable that there are no opening titles. You are directly projected in the Algerian desert of the early 1940s. Then after a few minutes a typical modal melody on the harp comes (think the harp themes in Alexander or El Greco OST), underlying the kind atmosphere in which the hero (Khaled) grew up, before the violence he will know in his adult life. Variation on this harp theme and/or different harp melodies comes back a few times during the movie. Vangelis also uses some glissandi effects (like he did in 1492) to punctuate some of the action.
Harp music aside, I would distinguish between four main types of music Vangelis has composed for Le Crépuscule:
1) Symphonic music. In his now traditional semi-symphonic style, Vangelis has written i.a. a very moving and lyrical theme (for a flash-back sequence where one of the French protagonists remembers his past violent actions in Indochine), a percussion-based martial piece (think Mythodea or opening title for Trashed), as well as some orchestral staccato sequences for moments of great tension (an attack against an Algerian village e.g.). The moving final scene of the movie is also written in a sumptuous symphonic style (see infra).
2) Melancholic pieces for solo instruments, including a beautiful theme on the clarinet, but also some "solo" pieces for flute and duduk.
3) Arabic/oriental music: a nice improvised piece for lute particularly caught my attention. The sounds of the lute comes back a few times in different musical contexts and particularly in a rythmic recurring sequence, through a very simple but effective (as usual with Vangelis) melody. The lute obviously connotes the Arabic cultural background of Algeria.
4) Electronic synthesizer music. I was very surprised to suddenly hear the famous bass sequence we all know from the Bounty (opening title), but then the piece evolves in a different direction while maintaining the synth bass. I would not have thought that Vangelis would come back to this kind of sonic palette in 2015 but he does here, and it works. The bass sound is used in other pieces during the movie, but following the harmonic progression (and not in a « basso continuo » way). The end titles of the movie are of an electronic kind too (see infra).
Finally I have to underline the importance of the music during the last minutes of the movie. Firstly, the last scene – and a terribly moving one, although I do not want to spoil its power in this review – is devoid of any dialogue: it is only picture and music. And what a music. After a liturgical introduction – including choir - Vangelis progressively constructs an impressive and very dark orchestral tutti. When the orchestra is at its most powerful, he then adds a tragic melody on the church organ leading the movie to its end. And then follows the end credits with the end theme. Here you can find the quasi-industrial percussive sequence which was already in the trailer for the movie, underlying the lute minimalist motiv we already heard a few times during the film (with some developments though). Heavily reverberated percussions (think opening sequence in Blade Runner) are added on the top of it, as well as Arabic chanting, orchestral melodies, but also some synthesizer soloing. A very original and haunting piece, not in his most usual style, and a very effective way to conclude the score. A score which definitively deserves a proper release.
- Marc Vanholsbeeck
Source: http://elsew.com/data/latest.htm
I wonder if we will ever get to hear this.
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Vangelis made so many great scores the last couple of years, (i read!) with all magnificent and great projects but non of them with a few exceptions had a proper release with new stuff on it, we only get old music and in unlimited supply.
The Holly Johnson's track "Europa" is one exception, which is available.
Vangelis alone can help Greece back on its feet again if a lot of those new music projects and Missing, 1492, Alexander and Blade Runner will have a proper release.
Wow, had no idea about that Johnson/Vangelis collaboration.
Great stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emILL8NcxpA
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Its old news but really its almost scandalous how little Vangelis releases these days considering how much music is sitting in the vaults. I've always maintained he could release one disc a year with proceeds to charity and do plenty of good for those in need. Hell he could do serious good for those in need just in his own country.
Imagine if he formed a Vangelis charitable Foundation and financed it by releasing his music. Maybe its not realistic but I'd like to hear why.
Best we assume he's retired now. He never released music for his fans anyway, it was just for money and he doesn't need to do that these days.
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