1492: Conquest of Paradise (Vangelis)

(1992)

Their previous collaboration having been Blade Runner, Ridley Scott reunited with Vangelis on his 1992 project 1492: Conquest of Paradise. Whilst this score is indeed superior to Blade Runner, the mess that it is in the film itself led to it being slammed by many critics, notably by critic Roger Ebert, who wrote in his review: “Scott’s version is particularly handicapped by a score by Vangelis which alternates between breathless angelic choirs and brooding jungle music. The soundtrack instructs us what to think about many of the shots; the quasi-ecclesiastical strains seem to suggest the church will indeed save many souls in the New World, while the Indian theme suggests that these simple forest people were already well on the way to inventing New Age music.” It’s a pity that critics don’t seem to listen to the music away from the film, since in reality; this score is possibly the best that Vangelis has ever written listened to as a stand-alone.

The instrumentation for the score is exactly as one would predict for a score by Vangelis. His usual bank of synthesizers and other electronic instruments are joined by a mandolin, a violin, The English Chamber Choir, and various flutes. The score itself is dominated by one primary theme, heard first in the cue “Conquest of Paradise”, a truly wonderful chanting choral piece. Aside from the main theme, the other main highlight from the score is the cue “Monastery of la Rabida”, which comes immediately after the main theme, which wonderfully introduces an element of religion into the score with wonderful choral movements.

Whilst there are indeed a great many disappointments to be found in this score when heard in the film, you can be pretty certain the majority, if any, of them won’t be present here. Although it may not be the sort of score that you’d expect to hear in a film set in the 15th Century, along with his score for Alexander twelve years later, this is Vangelis at his best.

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Track Listing

1 – Opening

2 – Conquest of Paradise

3 – Monastery of La Rábida

4 – City of Isabel

5 – Light and Shadow

6 – Deliverance

7 – West Across the Ocean Sea

8 – Eternity

9 – Hispañola

10 – Moxica and the Horse

11 – Twenty Eighth Parallel

12 – Pinta, Niña, Santa María

Credits

Music Composed, Arranged, Performed and Produced by Vangelis

Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Insert Notes

None – Purchased as MP3 Download

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