Alexander (album)

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Alexander
Studio album from Alexander by Vangelis
Released	2004
Recorded	2003-2004 [1]
Genre	Film score
Length	56:00
Label	Sony Classical
Producer(s)	Vangelis
Professional reviews
*****: Filmtracks
Vangelis chronology
Odyssey: The Definitive Collection (2003)	Alexander (2004)	-

The original film score of Alexander (2004) was composed by Vangelis and released on audio CD.

The film, directed by Oliver Stone, portrays the life of Alexander the Great in an epic style that is also reflected in the score. Alexander the Great was a Macedonian that spread the Greek culture with his conquests on the 4th Century BC; Vangelis, himself a Greek, was already famous for his scores to Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner and Conquest of Paradise.

"I tried to remember how it was to live at the time, to be there. At the same time, I must speak the music language which is understandable today, because we're addressing thousands, millions in the audience." - Vangelis in documentary Vangelis Scores Alexander ^[2]

Unlike the usual process of scoring the film after it is shot and edited, Vangelis started composing right away, especially for the scene that featured the choreographed "Bagoas' Dance" danced by Francisco Bosch. A documentary directed by Suzanne Gielgud, titled "Dancing For Oliver", took an in-depth look at the creation of that scene, including interviews with Vangelis ^[3].

[edit] Track listing

1. Introduction - 1:32
2. Young Alexander - 1:36
3. Titans - 3:59
4. The Drums of Gaugamela - 5:20
5. One Morning at Pella - 2:11 (not used in the theatrical cut but used in Alexander Revisited: The final cut)
6. Roxane's Dance - 3:25
7. Eastern Path - 2:58
8. Gardens of Delight - 5:24
9. Roxane's Veil - 4:40
10. Bagoas' Dance - 2:29
11. The Charge - 1:41
12. Preparation - 1:42
13. Across the Mountains - 4:12
14. Chant - 1:38
15. Immortality - 3:18
16. Dream of Babylon - 2:41
17. Eternal Alexander - 4:37
18. Tender Memories - 2:59

The CD was released in each market with one of three different covers. In some markets, a bonus track (not used in the film) was included, titled "Bizarre Bazaar".^[4]

Vangelis composed, arranged, produced and performed the music, accompanied (although recorded separately) by conductor and orchestrator Nic Raine, violinists Vanessa Mae and Dominique Lemonnier, harpist Maria Bildea, the Epris Polyphonic Ensemble, tenor Konstantinos Paliatsaras, and singer Irina Valentinova Karpouchina.

Two of the tracks on the album - "Roxane's Veil" and "Tender Memories" - sound differently from their corresponding versions on film, as if Vangelis had continued working on them. He ended up with music for more than one CD, which he would not mind to see released by the record company ^[1] - however, considering the tepid performance of the film at the box-office, as of 2006 that idea seemed to have been abandoned.

Some of the additional music that is not present in the album can be heard in the Director's Cut DVD release of the film ^[5], in the menus of the German DVD release of the original theatrical version, in the documentary Fight Against Time, directed by Sean Stone (the director's son), and on a promotional CD-R by Warner Bros. that featured an untitled new track and the film version of "Tender Memories" ^[6].

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Vangelis interview to SoundtrackNet
2. ^ Vangelis Scores Alexander, a documentary available on the official soundtrack website, on the computer game, and on some DVD releases of the film
3. ^ Constellation Change Film Festival
4. ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere
5. ^ Vangelis Collector
6. ^ Dennis Lodewijks' Elsewhere

[edit] External links

• Official website