Chariots of Fire | ||||
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Film score by | ||||
Released | March 1981 (UK) October 1981 (US) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Studio | Nemo Studios, London | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Length | 42:03 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Producer | Vangelis | |||
Vangelis chronology | ||||
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Singles from Chariots of Fire | ||||
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Filmtracks | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 musical score by Greek electronic composer Vangelis (credited as Vangelis Papathanassiou) for the British film Chariots of Fire , which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score.
The album topped the Billboard 200 for 4 weeks. It reached #2 in Canada, #5 in the UK, #5 in Australia, and #6 in New Zealand.
The opening theme of the film, called "Titles" on the album track listing but widely known as "Chariots of Fire", was released as a single; on the Billboard Hot 100 it reached #1 and stayed there for one week.
The film score combines styles from across the musical spectrum including prog-rock, symphonic classical music and new age. [5]
The film's director, Hugh Hudson, chose Vangelis to compose the film's music, after becoming impressed with his albums Opera Sauvage and China and having worked with Vangelis on commercials in Paris during the 1970s. [6] A Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer was used on the recording. [7] Vangelis played all the instruments, including synthesizers, acoustic piano, drums and percussion, and recorded the score in his Nemo studio in London, which he had set up in 1975. [8] The music that he came up with, mostly electronic for a period film, initiated a new style in film scoring. The use of synthesizers in film scores beyond mere textures, and their convenience in allowing directors, producers, and studios to hear preliminary versions of full scores found its roots in Chariots of Fire.
The score album was almost all re-recorded, and sounds different from the music heard on film, with often richer arrangements, particularly in the "Titles" track. The second part of the album is a one-track suite including music from and inspired by the score. [8] Some original themes from the film did not make it to the album.
Although Vangelis had already done a number of film scores, including those for animal documentaries by Frédéric Rossif, Chariots of Fire was his first major film score, and it immediately gave him his big breakthrough as a composer, as "Titles" was an international hit and changed the whole course of his career.
In addition to Vangelis' original music, the album includes an arrangement of "Jerusalem", sung by the Ambrosian Singers, as performed at the 1978 funeral of Harold Abrahams, the event which bookends the film and inspired its title. This famous choral work is a 1916 setting by Sir Hubert Parry of William Blake's poem.
Vangelis dedicated the score to his father Ulysses Papathanassiou who had been a sprinter.
Despite Vangelis public performances being rare, he has played "Chariots of Fire" live in Los Angeles, U.S. (November 7, 1986), Rome, Italy (July 17, 1989, as encore), Rotterdam, Netherlands (June 18, 1991), and Athens, Greece ( Mythodea concerts of July 13, 1993 and June 28, 2001, as encore, and August 1, 1997) [13]
In 2000, and again in 2006, the album was relaunched on CD, on both occasions remastered by Vangelis. [8]
Tracks from the album have been included in several official Vangelis compilations, namely Themes (1989), Best Of Vangelis (1992), Portraits {So Long Ago, So Clear} (1996), and Odyssey - The Definitive Collection (2003). [14]
Of the pieces of Vangelis's music that did not end up on the film's soundtrack album is the background music to the race Eric Liddell runs in the Scottish highlands. The title of this piece is "Hymne", and it is a new arrangement for the film from Vangelis' 1979 album, Opéra sauvage . The original version is also included on Vangelis's compilation albums Themes , Portraits , and Odyssey: The Definitive Collection .
Director Hugh Hudson's original choice for the famous slow-motion running sequences on the beach was the track "L'Enfant" from Opéra sauvage . Vangelis had to persuade Hudson to let him create something original for the scene, using the same tempo as "L'Enfant." The result was the "Chariots of Fire" title track, "Titles".
In 1985 Greek composer Stavros Logaridis sued Vangelis for plagiarism (EMI vs Warner Brothers), alleging the title track had plagiarised Logaridis' song "City of Violets" (1977), which does feature similar instrumentation and chord progressions. Vangelis demonstrated his first-take improvisational composition style live on his synthesizers in court and was acquitted of the complaint. The case reached the London High Courts in 1987 and was referred to as a test case numerous times in the following years in matters relating, but not limited, to music sampling and copyright infringement. [15]
The "Titles" track of Chariots of Fire has been used in innumerable parodies in films and television shows, especially in slow-motion sequences. It is used in the Olympic-themed video game Track & Field .
