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John Williams Writes New Theme for ESPN College Football Championship - OF GRIT AND GLORY


DangerMotif

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A quick question -- would you guys consider this a TV theme (ESPN is a network, after all) or event music written for the actual games in the stadium? Not sure I've understood its primary use, despite reading all the posts in this thread. I feel like it's a bit like "The Olympic Spirit", which was really a TV theme for NBC more than it was event music, since Williams wasn't involved in the Seoul Olympics in any way.

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1 hour ago, Tom said:

I don't watch college football--maybe this is Georgia's thing. I think that it is from last year. 

 

 

 

That is indeed a UGA thing - been doing that for years now between the 3rd and 4th quarters.

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Follow-up to @Thor's question: will we ever hear this piece again?  Is some version of this going to be ESPN's theme for the championship every year, or was it truly just a one-off piece for the 2023 montage film?  If the former, it's like an Olympic piece; if the latter, it's like the Dukakis fanfare.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 10/1/2023 at 1:01 AM, Jay said:

Did nobody notice ESPN officially posted this, this afternoon? 

 

 

 

This is now coming up as private:

image.png

 

Anyone know if this is still officially available anywhere?

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What I mean by "supposed to" is: when you watch a movie there is very little chance you will ever hear the music on its own all the way through.

 

Whereas with these kinds of things, there is more potential for presentations that allow the music to used without any "distractions"

 

They could have chosen just to present Williams music and had the voice-over via text.

 

Or just played the voice-over plus music and no ambient sfx.

 

Plus, there was no official release, and we don't know if it will be used again.

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  • 3 weeks later...
2 hours ago, Ricard said:

 

That is phenomenal; the newly revised ending was a brilliant surprise!

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I think there is some extra flourish at the 2:00 mark (youtube) relative to the original.  

15 hours ago, LB Makes Stuff said:

It’s great to hear the whole thing without any voice-overs. It’s genuinely one of the greatest pieces of music he’s written in my opinion. 

He manages to combine heroism, enthusiastic fun, and dramatic writing in a seamless manner, and without any filler. As much as I like Unfinished Journey, in my mind this piece gets to the essence of what that piece was going for but without it becoming a bit exhausting.  I think this, along with the Oscar Overture and Hollywood Bowl piece exhibit high marks--almost as if Williams is a bit nostalgic about this older style but firmly rooted in his mature compositional outlook.  

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Finally was able to play this on my living room setup and give it a dedicated listen.

 

Man, its great! 

 

Not sure what else I can say about it that @Tom didn't just cover nicely!

 

Except one thing : the slower tempo here is really unfortunate. It really feels a bit sluggish at times due only to tempo. I hope the next time he conducts it, he does it at a tempo closer to the studio recording. 

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19 hours ago, LB Makes Stuff said:

 It’s genuinely one of the greatest pieces of music he’s written in my opinion. 

 it's pretty good but I think the Vienna Ball Fanfare is better. I can't believe we never got a complete fan recording 

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Vienna is certainly more stately, grand, and classical.  It will be nice to hear the whole piece someday.  Until then, I cannot say which is better, but both are top-notch.  Williams has been on fire since Covid.  

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36 minutes ago, Jay said:

If Overture To The OscarsOf Grit And Glory, Fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic Ball, Centennial OvertureObi-Wan Kenobi, and The Fabelmans are an indication of what's in store for Indiana Jones 5.... oh we're in for a treat


There was never any doubt in my mind.

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3 hours ago, Jay said:

If Overture To The OscarsOf Grit And Glory, Fanfare for the Vienna Philharmonic Ball, Centennial OvertureObi-Wan Kenobi, and The Fabelmans are an indication of what's in store for Indiana Jones 5.... oh we're in for a treat

 

Helena's Theme definitely feels at home with all these other new works. Gloriously refined and elegant.

 

I have complete faith that Mangold's comments about the score aren't some lavish exaggeration – I reckon JW's knocked it out of the park.

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On 25/03/2023 at 5:41 PM, Ricard said:

 

 

Interesting comment on that YT video:

 

"I was always disappointed they left out 3:47-3:56 in the actual video, despite using it in the advertisements for the game. Thanks."

 

Can anyone else confirm this? I (like others on this board) thought this bit was new, but is it possible that it was in the original piece/recording, and the ESPN crew just cut it out for the video?

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9 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

 

Interesting comment on that YT video:

 

"I was always disappointed they left out 3:47-3:56 in the actual video, despite using it in the advertisements for the game. Thanks."

 

Can anyone else confirm this? I (like others on this board) thought this bit was new, but is it possible that it was in the original piece/recording, and the ESPN crew just cut it out for the video?

Fixed the text color, for those viewing in other skins.

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

 

Interesting comment on that YT video:

 

"I was always disappointed they left out 3:47-3:56 in the actual video, despite using it in the advertisements for the game. Thanks."

 

Can anyone else confirm this? I (like others on this board) thought this bit was new, but is it possible that it was in the original piece/recording, and the ESPN crew just cut it out for the video?

I don't know if it ever supposed to be in the original, but I believe it was bumper.  If nothing else, Williams liked it enough to integrate it into the main piece. 

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