In the bold, epic vein of his themes for "Superman" and "Star Wars," celebrated film composer John Williams has written "Summon the Heroes," a bombastic six-minute work that's been designated the "Official Centennial Olympic Theme of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games."
Commissioned by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, the work was previewed at an ACOG press conference. The choice of Williams was hardly a surprise; he wrote the themes for the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.Williams' new symphonic score may not be subtle, but it is likely to become very familiar. In a 3 1/2-minute, abridged form, "Summon the Heroes" will be performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Williams' direction at Opening Ceremonies on July 19. That show is expected to draw a worldwide television audience of 3.5 billion people.
And there's much more. "This will now be the theme that will be used in varying lengths for all the medal ceremonies for the duration of the games," says Don Mischer, executive producer and director of opening and closing ceremonies. "It will serve as a 15-second fanfare, and also for processionals of anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes."
While Mischer said he has no immediate plans to issue a recording of the Olympic versions of the theme, the six-minute "Summon the Heroes" will be the title track on an album of Olympic-oriented music with the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by Williams, and due for release on the Sony Classical label April 30.
Other album selections include Leonard Bernstein's "Olympic Hymn," written for the 1981 International Olympic Congress; Michael Torke's "Javelin," commissioned by ACOG; and Williams' own "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," written for the 1984 Games.