1492: Conquest of Paradise (album)
| 1492: Conquest of Paradise | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by Vangelis | ||||
| Released | February 14, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Instrumental, Electronic | |||
| Length | 54:44 | |||
| Label | Atlantic/WEA | |||
| Producer | Vangelis | |||
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| Singles from 1492: Conquest of Paradise | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
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Alternate album cover
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Sputnikmusic | |
1492: Conquest of Paradise is a 1992 music score by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. The film, a recount of the voyage to America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, was directed by Ridley Scott, for whom Vangelis had previously composed the music score for Blade Runner, in 1982. The album and the single "Conquest of Paradise" enjoyed a revival in 1995 for various reasons and broke many sales records.
Due to the soundtrack's success, Vangelis won Echo Award as "International Artist Of The Year", and RTL Golden Lion Award for the "Best Title Theme for a TV Film or a Series" in 1996. At the 50th Golden Globe Awards was nominated for the Best Original Score - Motion Picture.
A number of pieces can be identified in the film, but it is clear that Scott preferred "Hispañola" (track 9) to set the tone of the film, rather than "Conquest of Paradise" (track 2).
The CD was released in each market with one of two different covers.
A Single disc was released with four tracks, two of which were not included in the album:
On this soundtrack, Vangelis plays together with a number of performers, including two Flamenco guitarists and vocalists, violin, mandolin and flutes. As on a number of previous albums by Vangelis, the English Chamber Choir, directed by Guy Protheroe, performs the choral parts.
The sound engineering was done by Philippe Colonna and coordination by French musician Frederick Rousseau (also known for his collaborations with Jean Michel Jarre), who has been Vangelis's studio partner since the 1980s till the recording of the Alexander soundtrack.
Vangelis plays all synthesizers, using mainly string patches but also several ethnic ones, to reflect the character of the film, and electric piano and harp patches. Some calmer, atmospheric pieces (tracks 3, 7, 11 and 12) are entirely performed by Vangelis, using pianos, strings and harp.
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Wikipedia