Sony Classical

Arranged and Produced by Vangelis

Conducted by Blake Neely

Performed by The London Metropolitan Orchestra and The National Opera Choir of Greece

Release Date: 2001

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     My experience with the work of Evangelos Papathanassiou (Vangelis) is limited to hearing the theme from Chariots of Fire countless times in a variety of locations, along with his haunting electronic core to the Ridley Scott film, Blade Runner. So far my impression has been favorable and his is one of the few styles of electronic composing that I actually enjoy. His latest work, Mythodea, is a concert piece composed for the media campaign advertising NASA’s latest projects involving Mars, including a chemical mapping probe that, barring any unforeseen event, should have arrived in orbit in late October, and followed by two Mars Exploration Rovers in 2004.

     While Vangelis never abandons his synthesizers, he does utilize the talents of The London Metropolitan Orchestra that provides the extra power that electronics seldom duplicate. And Vangelis makes use of that power in a big way. The Introduction starts off slowly and quietly enough, building itself up at a slow pace, but the opening clash of the piece’s first movement quickly kick everything into overdrive. The orchestra takes over the opening synth music with tremendous force and doesn’t let up until the end of the movement. The National Opera of Greece Choir provides even more power on top of that with some absolutely stunning chorus work in a style that is slightly reminiscent of John Williams Duel of the Fates (though in intensity only). While the orchestra simply goes through the same motions over and over again, it is the chorus that keeps things interesting. There are a few breaks in the piece where the music kicks into a reference from Holst’s The Planets (can you guess which one?), and while you can see those moments coming a mile away, they still manage to please.

     The rest of the movements never achieve the same level of ferociousness, and instead rely on some excellent choral work to drive them. The orchestra section is really quite bland and the electronics just seem to be there to provide some background atmospheric effects. Without any noticeable thematic development, Mythodea just seems to exist on its own from track-to-track with no thought to the overall point or message of the piece. The choral pieces are really what keep the music from becoming totally bland and lifeless. Even then, it is mostly the expert solo performances that keep things interesting as the really heavy choral moments practically disappear except for the very last track.

     The sound quality is excellent and the Olympian Temple of Zeus in Athens provides for some very vibrant acoustics. The linear notes provide some good information concerning Vangelis and the NASA Mars mission, but nothing that details the motivation behind the piece or any specific information about the subject matter of the movements (if there is one).

     This is a good concert piece, but having more semblance of purpose or story would have made it so much better. Despite the less-than-stellar composition/orchestration this album does have its moments and Vangelis fans are sure to be pleased in some way. Other than the opening movement, the album is a fairly moderate and pleasant listen and for that alone you really can’t go wrong with this one. ***1/2

 

1 - Introduction (2:43)

2 - Movement 1 (5:41)

3 - Movement 2 (5:39)

4 - Movement 3 (5:51)

5 - Movement 4 (13:42)

6 - Movement 5 (6:35)

 

 

7 - Movement 6 (6:27)

8 - Movement 7 (4:58)

9 - Movement 8 (3:07)

10 - Movement 9 (5:00)

11 - Movement 10 (3:03)