Amazon.co.uk Review
Sombre, stately, and reverent, the nine untitled movements (and concluding seven-minute epilogue) presented by keyboardist-composer Vangelis convey the mood of a requiem. These 10 lengthy works form a tribute to the respected native of Crete (1541-1614) whose religiously minded paintings (many created in near isolation in the Spanish city of Toledo) are notable, among other reasons, for their singular cross-pollination of Byzantine, Venetian, and Spanish influences. (The artist's nickname, El Greco, is in fact a linguistic merger of Spanish and Greek.) Musically, the recording dwells in a near-classical atmosphere that only occasionally offers any hints of rhythmic progression or ethereal expansiveness. Instead, the music conveys a more formal, classically rooted seriousness that at times features the operatic embellishments of soprano Montserrat Caballe and tenor Kostantinos Paliatsaras. Perhaps the recording's loveliest moments reside in the fifth movement, where Vangelis adorns the sustained earnestness of his work with some gently evocative piano runs. This, however, is an exception to an otherwise weighty musical endeavour.
--Terry Wood
CD Description
Greek composer/keyboardist Vangelis has been through so many stylistic mutations over the years that it's hard to pin down his musical centre. From the progressive rock of his band Aphrodite's Child to his art pop collaborations with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson and his romantic film score work, he's shown many sides of a complex artistic persona. EL GRECO extends his vision one step further. Inspired by and dedicated to legendary 16th century Greek painter El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), this is an impressionistic aural landscape.The album is filled up by a single 11-movement symphonic piece written by Vangelis and rendering in a surprisingly organic manner on his arsenal of keyboards. Fans of his film scores should find much to enjoy in this delicate work full of sophisticated but friendly textures.
~ Vangelis
~ Vangelis
~ Vangelis
~ Vangelis
