Wikipedia

Conquest of Paradise (song)

"Conquest of Paradise" is a song recorded by Greek composer Vangelis. It was the soundtrack from Ridley Scott's 1992 film 1492: Conquest of Paradise[2] and the lead single from the album of the same name. The song achieved success in many territories, including Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland where it topped the singles chart, but was a relative failure in UK where it only peaked at number 60. The song's popularity had been boosted in Germany by boxer Henry Maske using it as his theme song.[3]

"Conquest of Paradise"
Single by Vangelis
from the album 1492: Conquest of Paradise
B-side"Moxica and the Horse"
ReleasedOctober 1992 (1992-10)[1]
Length4:47
LabelEast West
Songwriter(s)Vangelis
Producer(s)Vangelis
Vangelis singles chronology
"Missing"
(1989) 		"Conquest of Paradise"
(1992) 		"Twenty Eighth Parallel"
(1993)

Its chord progression is based on the old European theme La Follia.

Track listings

edit

CD single

  1. "Conquest of Paradise" – 4:47
  2. "Moxica and the Horse" – 7:12

CD maxi-single

  1. "Conquest of Paradise" – 4:47
  2. "Moxica and the Horse" – 7:12
  3. "Line Open" – 4:43
  4. "Landscape" – 1:37
  • Includes two songs ("Line Open" and "Landscape"), which were not included in the album.

Lyrics

edit

Throughout the whole song, the following lyrics in Pseudo-Latin were repeated several times:[4]

In nòreni per ìpe,
in noreni coràh;
tirà mine per ìto,
ne dominà.

One time this refrain is:

In ròmine tirmèno,
ne ròmine to fa,
imàgine pro mèno,
per imentirà.

Credits

edit

Charts

edit

Certifications

edit
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[24] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[26] 3× Platinum 1,700,000[25]
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Platinum 75,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

edit

Covers

edit

The song has been covered by many artists, including Blake, Klaus Schulze, Free the Spirit, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Project, Kati Kovács, John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra (1996), Daylight (1997), Daniel Hůlka (1998), Dana Winner (2002), The Ten Tenors (2004), Rhydian (2009) and Gregorian (2012).

At sport events

edit

"Conquest of Paradise" is played at home games for the New Zealand Super Rugby team Crusaders, Rugby Premiership team Northampton Saints and Super League teams Widnes Vikings and Wigan Warriors. These days it is the unofficial theme tune for the city of Christchurch where the Crusaders rugby team is based. English football club Sheffield Wednesday also play Conquest of Paradise prior to their theme tune before kick off. "Conquest of Paradise" was also played at the Cricket World Cup (2011) and (2015) just before the national anthems of the two contesting national teams were played at the start of every match. It was also played during the 2010 and 2014 cricket World Twenty20 championships to uphold International Cricket Council's "spirit-of-cricket" concept just before the national anthems of the two playing teams. The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc series uses "Conquest of Paradise" at the start, finish and prize ceremonies of its various ultramarathon races.[28] It is also used by the Engadin Skimarathon to introduce the start of the competitors waves. At least in the years 2010–2013. Usually every minute it is interrupted to announce the time until "go!". German boxer Henry Maske used it as his theme song.[3] At the long-distance sled-dog race Finnmarkslopet in Norway, the song is played every time a dog team crosses the finish line.

In TV shows and cinema

edit

It was used for many years in the Jeux Sans Frontières, using it during the credits. The single "Conquest of Paradise" has also been inserted in the 2007 Chinese television drama series Soldiers Sortie, and is used as the theme song in the Hindi film, Koyla (1997), Kaalapani (1996) and a Tamil film, Sundara Purushan (1996). The song was also used in the trailer for Mission to Mars (2000). It's also part of the soundtrack of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), by Guy Richie.

In ice shows

edit

"Conquest of Paradise" was used for a collaboration program performed by two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu and three-time Olympic gymnastics champion Kohei Uchimura, merging the two Olympic sports to a new performing art genre.[29] The program was inspired by the theme of challenge to the unknown.[30] Hanyu's solo skating part was choreographed by Canadian choreographer David Wilson.[31] The program was performed at the ice show Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata, held on March 10–12, 2023, at Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu, Miyagi. It was a commemoration event on the 12th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, also known as the "Great East Japan Earthquake" or "3.11".[32]

At graduations

The song is also played as the opening song at some primary school, secondary school, high school and university graduation ceremonies in Turkey.

References

edit
  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 865. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ King, Alex P. (2004). Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes (in French). Paris: Pascal. p. 341. ISBN 2-35019-009-9.
  3. ^ a b swisscharts.com (in German) (Retrieved 21 September 2010)
  4. ^ Vangelis lyrics: 1492, Conquest of Paradise
  5. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 16. 22 April 1995. p. 16.
  9. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (11.2 '95 – 17.2. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 February 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1995" (in German). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1995" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Rapports annuels 1995" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Year End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1995". Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 14.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1995" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 1995" (in German). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Austrian single certifications – Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  25. ^ Spahr, Wolfgang (20 January 1996). "Sporting Events And Personalities Giving A Big Boost TO Record Sales For Labels". Billboard. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Vangelis; 'Conquest of Paradise')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  27. ^ "Dutch single certifications – Vangelis – Conquest of Paradise" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Conquest of Paradise in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1995 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  28. ^ "Alan Lucker: 26th-28th August the UTMB 2011".
  29. ^ Matsubara, Takaomi (12 March 2023). 羽生結弦のスピンと同時に内村航平も旋回...地元・宮城でのアイスショーに「つなぐ人」羽生が込めた"被災地"への思い 「あれから12年...」 [Yuzuru Hanyu spins and Kohei Uchimura turns at the same time ... Thoughts on the "disaster area" put into the ice show by Hanyu, the "person who connects", in his hometown in Miyagi: "12 years have passed since then ..."]. Number (in Japanese). Chiyoda, Tokyo: Bungeishunjū. pp. 1–4. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Notte Stellata". notte stellata. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  31. ^ Mitsuoka, Maria-Laura (28 February 2023). "Yuzuru Hanyu: 'Gift' to the figure skating world". Golden Skate. Cary, North Carolina. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023.
  32. ^ McCarvel, Nick (10 March 2023). "Hanyu Yuzuru's 'notte stellata' show debuts in Japan featuring Uchimura Kohei, Jason Brown and more". International Olympic Committee. Lausanne. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Conquest_of_Paradise_(song)&oldid=1260530082"