[Subutai]

I'm not sure whether this could be classified as 'Classical Music' but with the passing today of Maestro Vangelis, I just wanted to know your thoughts on the man and his compositions.

While I'm at it I'd appreciate any further thoughts on fellow electronic composers Jean Michel Jarre, and especially Giorgio Moroder's film works. Can't help falling in love with the Themes for Midnight Express or Scarface. A unique voice, as are they all. Thanks.

 

[TwoFlutesOneTrumpet]

I used to love this stuff in the 80s before I discovered classical music. Now it bores me for the most part. It's interesting for a time and then it gets tiring pretty quickly. Nothing interesting happens musically. I haven't listened to it in years.

EDIT: just listened to Moroder's Chase again. My opinion expressed above still holds.

 

[mbhaub]

When I was in college, electronic music was fairly new and seemed to be the future. Walter (now Wendy) Carlos led the way in popularity with Switched on Bach. But for those of us who wanted more, Morton Subotnik seemed to lead the way. I attended many seminars on the Moog and Buchla synths, read what material was available, and ultimately found it to be empty of music. It was all about the sounds and effects and devoid of human emotion. The fabulous electronics became mainstream, but more as a replacement for traditional instruments and the weird sci-fi effects are gone. I keep the theremin I built and it makes an interesting toy for Halloween, but that's about it. Vangelis and others of his ilk I never liked at all.

 

[NoCoPilot]

I'm a huge EM fan, I was the reviewer for EM magazine for a decade, I have a couple thousand releases on hand. Vangelis was a pioneer, particularly with Blade Runner, which created a whole new sound universe (there have been several other composers who have sought to compose within this universe), but outside of BR his output was spotty at best, and sometimes downright cringe-inducing. Giorgio Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer and Mike Post and those guys made a lot of money using synthesizers in soundtracks, but they wouldn't win my vote for best EM.

Jarre had a lot of interesting music. My opinion of him has gone up and down over the years, depending on my mood and his latest release, but overall I'd say he straddled the gap between "serious" electronic music and pop music. I can listen to most of his stuff without throwing up.

 

[Ludwig Schon]

I'm not sure whether this could be classified as 'Classical Music' but with the passing today of Maestro Vangelis, I just wanted to know your thoughts on the man and his compositions.

While I'm at it I'd appreciate any further thoughts on fellow electronic composers Jean Michel Jarre, and especially Giorgio Moroder's film works. Can't help falling in love with the Themes for Midnight Express or Scarface. A unique voice, as are they all. Thanks.

A hairy, unkempt mess, totally unworthy of serious consideration.

Comparing Vangelis to say titans of the Berlin School, such as Klaus Schulze, Harold Groskopf or Edgar Froese is like comparing Milli Vanilli to Mozart or Bach.

 

[NoCoPilot]

Comparing Vangelis to say titans of the Berlin School, such as Klaus Schulze, Harold Groskopf or Edgar Froese is like comparing Milli Vanilli to Mozart or Bach.

Which one is Milli in this comparison???

 

[prlj]

A hairy, unkempt mess

I thought you were referring to Beethoven...

 

[Kjetil Heggelund]

I have no thoughts on Vangelis, but recently got addicted to electronic music. You have to pay attention to the ladies! They have been pioneers Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani...

The Secret History of Women in Electronic Music Is Just Beginning to Be Told

Sisters with Transistors, a new documentary highlighting women pioneers in early electronic music, offers one portal into the past—hopefully with more to follow.

pitchfork.com

 

[progmatist]

I have no thoughts on Vangelis, but recently got addicted to electronic music. You have to pay attention to the ladies! They have been pioneers Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani...

The Secret History of Women in Electronic Music Is Just Beginning to Be Told

Sisters with Transistors, a new documentary highlighting women pioneers in early electronic music, offers one portal into the past—hopefully with more to follow.

pitchfork.com

...and Constance Demby. She combined electronic music with her own unique acoustic instruments. Like the Space Bass and Whale Sail.

 

[Ludwig Schon]

...and Constance Demby. She combined electronic music with her own unique acoustic instruments. Like the Space Bass and Whale Sail.

Constance Demby’s Novus Magnificat would make even John Tavener blanche in shame. She peddles the sort of new age, whale music trite that gives actual serious female composers within the ambient/electronic genre, such as Daphne Oram, Pauline Anna Strom and Beverley Glenn-Copeland, a bad name…

 

[NoCoPilot]

...and Constance Demby.

