Footage of LSO recording of 'Call of the Champions'.

[zoltan_902 162]

 

 

This clip surfaced on my feed, and although it's obviously from over 20 years ago, it looks to have only been uploaded relatively recently.

I had no idea Call of the Champions had a recording with the LSO/London Voices. Surely this recording was never actually released? Was this simply of a whim of JW whilst he had access to these ensembles during recording of SW2?

It's also fascinating to see raw footage of him conducting a rehearsal, and how he perceives and rectifies flaws in the performances. I wonder if the musicians feel intimidated by him? There must be enormous pressure placed upon both him, and the musicians to get near perfection as possible.

[King Mark 3,829]

I don't remember seeing that, only that there was a rumor he recorded it with the LSO. Or am I forgetting this and it was discussed before?

[mikal_grig 556]

This shot has an unexplainable aura to it

Having a sip of water in silence while literally every other person in this room is there only because of you and is working on getting your idea into reality.

[Maurizio 5,883]

1 hour ago, zoltan_902 said:

This clip surfaced on my feed, and although it's obviously from over 20 years ago, it looks to have only been uploaded relatively recently.

I had no idea Call of the Champions had a recording with the LSO/London Voices. Surely this recording was never actually released? Was this simply of a whim of JW whilst he had access to these ensembles during recording of SW2?

 

It was recorded during a break of the AOTC sessions. I seem to remember that the reason was purely because of AFM union issues of the original Utah recording, so it could be used for the television broadcast.

[kingtolkien 24]

This is a great find. It is wonderful. Love his expression at 5:03. So funny.

[thx99 1,986]

EDIT: 
@Steve and @Miguel Andrade posted about this and the interview clip below back in March: 

 

 

Here's an accompanying interview...

 

 

[Tom 5,607]

Yes, this was seen by us older folks back in the day.  It has annoyed us from that point onward that it has not been released.  Maybe it will be included in Vol III of the anthology, but it won't.  

[Madmartigan JC 88]

Thanks!! Didn't remember seeing that recording session footage!
It's always welcome to revisit such gems, of course.

Misspellings and funny spellings (like Star Wars names) are not rare in JW's scores (someone should make a list one day), but "EPESODE II" in the cover caught my attention, here. A mere typo, of course, but it's repeated on the spine!

 

[Luke Skywalker 2,187]

2 hours ago, Madmartigan JC said:

Thanks!! Didn't remember seeing that recording session footage!
It's always welcome to revisit such gems, of course.

Misspellings and funny spellings (like Star Wars names) are not rare in JW's scores (someone should make a list one day), but "EPESODE II" in the cover caught my attention, here. A mere typo, of course, but it's repeated on the spine!

 

heck thats a huge typo

 

My OCD would have made me reprint the whole hardbound book. XD

[Jesse 101]

10 hours ago, mikal_grig said:

Having a sip of water in silence while literally every other person in this room is there only because of you and is working on getting your idea into reality.

Okay, this might be a bit exaggerated. John Williams isn’t the only reason they’re there. They didn’t all come in on their free time to fulfill Williams' artistic vision. It’s their job—just as it was Williams' job to compose the piece and then conduct it for this recording, which involved a lot of people.

And Williams, being the working man that he is, probably sees it that way too—that he’s just one part of the bigger picture. Just one of the many hardworking musicians involved. He just happened to be the one commissioned to put the dots on the paper.

But I do get what you meant—being surrounded by all those musicians, all practicing your composition.

[Tom 5,607]

7 hours ago, Tom said:

Yes, this was seen by us older folks back in the day.  It has annoyed us from that point onward that it has not been released.  Maybe it will be included in Vol III of the anthology, but it won't.  

Just to be clear on my annoyance, I feel that the Utah recording of the piece is bad.  There is little life to the choir.  My guess is that it is the recording more than the performance, as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the best in the world, and the actual opening ceremony performance was fantastic.  But, the LSO recording jumps off the screen/speakers as night and day better. Yes, the tv version is poorly balanced--the males seem like they are going to jump in the Emperor's theme at any moment.  But, it has a vitality and range not found in the recording that we have.  

