Jump to content

"Summon the Heroes" featured in fresh upload of 1996 Oympics opening ceremony.


zoltan_902

Recommended Posts

I know things get better with time, and technology and countries spending idiotic amounts of money on the Olympics. But is it just me... or is that show that is happening (can't even say goes with) John's glorious music just plain ugly? I mean, I remember being in marching band as a riff raff highschool kid and we did much better than that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doesn't sound bad but the stadium acoustics don't seem to favor it

 

5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

There's an edit in the broadcast in the middle of the piece!

 He played the short "radio version" If I remember correctly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice! John Williams was definitely the best thing about the 1996 Atlanta games, which was otherwise a terrible event... Seems like everybody wants to forget it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember seeing this with glee back when it aired live in '96.

 

[Incidentally, the footage seems to have been taken down now].

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Thor said:

I remember seeing this with glee back when it aired live in '96.

 

[Incidentally, the footage seems to have been taken down now].

 

It's there, but you have to watch it on Youtube.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Thor said:

[incidentally, the footage seems to have been taken down now].

 

Works for me, I think you just need to open youtube to watch it. 

 

EDIT too late ! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Josh500 said:

Nice! John Williams was definitely the best thing about the 1996 Atlanta games, which was otherwise a terrible event... Seems like everybody wants to forget it. 

 

What was so terrible about it? Did the Britons loose everything? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An interesting thing about this, the reason for my 'glee' (as I mentioned earlier), is that it was the first time I saw Williams live. Remember, this was in the early days of internet, and there was no Youtube. I also hadn't received any VHSes or CD-Rs with Williams footage at this point. I think I may have seen the Williams footage on the NIXON CD-ROM material, but that was about it. Everything else was just still images and facts culled from various sources -- from encyclopedias to fan sites. So I remember getting all giddy and bubbly when he came on the screen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

Incidentally, was the footage of him on the NIXON cd-rom only an interview? what there any video of him during the recording sessions?

 

Hmmm...I seem to remember a bit of recording session footage too, with Anthony Hopkins watching eagerly (or maybe that was the RED DRAGON CD-ROM material, I sometimes confuse them, because Hopkins appears in both, commenting on the score). It's been decades since I saw this material, but thankfully, it's on Youtube now, in all its glorious, grainy 90s quality - with Williams sporting a rare, yellow shirt. You can check there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, WilliamsStarShip2282 said:

Incidentally, was the footage of him on the NIXON cd-rom only an interview? what there any video of him during the recording sessions?

 

 

Interview snippets only.  No recording session footage.

 

29 minutes ago, Thor said:

It's been decades since I saw this material, but thankfully, it's on Youtube now, in all its glorious, grainy 90s quality - with Williams sporting a rare, yellow shirt. You can check there.

 

240x180, 15fps. Yuck!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Thor said:

the reason for my 'glee'

Well, I recorded it with glee onto VHS (that tape is still at my parents') before we went to London to see (and meet!!) him conducting the LSO. Then he signed the backside page of my booklet to "Summon the Heroes" that I had bought earlier that year. I even found a rare Canadian CD pressing (the only one?) of "Fiddler on the Roof" right at Heathrow airport. (imagine my *utter* surprise, imagine the probability of that now LOL) *memories* *sigh*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both lovely videos - 1996 and 2002. Both had previously been on YouTube, but (particularly for 2002) in much lower quality. They certainly are far from HD even now, but at least they are better. Very great to watch again. 

 

For "Summon the Heroes": The image and sound of the herald trumpets on the roof of the stadium playing JW fanfares as the sun sets behind them is unbelievably epic. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seeing the 2002 ceremony live at the time was great too, but at this point, I had already acquired a great deal of Williams videos on VHS, CD-R and video discs. So the 'novelty' value had worn off a bit. On the other hand, it had a closer, personal connection. Norway has always been a winter sports country (and subsequently won the medal statistics at the 2002 Olympics), so it was as if Williams created music to something that was far closer to home -- even though the games themselves took place in the US. Cool connection.

 

Plus, it was Williams' way of celebrating his own 70th birthday. That's neat too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Seeing the 2002 ceremony live was great too, but at this point, I had already acquired a great deal of Williams videos on VHS, CD-R and video discs. So the 'novelty' value wasn't there quite as much. On the other hand, it had a closer, personal connection. Norway has always been a winter sports country (and subsequently won the medal statistics at the 2002 Olympics), so it was as if Williams created music to something that was far closer to home -- even though the games themselves took place in the US. Cool connection.

