After having taken piano lessons, Vangelis began his professional musical career working with several popular bands of the 1960s such as the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child, with the latter's album 666 going on to be recognized as a psychedelic classic. Throughout the 1970s, Vangelis composed music scores for several animal documentaries, including L'Apocalypse des Animaux, La Fête sauvage and Opéra sauvage; the success of these scores brought him into the film scoring mainstream. In the early 1980s, Vangelis formed a musical partnership with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of progressive rock band Yes, and the duo went on to release several albums together as Jon & Vangelis.
In 1981, he composed the score for the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The soundtrack's single, the film's "Titles" theme, also reached the top of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and was used as the background music at the London 2012 Olympics winners' medal presentation ceremonies. Vangelis also received acclaim for his synthesizer-based soundtrack for the 1982 film Blade Runner.
Having had a career in music spanning over 70 years and having composed and performed more than 50 albums, Vangelis is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of electronic music.
Vangelis was born 29 March 1943, in Agria, near Volos, Greece. Largely a self-taught musician, he reportedly began composing at the age of three. His earliest memory is "playing piano, some percussion and whatever else that was available that made a noise. Right from the start, I was only interested in playing my own music". He refused to take traditional piano lessons, and throughout his career did not have substantial knowledge of reading or writing musical notation. When he was six, Vangelis's parents enrolled him at a specialist music school in Athens. He recalls "I was lucky not to go because music schools close doors rather than open them". He studied painting, an art he still practices, at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
In 1989 received Max Steiner Award. France made Vangelis a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1992 and promoted to Commander in 2017, as well Chevalier de la Legion d’ Honneur in 2001. In 1993 received music award Apollo by Friends of the Athens National Opera Society. In 1995, Vangelis had a minor planet named after him (6354 Vangelis) by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; the name was proposed by the MPC's co-director, Gareth V. Williams, rather than by the object's original discoverer, Eugène Joseph Delporte, who died in 1955, long before the 1934 discovery could be confirmed by observations made in 1990. In 1996 and 1997 was awarded at World Music Awards.
NASA conferred their Public Service Medal to Vangelis in 2003. The award is the highest honour the space agency presents to an individual not involved with the American government. Five years later, in 2008, the board of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens voted to make Vangelis an Honorary Doctor, making him Professor Emeritus at their Faculty of Primary Education. In June 2008, the American Hellenic Institute honoured Vangelis with an AHI Hellenic Heritage Achievement Award for his "exceptional artistic achievements" as a pioneer in electronic music and for his lifelong dedication to the promotion of Hellenism through the arts. On 16 September 2013, he received the honour of appearing on the Greek 80 cent postage stamp, as part of a series of six distinguished living personalities of the Greek Diaspora.
Italian Song
Vangelis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh ma la oh oh me giova oh,
pe dolae già po va po;
e sha me co oh me gioma ah,
pæ dü le pa tus dac.
E la fongo oh te de van,
pe a su mon ah tu na.
Oh de salai tu ghe,
mani tünai oh ye.
Oh nià pa eh eh padè pa nar,
oh da ne pe se do oh;
e cha la co na cha me pa de,
sar male giac ef ma. [interlude]
E ma pa co oh te do la ah,
cas do le pa ta..
.. pa.
The lyrics to Vangelis's Italian Song are nonsensical phrases set to a melody that is reminiscent of Italian or Mediterranean music. The words are mostly syllables and sounds strung together in a way that sounds melodic and pleasing, but do not have any substantial meaning. The song feels like a playful and light-hearted piece of music, with its fast-paced rhythm and catchy tune.
In trying to find meaning in the words, it's possible to imagine that they are intended to be Italian words that have been mangled or misspoken by a non-native speaker. The words "pe dolae" might be taken as "per dolce" - meaning "for sweet" or "for dessert" in Italian. "E la fongo" could be "e la fonda" - meaning "and the depth" or "and the foundation". Other words and phrases may have similar origins, but it's likely that the meaning of the song is meant to be more about the feeling it evokes than the actual lyrics themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh ma la oh oh me giova oh
I feel enthusiastic when thinking about this
pe dolae già po va po
because it reminds me of happy times
e sha me co oh me gioma ah
I am moved by the memories this brings
pæ dü le pa tus dac
and I can't help but dance to it
E la fongo oh te de van
It's a passionate song that connects deeply with me
pe a su mon ah tu na
and inspires me to dream big
Oh de salai tu ghe
Oh, how much I miss you
mani tünai oh ye
I wish you were here with me
Oh nià pa eh eh padè pa nar
I can't help but sing along
oh da ne pe se do oh
as the melody takes me back in time
e cha la co na cha me pa de
It's a beautiful moment that I don't want to end
sar male giac ef ma
because I know I'll feel sad when it's over
E ma pa co oh te do la ah
This song brings me so much joy
cas do le pa ta.. .. pa.
and I could listen to it all day long
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EVANGELOS PAPATHANASSIOU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tvboxlaplata8407
Oh ma la oh oh me giova oh,
pe dolae già po va po;
e sha me co oh me gioma ah,
pæ dü le pa tus dac.
E la fongo oh te de van,
pe a su mon ah tu na.
Oh de salai tu ghe,
mani tünai oh ye.
Oh nià pa eh eh padè pa nar,
oh da ne pe se do oh;
e…
@jamesn595
RIP Vangelis. Your music will resound through the ages.
@carolina-qp3cu
the best duo of the world.
@carolina-qp3cu
Cancion super dulce.Voy a extrañar a ese genio de Vangelis....😪
@NJTDover
Brings tears and happiness to my soul ... simply out of this galaxy. Jon's face irradiates blissfulness.
@ImGinaMarie
I requested this song to be played when my youngest son was born, and so it was. It was his fathers and mine most cherished song.. he was a singer and musician. Unfortunately, we have since divorced. Today his father lies dying of cancer with what will be his last father's day. This song could simply not have more meaning to me than a song of souls. He is the only man who has ever loved me. Songs like this don't just happen to command your soul, without reason. 💔🙏 Thank you Jon & Vangelis for sharing true beauty!
@marciebalme588
Nicely said
@luciferianognostico2866
Mayo de 2022. Deja el planeta Tierra el gran músico Vangelis, sin lugar a dudas de los mejores músicos que entrega el último siglo.
@paulvalletta01
The beautiful experience that is Jon & Vangelis, nothing more need be said.
@tonydumas2463
Yes, so very true!!
@marcosorlandovita4514
This music is heaven !!!! Bless you Jon, stay healthy and safe, cheers