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Vangelis, composer of ‘Chariots of Fire’ score, dies at 79

Vangelis the Greek composer whose rousing electronic-themed music for the award-winning film Oscar, 1981’s “Chariots of Fire”, one of the best-known soundtracks of the 1980s, died at the age of 79, according to the Athens News news agency published this Thursday (19).

Citing an ad from his lawyers’ office, the agency said Vangelis died late Tuesday, without citing a cause of death.

Despite having been successful in the European progressive rock scene in the early 1970s, he was uncomfortable with the expectations of a commercial artist and practically took refuge in a recording studio he created for himself in London.

It was there that he wrote the soundtrack for “Chariots of Fire”, the story of the triumph of a group of British runners in the 1924 Olympic Games .

Vangelis once said that the soundtrack, which won him an Oscar and topped the charts for weeks, was in part a tribute to his father, who had been an enthusiastic amateur runner. But he played down the popularity she received.

“It’s just another song,” he said in an interview.

The success of “Chariots of Fire” overshadowed his other soundtracks, but he wrote the music for several films, such as “Missing”, directed by his countryman Costa-Gravas, and for Ridley Scott’s futuristic thriller Blade. Runner”.

Source: CNN Brasil

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