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 FΓͺte sauvage and OpΓ©ra 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 dβ 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, EugΓ¨ne 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.
dawn
Vangelis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
-"Is the city open?" [voice of Roman Polanski]
-"c'est beau Romain, c'est beau" [voice of Emanuelle Seigner]
-"Are there any morning-papers yet?" [voice of Roman Polanski]
-"Too early"
-"Thanks"
[footsteps fading]
The opening lines in Vangelis's song "Dawn" featuring the voices of Roman Polanski and Emanuelle Seigner are enigmatic and intriguing. The scene it portrays seems to be set in the early morning, with the sound of footsteps indicating someone is walking through a quiet, perhaps deserted cityscape. The first dialogue in the song is Polanski asking if the city is open, which is an unusual question that raises many questions about the setting and the context of the scene. Is the city usually closed at this time of day or night? Is it a city that has unique opening times or restrictions? The next line from Emanuelle Seigner's voice, "c'est beau Romain, c'est beau," which translates to "it's beautiful Romain, it's beautiful" in English, adds an element of poetic observation that may suggest that the view from where they are standing or walking is awe-inspiring or magnificent.
The conversation then turns to whether any morning papers are available yet, which may imply that Polanski and Seigner are looking for news, or perhaps they are simply trying to pass the time before the day starts. The response, "too early," hints that the day is only just beginning, and that the characters are up before most people. When Polanski requests a sandwich, Seigner obliges and simply says "thanks." As the footsteps fade out, the exchange is left to interpretation, but one could imagine them taking a stroll through the city at dawn, looking out over the early morning streets to enjoy its calm and tranquility.
Line by Line Meaning
[footsteps]
The sound of footsteps sets the scene for the beginning of the song.
-"Is the city open?" [voice of Roman Polanski]
Roman Polanski's voice is heard asking if the city is open, potentially reflecting a desire to explore and experience the city in its early hours.
-"c'est beau Romain, c'est beau" [voice of Emanuelle Seigner]
Emanuelle Seigner responds to Polanski's comment in French, perhaps remarking on the beauty of the city in the morning.
-"Are there any morning-papers yet?" [voice of Roman Polanski]
Polanski asks about the availability of morning newspapers, possibly indicating a habit or routine of reading the news.
-"Too early"
Someone responds that it is too early for the morning papers, implying that they have not yet been delivered.
-"a sandwich"
Someone requests a sandwich, potentially for breakfast or a morning snack.
-"Thanks"
Gratitude is expressed for the sandwich.
[footsteps fading]
The footsteps fade away, suggesting that the individuals have moved on or away from the starting point of the song.
Contributed by Jason K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.