Greece: Rodopi Mountain Range National Park ~ Vangelis: Mythodea ~ Movement IX

My personal reasons for the musical choice: Mythodea:
Though the lyrics of Movement IX say that the mother (of Life) is coming, to earth, I do not see the mother other than Earth herself, and her Nature.
The music Vangelis composed, the way Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman sing the words on the notes in movement IX, how the chorus creates magical powerful sound-energies, express what I feel when I am watching nature, when I am in nature.

Mythodea is a symphony! Nature, pure nature, healthy, untouched nature, wilderness, is what especially Movement 9 expresses, and in my experiences Vangelis goes even beyond the beauty of Beethoven, with his symphony number 6, the Pastoral Symphony, an ode to nature.

Also the reality of the time we live in, with the catastrophic disappearing of pure wilderness, the catastrophic climate change, the catastrophic pollution, the growing use of pesticides that kill insects, the food for birds, and because of that the disappearing of what were once the most common bird species, makes me deeply aware of the power of nature, and what is (thank God) still there. The power and intense beauty of this music is like an elegy for one of the last Nature Paradises on earth: Rhodopes Mountains.

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THE RODOPI MOUNTAIN RANGE NATIONAL PARK
The Rodopi Mountain Range National Park (RMRNP) is located at the central-west massif of the mountain range of Rodopi. Its boundary is defined by the north-east slopes of Falakro Mountain and it continues following the north riverbank of Nestos, to the Greek – Bulgarian borders and the mountainous area of Xanthi.

The RMRNP was characterized as “National Park” according to the Joint Ministerial Decision 40379/01-10-2009 because of the plethora of the flora and fauna species listed on the Annexes III, IV and V of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC.

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DOCUMENTARY
YouTube video with the amazing documentary about the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOjatnK3H74

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THE GREEK RHODOPES
The Greek Rhodopes are the part of the Rhodope Mountains that is located in Greece. The Rhodope regional unit in the northern part of the country is named after the region. This area includes the Rodopi Mountain Range National Park.

The Greek Rhodopes are characterized by numerous peaks of relatively low altitude. Their highest peak is Delimposka (1.953) in the mountain of Frakto, near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Nowadays the Southern Rhodopes is an area almost deserted. After World War II and Greek Civil War most villages depopulated permanently and their inhabitants never returned. Even the Sarakatsani stockbreeders abandoned the difficult life of Rhodopes. The depopulation of the region, that has not been grazed fore more than 50 years, combined with high rainfall and its geographical location has contributed to the creation and maintenance of a biological paradise. There grow coniferous trees, such as the Norway Spruce and the Silver Birch, that cannot be found elsewhere in Greece.
More: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rhodope_Mountains

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THE MUSIC: VANGELIS ~ MYTHODEA, MOVEMENT IX
Mythodea — Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a 1993 choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. Originally premiered in concert in 1993, it was published in 2001 by Vangelis' new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new concert.

The 2001 version of Mythodea was recorded and played on-stage by: Vangelis on synthesizers and keyboards, the London Metropolitan Orchestra augmented by two harpists, sopranos Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, the chorus of the Greek National Opera, and, for the concert only, the Seistron and Typana percussion ensembles.

The concert was held in Athens, Greece on June 28, 2001, and the record was officially released on October 23, 2001, to coincide with the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft entering the orbit of planet Mars. A video of the concert was released in early 2002.
More: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mythodea
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mythodea-Music-NASA-Mission-Odyssey/dp/B00005OSX7

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MOVEMENT IX, WITH KATHLEEN BATTLE AND JESSYE NORMAN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kpU67eJlxw

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MYTHODEA, THE FULL CONCERT AND THE LYRICS
https://www.youtube.com/user/VangelisMythodea/featured

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Видео Greece: Rodopi Mountain Range National Park ~ Vangelis: Mythodea ~ Movement IX канала Fond of Greek