| Alexander | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–2004 | |||
| Genre | Electronic, classical | |||
| Length | 56:23 | |||
| Label | Sony Classical | |||
| Producer | Vangelis | |||
| Vangelis chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alexander is the original film score of the film Alexander (2004), scored by Greek electronic composer Vangelis. It received the Public Choice Award at the 2005 World Soundtrack Academy. [1]
The film, directed by Oliver Stone, portrays the life of Alexander the Great in an epic style that is also reflected in the score. Alexander was a king ( basileus ) of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon who expanded the Hellenic civilization with his conquests on the 4th Century BC; Vangelis, himself a Greek, was already famous for his scores to Chariots of Fire , Blade Runner and Conquest of Paradise . He was directly approached by Stone. [2]
The CD was released in each market with one of three different covers. In some markets, a bonus track (not used in the film) was included, titled "Bizarre Bazar". [5]
At the Billboard New Age Albums chart peaked at #5 position. [6] [7] In Portugal reached #28, Belgium #96, and France #97. [8]
Vangelis began composing, arranging, and producing the music on his synthesizer in September 2003, and took almost a year to score due to re-editing of the film. [4] He recalls "with Alexander I started working immediately, because Oliver needed music for his shooting. So some of the music, for the dances, for instance, I composed before the scenes were shot, working with the choreographer and so forth". [2] He gave it to Nic Raine, who orchestrated it and conducted the result, with violinists Vanessa-Mae and Dominique Lemonnier, harpist Maria Bîldea, the Epris Polyphonic Ensemble, tenor Konstantinos Paliatsaras, singer Irina Valentinovna Karpouchina, with around 200 players in the orchestra. [4] According to Vangelis, 40% of the album is live while 60% synth. [2]
The soundtrack features a combination of synthesisers, acoustic instruments and percussion with the choral lines, such as "Titans" and "Drums of Gaugamela". The "Eternal Alexander" and "Tender Memories" are more reflective tracks with an exotic oriental flavour, beginning with a folk tune, and feature a chorus, symphony orchestra and guitar. "Gardens of Delight" and "Roxane’s Dance" for example feature violin, harp and percussion. [9]
Vangelis recorded double amount of music than was released on CD, [2] however, not all film music was included or had the same editing like in the album, or was later released. The one track that wasn't heard in the movie at all, "One Morning at Pella", showed up in the "Final Cut" version of the movie. [5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [10] |
| Film Score Monthly | [11] |
| Filmtracks.com | [12] |
| Soundtrack.Net | [13] |
| Sputnikmusic | [14] |
The soundtrack has received mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic observed that "what begins as a Blade Runner -esque wash of atmospheric, keyboard-driven subtlety quickly deteriorates into a thick wall of stock heroic motifs, swelling brass, and thunderous percussion", and gave the soundtrack two-and-half stars out of five. [10] David Coscina of Film Score Monthly considered the soundtrack disappointing due to lack of full and expansive harmonies; "Titans", "the main theme from the film and the main harmonic body of this piece is a simple IV-I progression with little to no deviation in its melodic content from the basic triadic chords", concluding "if there were some interesting textures that compensate for this shortcoming, then I could find some merit in his music. But the antiquated synthesizer sounds only make the listening experience all the worse", and scored it one star out of five. [11] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com praised the soundtrack for "a continuation of Vangelis' trend towards seeking the perfect harmony between synthetic and orchestral elements", "can be divided into two sections: that in which Vangelis unleashes the ensembles and his electronics in a massive bombardment of rhythm and theme, and those in which he attempts to provide realistic source-like underscore for the erotic and/or Eastern sequences", concluding "on its attempts to insert a synthetic element into music for this general historical period, Alexander succeeds better than Zimmer's Gladiator ever did", scoring it five stars out of five. [12] Messrob Torikian of Soundtrack.Net gave the album 4/5 score, concluding "strong themes, haunting melodies, and the ever present feeling of a vast army always on the march make the album immensely enjoyable". [13]
Jennifer Ravensdale of Sputnikmusic in review summary concluded "always exemplifying the moment, yet constantly struggling to create an identity for itself", and scored it 3/5. [14] Peter Simons of Movie Music UK concluded that "a few good tracks save the album from being a complete waste, but they hardly outweigh the simplicity of the composition and the annoyance of the endlessly repeated percussion", and scored it 2/5. [15] James Southall of Movie Wave rated the album 3/5, saying "Vangelis pulls out every imaginable cliché, but somehow the album features a not inconsiderable amount of highly-entertaining music". [16]
Adrian Edwards of Gramophone noted that "Eternal Alexander" and "Tender Memories" could become the "most frequently aired themes", concluding that "a number of tracks segue from one to another, carrying the mood through and avoiding the fragmentary nature of soundtrack listening. A huge array of credits testify to a job well done". [9]
All songs composed and arranged by Vangelis.
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary (MAHASZ) [17] | Platinum | 20,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the Star Trek franchise and three in the Rambo franchise, as well as for films including Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Patton, Papillon, Chinatown, The Omen, Alien, Poltergeist, The Secret of NIMH, Medicine Man, Gremlins, Hoosiers, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Air Force One, L.A. Confidential, Mulan, and The Mummy. He also composed the fanfares accompanying the production logos used by multiple major film studios, and music for the Disney attraction Soarin'.
