GREECE: COMPOSER VANGELIS PERFORMS HIS LATEST WORK "MYTHODEA" - A THEME TUNE FOR NASA'S SPACE MISSION TO MARS, IN THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS IN ATHENS

Record ID: 391674

  • Title: GREECE: COMPOSER VANGELIS PERFORMS HIS LATEST WORK "MYTHODEA" - A THEME TUNE FOR NASA'S SPACE MISSION TO MARS, IN THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS IN ATHENS
  • Date: 27th June 2001
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JUNE 28, 2001) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF ATHENS WIDE OF ACROPOLIS LV SUN GOING DOWN OVER HILLS ABOVE ATHENS WIDE OF TEMPLE OF ZEUS UNDER ACROPOLIS ILLUMINATED FOR THE START OF CONCERT
  • Embargoed: 12th July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ATHENS, GREECE
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Entertainment,General
  • Reuters ID: LVADKFJ8AK2P11U9K9YXAX6UB69J
  • Story Text: Oscar winning composer Vangelis has given the first performance of music he's composed as the theme tune for NASA's space mission to Mars. It's called Mythodea - and in another milestone the performance was the first concert ever given on the ancient Temple of Zeus in the Greek capital, Athens.
    Vangelis, best known for his hugely successful musical compositions for the films Chariots of Fire and 1492, thrilled his audience with Mythodea, a composition which will accompany the dramatic footage from the NASA mission to Mars this winter, where spacecraft will embark on an exploratory search for signs of water, and perhaps life, on the red planet.
    Performed in the remains of the ancient Temple of Zeus, a first-ever endeavor, the ancient columns that remain standing shook from the ominous, spacial music.
    The concert lifted the audience of 2,000 from their seats, the rhythms seemed to carry them through the air to the Red Planet as a 120 member chorus, 20 percussionists, the London Metropolitan Symphony orchestra, and the powerful voices of music divas Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman accompanied Vangelis on keyboards.
    Behind them amidst the temple a projection screen portrayed visuals from space provide by NASA, showing views of Mars and other planets. Intermixed were images of antiquities from ancient Greece, embellishing the mythological element related to the cosmos, as Mars is named after the ancient Greek god of War.
    The concert took place on the night that Mars was close to the earth and could actually be seen as a bright light in the night sky, just above the concert venue, presenters said.
    Vangelis was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour by the French government after the concert by French minister Jack Lang for his contribution to music.
    Vangelis said he drew his inspiration from his love of Greek mythology and science for the composition, and wanted the audience to walk away full of the imagination he felt while composing the work.
    Talking about space travel he said he believed human beings had a natural interest to travel to other places, and with the situation of the earth today, mankind would be forced to seek another home.
    A Sony official said scientists at NASA believe Vangelis' music has a natural connection with outer space exploration, and were excited about the linking the music to the mission.
    NASA has been exploring Mars with the robotic spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor since 1997.
    In April, the 2001 Mars Odyssey Mission blasted off, and will arrive in Mars in October.
    The mission is a continuing exploration for the signs of life on the planet. In October it will search for signs of water in the rocks and soils of the Martian surface in a journey of hundreds of millions of kilometres.
    Soprano Kathleen Battle said when she first heard the composition she couldnt believe such music existed, that it was not of this earth. When she met Vangelis and uncovered his true spirit it was the clincher for her to work on the project.
    Norman agreed, saying the heart, soul and spirituality of Vangelis was embodied in his composition.
    Vangelis began making music at the age of four. In 1982 he won an Oscar for his film soundtrack Chariots of Fire which brought him international acclaim.He went on to do more film soundtracks such as the theme to 1492 Conquest of Paradise, which went gold and platinum in over 17 countries. He has worked with a number of famous producers, as well as composed for the theatre and television.
    He has won a number of awards, served on the jury of Cannes film festival, and in 1995, the International Astronomical Unions Minor Planet Centre at the Smithsonian Observatory named a small planet in his honour. Asteroid 6354, 247 million miles from the sun, somewhere between Jupiter and Mars, is now called Vangelis.
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