And Delia Derbyshire, Bebe Barron, Laurie Spiegel, Hannah Shapiro, Kat Epple, Lauri Paisley, Deborah Martin....

 

[Subutai]

A hairy, unkempt mess, totally unworthy of serious consideration.

Comparing Vangelis to say titans of the Berlin School, such as Klaus Schulze, Harold Groskopf or Edgar Froese is like comparing Milli Vanilli to Mozart or Bach.

I never made any such assertion. But hey, la-di-da-di-da.

 

[Simon Moon]

I'm not sure whether this could be classified as 'Classical Music' but with the passing today of Maestro Vangelis, I just wanted to know your thoughts on the man and his compositions.

While I'm at it I'd appreciate any further thoughts on fellow electronic composers Jean Michel Jarre, and especially Giorgio Moroder's film works. Can't help falling in love with the Themes for Midnight Express or Scarface. A unique voice, as are they all. Thanks.

The only Vangelis recording that still holds up for me, is Heaven and Hell. He got way too new age after that.

But Heaven and Hell falls more into the prog-rock genre, and its intensity and contrasts in mood, make it more interesting to me.

Vangelis was originally recruited by Yes to replace Rick Wakeman when he left, but decided against it.

Jarre had some moments, but not too exciting for me. His father, Maurice Jarre was more talented. He was one of the greatest film composers of all time.

Moroder was pretty poor in my opinion.

The only electronic music that still has any appeal to me, is the "Berlin School" of the 70's. Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Manuel Gottsching, Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster, Neu!, Peter Bauman, Conrad Schnitzler, and more.

But no, Vangelis, despite much of his music being influenced by classical music, is not classical music. There are forms of music much closer to classical music; avant-prog for example (Thinking Plague, Henry Cow, Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, etc) than Vangelis, that are still not classical music.

 

[EdwardBast]

When I was in college, electronic music was fairly new and seemed to be the future. Walter (now Wendy) Carlos led the way in popularity with Switched on Bach. But for those of us who wanted more, Morton Subotnik seemed to lead the way. I attended many seminars on the Moog and Buchla synths, read what material was available, and ultimately found it to be empty of music. It was all about the sounds and effects and devoid of human emotion. The fabulous electronics became mainstream, but more as a replacement for traditional instruments and the weird sci-fi effects are gone. I keep the theremin I built and it makes an interesting toy for Halloween, but that's about it. Vangelis and others of his ilk I never liked at all.

Back when, I found some of Subotnik's work quite expressive, especially The Wild Bull — and my girlfriend's dog used to hate and bark at Tomita.

 

[fbjim]

Back when, I found some of Subotnik's work quite expressive, especially The Wild Bull — and my girlfriend's dog used to hate and bark at Tomita.

The Wild Bull is wild, but check out The Key To Songs- probably my favorite of his.

 

[DeepR]

A hairy, unkempt mess, totally unworthy of serious consideration.

Comparing Vangelis to say titans of the Berlin School, such as Klaus Schulze, Harold Groskopf or Edgar Froese is like comparing Milli Vanilli to Mozart or Bach.

I like both (specific albums/pieces by) Vangelis and by Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream etc. and I think your opinion is totally unworthy of serious consideration.

 

[DeepR]

Anyway, I agree Vangelis did not write classical music.
For a largely self taught musician he was able to write some nice, moody and atmospheric electronic music. Good examples being Blade Runner, Antarctica, The Bounty, Soil Festivities. Sometimes his music was largely improvised which gave it an organic, spontaneous quality. He could also write simple, effective melodies that had mass appeal, which led to some big commercial success.
Most of all he used synthesizers and related electronics in an effective and expressive way.
Later he went for a more "orchestral sound" which I don't like quite as much as his earlier music.

 

[progmatist]

Vangelis was originally recruited by Yes to replace Rick Wakeman when he left, but decided against it.

From what I've heard and read, the band opted for Patrick Moraz over Vangelis because he had more of a "rock star" look.

 

[Ludwig Schon]

There are so many great prog electronic composers, who have produced far greater works than the trash regurgitated by Steve Reich and Philip Glass:

Franco Battiato, Roberto Cacciapaglia, Manuel Göttsching, Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze, Michael Hoening, Robert Schroeder, etc…

 

[fbjim]

Reich is only barely an electronic composer (though influential on it with his work with the San Francisco Tape Music Center) and Glass generally wasn't.