[Bayesian 1,513]

9 hours ago, thx99 said:

EDIT: 
@Steve and @Miguel Andrade posted about this and the interview clip below back in March: 

 

 

Here's an accompanying interview...

 

 

Thanks for sharing that link. The one at the top of the thread makes reference to a part 2 -- which your link provides!

[BB-8 4,984]

So is it really the Utah Symphony on the recording?

 

[Tom 5,607]

Yes. The picture was taken toward the end of the recording sessions, which due to a glitch in the space/time continuum, took 25 years to complete.   

[thx99 1,986]

[BB-8 4,984]

 

25 years later...

"Abravanel Hall is saved!"

[mikal_grig 556]

12 hours ago, Jesse said:

They didn’t all come in on their free time to fulfill Williams' artistic vision. It’s their job.

oh i guess your'e fun at parties

[Jesse 101]

38 minutes ago, mikal_grig said:

oh i guess your'e fun at parties

Yeah, i dunno. Maybe i took it a bit too seriously. The comment just seemed so glazing to me.

[SilasGupta 19]

On 21/05/2025 at 4:14 PM, zoltan_902 said:

 

 

 

13:20 - Woopsie

[BB-8 4,984]

symph fart

[Matt S. 668]

At 12:45 it looks like he realized he forgot to cue the choir for their next statement of “Citius, Altius, Fortius” 🤣🤣🤣.   Even JW makes mistakes!

[Marian Schedenig 10,139]

16 hours ago, Jesse said:

Okay, this might be a bit exaggerated. John Williams isn’t the only reason they’re there. They didn’t all come in on their free time to fulfill Williams' artistic vision. It’s their job—just as it was Williams' job to compose the piece and then conduct it for this recording, which involved a lot of people.

 

I don't think it has to be a contradiction. Whatever their thoughts about this piece and whether it's a special moment in the lives for some or just another working day with a paycheck for others, they're definitely all there, or at least there doing what they're doing, because of John Williams.

 

15 hours ago, Tom said:

Just to be clear on my annoyance, I feel that the Utah recording of the piece is bad.  There is little life to the choir.  My guess is that it is the recording more than the performance, as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the best in the world, and the actual opening ceremony performance was fantastic.

 

 

It's a shoddy recording, and who knows, I might like the piece better if it sounded more lively and natural. There's a live recording somewhere in the Boston Pops archives that's far better than the officially released version.

[Jesse 101]

12 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I don't think it has to be a contradiction. Whatever their thoughts about this piece and whether it's a special moment in the lives for some or just another working day with a paycheck for others, they're definitely all there, or at least there doing what they're doing, because of John Williams.

Yes, my point was not that they are just there because they're getting paid. But rather that John Williams, too, is there because of the Olympics and because someone commissioned the piece, someone scheduled the recording, and so on. It's not like Williams paid them to be there, but rather that Williams, like the other musicians, is getting paid to be there. I did not want to imply that the musicians feel indifferent about playing the piece or anything, just that John Williams isn't the sole initiator of this piece or this recording. 

But it's really not that important or anything. I don't know why I even wrote all that in the first place.  
 

[Marian Schedenig 10,139]

2 hours ago, Jesse said:

I did not want to imply that the musicians feel indifferent about playing the piece or anything, just that John Williams isn't the sole initiator of this piece or this recording.

 

Some may well be indifferent. And not to drag this out unnecessarily, still: Williams obviously was there because of his own job, but all the musicians were there specifically to perform his music. That's far more common than it might seem to many of us who aren't in any way solo artists, but for that specific large group of people gathered there on that one day, Williams is indeed the one person directly responsible for them being there.

[MrJosh 1,003]

This is really cool to see! I'd watch hours of this kind of recording session footage. 

 

Man, I love how good the LSO horns sound at my favorite horn spot in this piece, right around 13:43.