Dune is an original soundtrack album for the 1984 film Dune. Most of the album was composed by the rock band Toto—their first and only film score—but one track was contributed by Brian Eno, Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois. The soundtrack album was first released in November 1984. An extended version with an altered track listing was released in 1997. Both versions are currently out of print on traditional media such as CD but with the increasing popularity of download and streaming services, have gained improved exposure through such channels as iTunes and Spotify.
Blade Runner: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir film Blade Runner, composed by Greek electronic musician Vangelis. It has received acclaim as an influential work in the history of electronic music and one of Vangelis's best works. It was nominated in 1983 for a BAFTA and Golden Globe for best original score. The score evokes the film's bleak futurism with an emotive synthesizer-based sound, drawing on the jazz scores of classic film noir as well as Middle Eastern texture and neo-classical elements.
Marco Beltrami is an American composer of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror, action, science fiction, Western, and superhero.
Mythodea — Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. It premiered as a single concert in Athens, Greece, in 1993 but a recording was only released in 2001 by Vangelis' then new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new concert, this time with a worldwide audience.
The official soundtrack for The Prince of Egypt was released on November 17, 1998. It features songs and scoring from the film, as well as songs not used in the film. The album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Contemporary Christian chart, and No. 25 on the Billboard 200 chart.
X-Men: The Last Stand – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by John Powell and released on May 23, 2006 by Varèse Sarabande and Fox Music. X-Men: The Last Stand was the third film in the series, and Powell was the third composer used following Michael Kamen and John Ottman.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the official soundtrack album from the film of the same name. The album was released on July 22, 2003, by Walt Disney Records, and contains selections of music from the film score. The music of the film and this album are credited to composer Klaus Badelt and producer Hans Zimmer.
Batman Begins: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It was released on June 15, 2005. The soundtrack drew from the film score, composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, as well as contributions by Ramin Djawadi, Lorne Balfe and Mel Wesson.
300: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2007 film of the same name by Tyler Bates. The album was released by Warner Bros. Records on March 6, 2007, three days before the film opened for public viewing.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2007 film of the same name, based on the book by J. K. Rowling. Nicholas Hooper composed the film's score, following John Williams, who scored the first three films, and Patrick Doyle, who did the fourth. Though new to the series, Hooper had worked with director David Yates before. The soundtrack was released 10 July 2007, the day before the film's release.
Up (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2009 Disney-Pixar film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. This is his third feature film for Pixar after The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Giacchino wrote a character theme-based score that the filmmakers felt enhanced the story of the film. Up received positive reviews from music critics and won major awards. Despite being well regarded, Up was not released as a compact disc (CD) until 2011, when it became available via Intrada Records.
The Last Airbender is the soundtrack album of the fantasy adventure film The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The score was composed by James Newton Howard. It was released on June 29, 2010, by Lakeshore Records.
Filmtracks is a modern film score review website created and maintained by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen. Since the launch of Filmtracks in 1996, the website has reviewed nearly two-thousand soundtracks dating as far back as 1954, though the website's focus is primarily those composed after 1975. Filmtracks also has a forum.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is a motion picture soundtrack to the 2011 film of the same name composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat. The soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award, Satellite Award, Houston Film Critics Society Award, Denver Film Critics Society Award, and an IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy Film. The soundtrack won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score.
The Incredibles is the soundtrack album to the 2004 Disney-Pixar film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. The Incredibles is the first Pixar film to be scored by Giacchino. Director Brad Bird was looking for a specific sound as inspired by the film's design — the future as seen from the 1960s. John Barry was the first choice to do the film's score with a trailer of the film given a rerecording of Barry's theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, Barry did not wish to duplicate the sound of some of his earlier soundtracks; the assignment was instead given to Giacchino.
Man of Steel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed by Hans Zimmer. It was released on June 11, 2013, by WaterTower Music and Sony Classical Records. The exclusive deluxe edition of the album contains six bonus tracks, entitled "Are You Listening, Clark?", "General Zod", "You Led Us Here", "This Is Madness!", "Earth" and "Arcade".
Alien: Covenant is a soundtrack album for the 2017 science fiction film, Alien: Covenant, composed by Jed Kurzel. It was released on May 19, 2017, by Milan Records. A vinyl pressing of the soundtrack was released on July 7, 2017.
The music to the 1997 slasher film Scream 2, the second instalment in the Scream franchise and a sequel to Scream (1996) featured an original soundtrack album consists of 15 songs by various artists from the R&B, rap and rock genres; excluding two only 13 of them appear in the film. Released as Scream 2: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture by Capitol Records on November 18, 1997, the soundtrack achieved commercial success, charting at number 50 on the Billboard 200 charts, and spent there for over ten weeks. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying that the album achieved sales in excess of 500,000 units.
| Studio albums |
|
|---|---|
| Soundtracks | |
| Compilations | |
| Songs | |
| Other collaborations | |
| Related | |