The piece has also been used in numerous venues as inspirational music for athletes. At the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the piece was used in a parody London Symphony Orchestra performance featuring Rowan Atkinson, in character as Mr. Bean. The piece was played during every victory ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
It has been used during celebratory occasions for organizations. For one notable example, it was played when Apple Inc.'s chairman Steve Jobs introduced the first Macintosh on January 24, 1984, at a technology demonstration event.
The album was released in 1981 on LP, compact cassette and on 8-track cartridge in the U.S. The version on CD was released in 1984 in Germany. The track list below corresponds to LP and cassette variants.
All tracks written by Vangelis Papathanassiou, except where noted.
The album reached number-one in the sales charts of various countries, including four weeks at number-one in the United States. In total, the album stayed 97 weeks in the Billboard 200, selling three million copies in the first year alone. [6] The album reached number five in the UK Albums Chart and stayed in the listing for 107 weeks.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [25] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [26] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [27] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
France (SNEP) [28] | Gold | 100,000* |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [29] | Gold | 10,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [30] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [31] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [32] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson star as Abrahams and Liddell, alongside Nigel Havers, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Brad Davis and Dennis Christopher in supporting roles. Kenneth Branagh and Stephen Fry make their debuts in minor roles.
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.
Albedo 0.39 is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1976. It was the second album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, which was his creative base until the late 1980s. It contrasts with his previous album, Heaven and Hell, which was classically inspired and choral, while Albedo 0.39 has blues and jazz overtones. It was his first Top 20 UK album.
Heaven and Hell is a studio album by Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in November 1975 on RCA Records. It is the first album recorded at his Nemo Studios in London that he used until 1987. It is a concept album based on duality.
Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991.
1492: Conquest of Paradise is a 1992 music score to the film of the same name 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.
Spiral is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in December 1977. It was the third album produced by Vangelis in Nemo Studios, London, which was his creative base until the late 1980s. For the track "To the Unknown Man" Vangelis received the Midem International Instrumental award in 1978.
Opéra Sauvage is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1979. It is the score for the nature documentary of the same title by French filmmaker Frédéric Rossif. It is considered one of Vangelis' best albums and is his second most successful album in the USA, reaching #42 in the album charts.
China is a studio album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in April 1979. Although he had never been to China, he employed Chinese instruments and compositional styles on this concept album. It was thematically ahead of its time as the eastern cultural concepts were mostly unknown to the western audiences. The album received some critical praise. It was certified silver (1985) for sales of over 60,000 copies by BPI.
Themes is a compilation album of works by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis released in July 1989. It featured some previously released tracks from Vangelis's other albums, as well as some pieces from movie soundtracks that had not previously been released.
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.
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.
"Chariots of Fire" is an instrumental theme written and recorded by Vangelis for the soundtrack of the 1981 film of the same name. It has been covered by numerous performers and used for various television programs and sporting events.
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.
La Fête sauvage is an original score album by Greek composer Vangelis, from the 1975 documentary about animal wildlife La Fête Sauvage, by Frédéric Rossif.
Vangelis was a Greek musician, composer, and producer. He began his music career in the 1960s with the Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child and in the 1970s began composing electronic music. He gained wide mainstream popularity after composing soundtracks to film Chariots of Fire (1981) and Blade Runner (1982). His solo career discography consists of 23 studio albums, 26 compilation albums, 12 soundtrack albums, and roughly 29 singles. The majority of his film, documentary, theatre, and ballet & dance scores weren't released or officially released. He also collaborated with Jon Anderson and as a duo Jon and Vangelis released 4 studio albums, 2 compilations, and 13 singles, and with Irene Papas released two studio albums.
L'Enfant Sauvage is the fifth studio album and major label debut by French heavy metal band Gojira. It was released 26 June 2012 via Roadrunner Records.
The Collection is compilation album by Greek composer Vangelis, released on 23 July 2012.
Blade Runner 2049 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049. Released in October 2017, the album contains music composed by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, along with additional tracks by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Lauren Daigle. The soundtrack was produced by Michael Hodges, Kayla Morrison and Ashley Culp. It also includes the piece "Tears in the Rain", which was originally composed and performed by Vangelis, the composer of the original 1982 soundtrack Blade Runner.
Nocturne: The Piano Album is a studio album by Greek musician and composer Vangelis, released on 25 January 2019 on Decca Records. It is a solo piano album of 11 new tracks plus arrangements of various songs from his solo career.