 

Plus, it was Williams' way of celebrating his own 70th birthday. That's neat too.


I certainly think this version will be considered the definitive, given the official Olympic channel is hosting it, and it remains uncluttered by inane network commentary. Of course it's not high resolution - HD was a still a long way off, but it looks very clean. This is as good as it'll ever be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, aescalle said:

All the youtube links have been disabled by the Olympic committee... :-(

So sad!

 

As others have said, you can see them if you go Youtube itself. It's the 'embed' videos that are disabled.

 

By the way, I'd love to read more personal stories surrounding the original broadcasts of the olympic ceremonies. Or perhaps most members here are too young to have experienced them live?

 

I'm too young to remember the '84 Olympics, as I was only 6 at the time (well, I have some vague memory of seeing Carl Lewis running the 100 meters, but no memory of the opening ceremony with Williams).

 

I remember the '88 Olympics far better, especially the prevalent "Hand in Hand" song by Korea. But Williams' theme was obviously not used in Norway, only for NBC in the US.

 

The '87 Special Olympics, I have no memory of, nor am I sure it was ever broadcast. In fact, I didn't even know there existed a Special Olympics untill I first heard about the Williams piece. I knew there was a Paralympics, but not a Special Olympics for mentally handicapped people (or whatever the politically correct term is these days). I've been trying to find footage of the event with Williams' theme performed, but been unsuccessful so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Thor said:

The '87 Special Olympics, I have no memory of, nor am I sure it was ever broadcast. In fact, I didn't even know there existed a Special Olympics untill I first heard about the Williams piece. I knew there was a Paralympics, but not a Special Olympics for mentally handicapped people (or whatever the politically correct term is these days). I've been trying to find footage of the event with Williams' theme performed, but been unsuccessful so far.

 

Here you go, @Thor (conducted by Jack Elliott, not Williams):

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Why can't that lady shut up?

 

Yes, very annoying, but THANKS A BUNCH, thx, for finding the video. Never seen that before.

 

By the way, we need a proper recording of theme. I have the US Marine Band and Bugle Corps recording like everyone else, but it's rather lackluster, IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Yes, very annoying, but THANKS A BUNCH, thx, for finding the video. Never seen that before.

 

You're welcome, @Thor!!

 

11 minutes ago, Thor said:

By the way, we need a proper recording of theme. I have the US Marine Band and Bugle Corps recording like everyone else, but it's rather lackluster, IMO.

 

Probably the best version on YouTube is this one, albeit it's a bit fast and has been edited down as part of the "Evening at Pops" medley:

 

 

And too bad this one isn't better-quality...

 

 

All of the other versions on YouTube are painfully slow!!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, that last one was on the old "Fanfares and Themes" bootleg from the 90s. Terrible sound, although the performance is decent. The first one, I hadn't heard before, but as you said -- it's part of a medley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/26/2020 at 6:18 PM, Jurassic Shark said:

 

What was so terrible about it? Did the Britons loose everything? :)

 

No, there was a terrorist attack, and over a hundred people were injured...

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing#:~:text=The Centennial Olympic Park bombing,died of a heart attack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/25/2020 at 6:07 PM, King Mark said:

I doesn't sound bad but the stadium acoustics don't seem to favor it

 

So...what you’re hearing there is the acoustics of the Woodruff Arts Center concert hall (1996) and the Maurice Abravanel concert hall (2002). You would not want to hear what an orchestra would really sound like playing in a stadium.

🤫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, BrotherSound said:

 

So...what you’re hearing there is the acoustics of the Woodruff Arts Center concert hall (1996) and the Maurice Abravanel concert hall (2002). You would not want to hear what an orchestra would really sound like playing in a stadium.

🤫

Like what we had with Fanfare for Fenway?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, The River (Fal) said:

Like what we had with Fanfare for Fenway?

 

Almost certainly! Most televised outdoor performances of classical ensembles are prerecorded, unless it’s on a proper outdoor stage, like the Esplanade in Boston.

 

I’ve actually confirmed it with musicians in those orchestras, so it’s not just conjecture. It’s nearly impossible to capture decent sound in a wide open place like that, very difficult for a large ensemble to hear each other in order to play together and in-tune, and humidity wrecks havoc on many instruments. There’s a very good reason oboes, bassoons, and string instruments aren’t used in marching bands. Plus, nobody wants to take expensive instruments outside where they can get rained on. Often, musicians will have a cheap “beater” for these occasions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.