Introduction
Michael Hoppé (1944) is a British composer and musician who is mostly known for his albums of contemporary music in the New Age-genre. After his schooling Michael went to the Military Academy, where he extensively listened to hundreds of Deutsche Gramophone classical LPs from the local army store. In July 1969 Hoppé joined Deutsche Gramophone, where he eventually became head of A&R (Artist and Repertoire) of Polygram, working with artists such as ABBA, Jean Michel Jarre, Kitaro and... Vangelis.
In this capacity Hoppé met Vangelis in 1979, just after Vangelis had signed with the Polydor label while working on his “China” album, and the two became friends. Taking an interest in music composition, Vangelis encouraged Michael to become an artist, and when he was offered to score the film “Misunderstood” with Gene Hackman in 1984 the Polygram executive quit his job to pursue a career as a musician.
In 1986 Vangelis was staying in New York and a concert had been scheduled for him to perform in Los Angeles. Not willing to fly, Vangelis asked Michael to pick him up in New York to bring him to Los Angeles, and so he did. One evening in Los Angeles Michael played one of his compositions for Vangelis, titled “The Parting”. After hearing the first three minutes of the composition, Vangelis took over and played an improvisation of eight minutes in his own arrangement and style. This one-take improviation was recorded, and in 2003 Vangelis gifted the recording to Michael Hoppé who released it on his Grammy-nominated album “Solace”, released on the 8th of April 2003. In an interview Michael Hoppé has been quoted saying: ‘For me, the greatest is Vangelis and I consider him a very major role model and an astonishing artist (who is also completely self-taught!)’.
Throughout his career Michael Hoppé produced over 25 albums. He currently lives in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico.
Details and credits
- The Parting (7:48)
- Composed by Michael Hoppé.
- Arranged and performed by Vangelis.
Discography
CD
- 2003 Spring Hill Music SHM 6042.2 US
- 2003 Pony Canyon PCCY 01697 Japan
- 2003 Papyrus DK 0398 South Korea
- 2004 Edel 0154122ERE Germany (titled “Solace For You”)
LP
- 2017 Serenity International Comperstion SILP-I7001A Taiwan (Deluxe box set/LP)
Recording studio
"The Parting" was recorded by Michael Hoppé somewhere in Los Angeles, USA. Possibly the location was a bungalow of the Beverly Hills hotel where Vangelis had set up a mobile studio at the time.
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