''El Greco'' is a soundtrack album featuring the music score for the 2007 film ''
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
'', by Greek electronic composer
Vangelis, released in Greece and Cyprus by
Universal Music Greece. The film, directed by
Yannis Smaragdis, follows the life of Greek painter, Doménicos Theotokópoulos, as he travels to Italy and Spain where he becomes known as
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
(The Greek). Vangelis previously worked with Yannis Smaragdis on his 1996 movie about the Greek poet
Kavafis
Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...
(a.k.a. Cavafy). It won the award for best music score at the 48th
Greek State Film Awards
The Greek State Film Awards ( el, Κρατικά Βραβεία Κινηματογράφου) was a part of Thessaloniki International Film Festival concerning exclusively Greek movies. It was one of the most important events in Greek cinema, from ...
in 2007.
Overview
This is not the first project regarding El Greco with which Vangelis has been involved. In 1995, the album ''
Foros Timis Ston Greco'' had a limited release (3,000 signed copies) as part of a fund raising campaign for Greek art. Three years later, in 1998, Vangelis recompiled the album, including 3 additional tracks, and retitled it ''
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
''.
On this soundtrack for the film ''El Greco'', Vangelis' method is to watch the images and let them inspire his creative process. Typical of his film work, each track paints a different picture while fitting into the whole, even the three tracks not composed by Vangelis himself. Tracks 1 and 18 are different compositions of the same melody. Track 1 is a choral piece composed for the movie's climax and track 18 is a piano version that serves as the end titles. Track 2 is the actual opening titles.
Release
The album was released by
Polydor Records (Universal Music SA Greece) as a CD album in tri-fold
digipak sleeve edition.
A limited edition
vinyl record was released in 2014 by Cobalt Music. On November 10 of the same year, Cobalt Music released in Greece a 1000 pieces limited ''Anniversary Edition'' box set containing soundtrack CD and Vinyl, DVD of the 2007 film, and hardcover book. By the same label on July 29, 2016 the box set was re-released in Europe.
The album has reached # 1 position in Greek Charts and kept the position for three weeks. The ''Anniversary Edition'' box set reached #7 position on the
Greece Albums chart published by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''.
Track listing
All tracks, except 5, 8, & 11, composed and performed by Vangelis.
# Part 1 - 3:59
# Part 2 - 1:56
# Part 3 - 4:20
# Part 4 - 2:26
# Part 5 (Traditional Folk Song of
Chania,
Crete) - 3:06
# Part 6 - 2:05
# Part 7 - 1:30
# Part 8 (composed and performed by
Psarantonis) - 1:56
# Part 9 - 1:00
# Part 10 - 1:51
# Part 11 (written and performed by
Loudovikos ton Anogeion) - 2:50
# Part 12 - 4:56
# Part 13 - 2:36
# Part 14 - 1:06
# Part 15 - 2:40
# Part 16 - 2:46
# Part 17 - 2:28
# Part 18 - 3:16
Credits
*Composed and Performed by Vangelis
*Track 5 features the Choir of the Historical, Cultural and Folklore Association of Chania, Crete, "Kritikes Madares"
*Voices: The Choir of the Greek Radio and Television
*Choir music score transcription & Choir master: Irina Valentinova
;Production
*All tracks Arranged and Produced by Vangelis
*Assistant Sound Engineer, Mixer and Assistant Producer: Vangelis Saitis
*Sound Engineer:
Frederick Rousseau
*Cover design: Stathis Zalidis
*Photographers: Evi Psilaki, Helen Smaragdis, Manolis Metzakis, Maria Moschou
References
External links
Elsewhere - Independent Vangelis website
{{Authority control
Biographical film soundtracks
2007 soundtrack albums
Vangelis soundtracks
Universal Music Greece soundtracks