1492ConquestOfParadiseFrontIntroduction

“1492 Conquest Of Paradise” is a soundtrack album by Vangelis for the 1992 film with the same name directed by Ridley Scott. The historical drama starring Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante and Sigourney depicts the story of the voyages of explorer Christopher Columbus to the Americas 500 years earlier.

On release on the 9th of October 1992 the album was an immediate favorite amongst those familiar with Vangelis’ music, but (like the film) not necessarily an instant success. This changed two years later when on October 8th 1994 German boxer Henry Maske used the title theme during his boxing ring entrance for a worldchampionship fight, watched by millions of viewers worldwide. Interest in the theme, simply known as ‘Conquest Of Paradise’, rocketed, first in Germany, quickly followed by the rest of Europe and finally worldwide. A single sold millions of copies and the renewed interest pushed the album amongst the best-selling soundtracks ever in several countries. Today ‘Conquest Of Paradise’ is almost synonym with the name of Vangelis and undeniably his greatest success next to the theme of ‘Chariots Of Fire’ (1981).

The success of the soundtrack did not go unnoticed and won Vangelis the Echo Award as ‘International artist of the year’ as well as the RTL Golden Lion Award for the ‘Best title theme for a TV film or a series’ in 1996. The album was nominated for ‘Best Original Score’ at the Golden Globe Awards in 1993, while on February 1995 the unprecedented worldwide sales were celebrated with the presentation of multiple platinum records during a special event at the “Grande Bretagne” hotel in Athens.

As is more often the case with films scored by Vangelis there are significant differences between the music heard on the album and in the film. With over two hours of music in the film it is clear that a large part of the score could not be included on the album and remains unreleased, including several beautiful themes heard in key scenes. At the same time the album also includes several tracks with music not heard in the film, making the album essentially Vangelis’ view of the music rather than a true representation of the film score. 

To no surprise Vangelis’ music for “1492 Conquest Of Paradise” is ethnically flavored with Spanish instruments, and this time Vangelis worked with other musicians to add a Spanish guitar, mandolin, violin and ethnic vocals to his music. Again Vangelis used the English Chamber Choir conducted by Guy Protheroe to great effect in his music, as he did earlier on albums like “Heaven And Hell” (1975) and “Mask” (1985). The lyrics heard on the album and in the title theme (which in the film is actually heard during the end titles) is not a real language but are made-up words sometimes referred to as pseudo-latin. 

To promote the album the single ‘Conquest Of Paradise’ b/w ‘Moxica And The Horse’ was released on the 19th of October 1992 both on vinyl and CD formats. The CD single includes two bonus tracks: ‘Line Open’ and ‘Landscape’, which curiously were neither part of the album nor the film score. These tracks sound more like leftovers from Vangelis previous album “The City” (1990). Also a promotional videoclip was produced, featuring clips from the film, mixed with images of Vangelis working in his Epsilon studio and images of a large choir performing the theme.

In 2025 the album was re-released on CD and double LP, with the CD having the advantage of including ‘Line Open’ and ‘Landscape’, indeed the two tracks that were previously only available on the CD single.

 

1492ChristopheColombFrontTracklist and credits

  1. Opening (1:21)
  2. Conquest Of Paradise (4:30)
  3. Monastery Of La Rabida (3:24)
  4. City Of Isabel (2:08)
  5. Light And Shadow (3:31)
  6. Deliverance (3:20)
  7. West Across The Ocean Sea (2:44)
  8. Eternity (1:53)
  9. Hispanola (4:39)
  10. Moxica And The Horse (6:42)
  11. Twenty Eighth Parallel (4:47)
  12. Pinta, Nina, Santa Maria (Into Eternity) (12:37)

 

  • All music composed, arranged, produced and performed by Vangelis.
  • Recorded and mixed at Epsilon Labaratory, Paris, by Philippe Colonna.
  • Assistant producer: Frederick Rousseau.
  • Spanish guitar and voices: Bruno Manjarres and Pepe Martinez.
  • Mandolin and violin: Francis Darizcuren.
  • Flutes: Didier Malherbe.
  • Vocals: Guy Protheroe.
  • English Chamber Choir recorded at CTS Studios, Wembley. Conducted by Guy Protheroe.
  • Mastered at “44.1”, Paris by Alain Marnat.
  • Special thanks to: John Martin, Andrew Hoy, Ian Lane, Xavier Belanger and Denis Vanzetto.

 

ConquestOfParadiseCDSingleDiscography

CD

  • 1992 EastWest, released worldwide.
  • 1992 Atlantic 7 82432-2 US
  • 1992 EastWest M-991014-2 Brazil
  • 1992 EastWest WMC5-560 Japan
  • 1992 EastWest 4509-91014-2 Taiwan (Warner Classics Film Soundtrack Series)
  • 1997 EastWest 4509 91014-2 France (Les Incontournables)
  • 2001 Warner Strategic Marketing 0927-40199-2 France
  • 2007 EastWest 4670001546713 Russia
  • 2014 EastWest WPCR-28581 Japan
  • 2016 Universal Music Hong Kong 853 9358 3 Hong Kong (K2 HD Mastering 24-bit 100 kHz Mastering)
  • 2025 EastWest 502173 2632982, released worldwide (expanded edition, includes ‘Line Open’ and ‘Landscape’ as bonus tracks)

LP

  • 1992 EastWest 4509-91014-1 Europe and South Korea
  • 1992 EastWest 670.8272 Brazil
  • 2025 EastWest 5021732529404, released worldwide (2LP limited edition)

1492ChristopheColombSingleCD single

7” single

  • 1992 Conquest Of Paradise/Moxica And The Horse (EastWest 4509-91172-7) Germany (misprinted on label as ‘Moxica And The House’) 
  • 1992 Conquest Of Paradise/Moxica And The Horse (EastWest 4509-91172-7) UK
  • 1992 Conquest Of Paradise/Moxica And The Horse (EastWest 4509 91172-7) France (misprinted as ‘Moxica And The House’) 

 

Recording studio

TwentyEighthParallelSingleThe music for “1492 Conquest Of Paradise” was recorded at Vangelis’ Epsilon studio in Paris. This extraordinary studio located at Rue Jacques Dulud in the Neuilly-sur-Seine area of Paris features a unique glass dome, allowing a continuous view of its surroundings. When asked, Vangelis explained that ‘I like to feel the changes of the day and the seasons. And I hate and I am tired of being in studios which are underground or extremely well soundproof. All that is tiring in the end. And you are cut off completely from nature, from everything. Here I can feel when the sun is up, when the sun is down, when it is raining. When it is raining it is fantastic here! I can see the birds, I can see the trees, and that is great! You can say you can do that in nature, complete with nothing, but unfortunately we have noises, this is for practical reason. But to have glass is almost the same’. This videoclip shows Vangelis inside the studio, together with Ridley Scott and Gérard Depardieu discussing the score for the film "1492 Conquest Of Paradise". 

 

More

  • Vangelis and Ridley Scott worked together on several occasions, such as the television commercial "Share The Fantasy" for Chanel No.5 (1979), the film “Blade Runner” (1982) and the television commercial for Citroën Xantia (1993).
  • Since it’s original release in 1992 the theme of ‘Conquest Of Paradise’ has been covered by many artists worldwide and has appeared in several television shows and films. And even today it is still a favorite theme heard at sport events and is sometimes used at political events.

 

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