HYMNE / IRLANDE

In the fond memory of VANGELIS, 29 March 1943 -- 17 May 2022. The yesterday's news of Vangelis having passed away at the age of 79 really made me sad. A great deal of his output definitely belongs to the soundtrack of my personal history, or the emotional landscapes of my soul itself.

I have reviewed the album that these two instrumental pieces were taken from and rated it with three stars only (in the Vangelis scale). Opera Sauvage, the score for the nature documentary of the same title by French filmmaker Frédéric Rossif, is one of his most succesful albums, but it isn't among my biggest favourites personally. That certainly doesn't mean I wouldn't highly appreciate it as a beautiful work, and recommendable especially for those newcomers who seek for accessible and soothing instrumental music. Ok, we could use the term New Age although I have certain reservations against it.

'Hymne' is well known and it has also been used on TV ads. The short piece is carried from start to end by a serene theme with some delicate progress in the delivery. At the time Vangelis used mainly Yamaha CS-80 to orchestrate his warm melodies.

'Irlande' has rather similar calm atmosphere. It's slighly more introspective, played in a slower tempo. The sounds are a bit more varied on top of the silky synth layers, including details reminiscent of bells, harp and flute. I like this one even more than 'Hymne', so my rating for this single is one star better than for the main album.