Conquest of Paradise (song)

1992 single by Vangelis

"Conquest of Paradise"

Single by Vangelis
from the album 1492: Conquest of Paradise
B-side| "Moxica and the Horse"
Released| October 1992 (1992-10)[1]
Length| 4:47
Label| East West
Songwriter(s)| Vangelis
Producer(s)| Vangelis
Vangelis singles chronology
| "Missing"
(1989)  | "Conquest of Paradise"
(1992)  | "Twenty Eighth Parallel"
(1993)

|
|

"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]

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

## Contents

* 1 Track listings
* 2 Lyrics
* 3 Credits
* 4 Charts
* 4.1 Weekly charts
* 4.2 Year-end charts
* 5 Certifications
* 6 In popular culture
* 6.1 Covers
* 6.1.1 At sport events
* 6.1.2 In TV shows and cinema
* 7 References

## 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]

* Choir: The English Chamber Choir
* Composed and arranged by Vangelis
* Choir conductor: Guy Protheroe
* Produced by Frederick Rousseau
* Recorded and mixed by Philippe Colonna, at Epsilon Laboratory, Paris

## Charts[edit]

### Weekly charts[edit]

| Chart (1992–1995)  | Peak
position

|

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] | 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] | 5
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] | 3
France (SNEP)[9] | 12
Germany (Official German Charts)[10] | 1
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] | 40
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] | 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] | 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 1
UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 60

### Year-end charts[edit]

| Chart (1995)  | Position

|

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] | 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] | 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18] | 24
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[19] | 14
Germany (Official German Charts)[20] | 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] | 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 2

## Certifications[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Austria (IFPI Austria)[24] | Gold  | 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[25] | 3× Platinum  | 1,500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[26] | Platinum  | 75,000^

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

## In popular culture[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 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.[27] 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.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Conquest of Paradise (Song by Vangelis) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts".
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. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Vangelis; 'Conquest of Paradise')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
26. ^ "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.
27. ^ "Alan Lucker: 26th-28th August the UTMB 2011".

* v
* t
* e

Vangelis

* Discography

Studio albums|

* Fais que ton rêve soit plus long que la nuit
* Earth
* Heaven and Hell
* Albedo 0.39
* Spiral
* Beaubourg
* Hypothesis
* The Dragon
* China
* See You Later
* Soil Festivities
* Mask
* Invisible Connections
* Direct
* The City
* Foros Timis Ston Greco
* Voices
* Oceanic
* El Greco
* Mythodea
* Rosetta
* Nocturne: The Piano Album
* Juno to Jupiter

Soundtracks|

* L'Apocalypse des animaux
* Entends-Tu Les Chiens Aboyer ?
* La Fête sauvage
* Opéra sauvage
* Chariots of Fire
* Antarctica
* Conquest of Paradise
* Blade Runner
* Alexander
* El Greco

Compilations|

* Themes
* Portraits (So Long Ago, So Clear)
* Reprise 1990–1999
* Odyssey: The Definitive Collection
* The Collection

Songs|

* "Rain and Tears"
* "It's Five O'Clock"
* "I Hear You Now"
* "Chariots of Fire"
* "I'll Find My Way Home"
* "State of Independence"
* "Conquest of Paradise"
* "Anthem"

Other collaborations|

* Odes
* Rapsodies

Related|

* Aphrodite's Child
* Jon and Vangelis

* Category

Authority control |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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