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{{Short description|1996 orchestral composition by John Williams}}
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'''''Summon the Heroes''''' is a one-movement [[orchestra]]l composition written for the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] by American composer [[John Williams]]. It premiered July 19, 1996 at the opening ceremony of the [[Olympic Games]] in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. The piece is the third of four compositions Williams has written for the Olympics, following 1984's ''Olympic Fanfare and Theme'' and 1988's ''Olympic Spirit'', and preceding 2002's ''[[Call of the Champions]]''.<ref name="Burlingame">{{cite web |last=Burlingame |first=Jon |title=Film Composers Achieve Olympic Victory: Tiomkin music to be featured in Sochi closing ceremony |work=[[The Film Music Society]] |date=February 21, 2014 |url=http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2014/022114.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref>
{{Infobox song
| name = Summon the Heroes
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[John Williams]]
| album = Summon the Heroes
| released = July 19, 1996 ([[1996 Summer Olympics]])
| recorded =
| venue = [[Avery Fisher Hall]], New York City, US
| genre = [[Classical music|Classical]]
| length = 6:17
| label = [[NBC]]
| writer = John Williams
| producer = John Williams
| chronology = [[John Williams]]
| prev_title = [[The Olympic Spirit]]
| prev_year = 1988
| next_title = [[Call of the Champions]]
| next_year = 2002
}}
⚫
'''''Summon the Heroes''''' is a one-movement [[orchestra]]l composition written for the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] by American composer [[John Williams]] for the [[NBC|National Broadcasting Company]] (NBC). It premiered on July 19, 1996, in abridged form, at the opening ceremony in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], played by the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]] and conducted by Williams. The piece is the third of four compositions he has written for the Olympics, following 1984's ''Olympic Fanfare and Theme'' and 1988's ''Olympic Spirit'', and preceding 2002's ''[[Call of the Champions]]''.<ref name="Burlingame">{{cite web |last=Burlingame |first=Jon |title=Film Composers Achieve Olympic Victory: Tiomkin music to be featured in Sochi closing ceremony |work=[[The Film Music Society]] |date=February 21, 2014 |url=http://www.filmmusicsociety.org/news_events/features/2014/022114.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref>


==Style and composition==
==Composition and performances==
''Summon the Heroes'' is scored for a full orchestra. It is in the key of C major and is marked at 80 beats per minute, lasting about six minutes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Summon the Heroes - Deluxe Score |url=https://www.halleonard.com/product/4490037/summon-the-heroes |website=Hal Leonard Online |access-date=1 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The piece is dedicated to Tim Morrison, trumpet soloist of the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]].<!-- Sourced to the score itself -->
⚫
''Summon the Heroes'' is scored for a full orchestra and runs just over six minutes. Music journalist Jon Burlingame described the piece as having "antiphonal brass choirs" and added that it was "longer and more complex" than Williams' previous Olympic compositions.<ref name="Burlingame" /> Christian Clemmensen of ''[[Filmtracks.com|Filmtracks]]'' has also noted "Roman and Greek-like historical appeal" in the brass writing that the work "featured with nobility."<ref name="Filmtracks">{{cite web |last=Clemmensen |first=Christian |title=American Journey (John Williams) |work=[[Filmtracks.com]] |date=January 14, 2002 |url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/american_journey.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref>


⚫
Music journalist Jon Burlingame described the piece as having "antiphonal brass choirs" and added that it was "longer and more complex" than Williams' previous Olympic compositions.<ref name="Burlingame" /> Christian Clemmensen of ''[[Filmtracks.com|Filmtracks]]'' noted "Roman and Greek-like historical appeal" in the brass writing that the work "featured with nobility."<ref name="Filmtracks">{{cite web |last=Clemmensen |first=Christian |title=American Journey (John Williams) |work=[[Filmtracks.com]] |date=January 14, 2002 |url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/american_journey.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref> Musicologist Margaret Dilling compared the piece to Williams's previous Olympic works, noting their common elements including an opening fanfare, theme performed by solo or soli trumpet, and a penultimate "galloping [[bolero]]-type ostinato" leading to a "grand-slam finale."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dilling |first1=Margaret W. |title=Review of The sound of the Games: Music for the 1996 Centennial Olympics; Summon the Heroes, ; Rhythm of the Games, , ; Voces Unidas, ; One Voice, ; People Make the World Go 'Round |journal=Ethnomusicology |date=1997 |volume=41 |issue=2 |page=316 |doi=10.2307/852621 |jstor=852621 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/852621 |access-date=1 January 2021}}</ref>
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==Reception==
⚫
In reviewing ''Summon the Heroes'' on the 2002 album ''American Journey'' (featuring an [[American Journey|eponymous composition]] and the 2002 Olympic theme ''[[Call of the Champions]]'', among other Williams' pieces), film music critic James Southall highly praised the work, saying that it "...manages to offer in six minutes the kind of development and depth that simply isn't possible in the shorter tracks that have come before." Southall added, "For my money it's Williams's best concert piece, and maybe his best piece period."<ref>{{cite web |last=Southall |first=James |title=American Journey Review |work=Movie Wave |date=2002 |url=http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/american_journey.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref> Christian Clemmensen of ''[[Filmtracks.com|Filmtracks]]'' also praised the work for having more world appeal than Williams' other Olympic compositions.<ref name="Filmtracks" />


It was played in full on the album ''Summon the Heroes'' by the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]], released April 30, 1996.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} The piece was played at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] on July 19 by the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]], in an abridged form lasting three-and-a-half minutes, and conducted by Williams.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henry |first1=Derrick |title=WILLIAMS' MUSIC TO SUMMON OLYMPIC HEROES |url=https://www.deseret.com/1996/3/28/19233365/williams-music-to-summon-olympic-heroes |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=Deseret News |date=28 March 1996 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="swed">{{cite news |last1=Swed |first1=Mark |title=The Best Music Doesn't Get 'Official' Nod |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-18-ca-25163-story.html |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=18 July 1996}}</ref>
⚫
==References==

{{reflist}}
⚫
==Reception==
⚫
In reviewing ''Summon the Heroes'' on the 2002 album ''American Journey'' (featuring [[American Journey|an eponymous composition]] and the 2002 Olympic theme ''[[Call of the Champions]]'', among other Williams' pieces), film music critic James Southall highly praised the work, saying that it "...manages to offer in six minutes the kind of development and depth that simply isn't possible in the shorter tracks that have come before." Southall added, "For my money it's Williams's best concert piece, and maybe his best piece period."<ref>{{cite web |last=Southall |first=James |title=American Journey Review |work=Movie Wave |date=2002 |url=http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/american_journey.html |accessdate=February 27, 2015}}</ref> Christian Clemmensen of ''[[Filmtracks.com|Filmtracks]]'' also praised the work for having more world appeal than Williams' other Olympic compositions.<ref name="Filmtracks" /> [[Mark Swed]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', however, called it "junk" and "no more than an exercise in chest-thumping and whooping", preferring [[Michael Torke]]'s [[Javelin (Torke)|''Javelin'']], which was commissioned for the 1996 [[Cultural Olympiad]].<ref name="swed" />


==See also==
==See also==
*''[[Call of the Champions]]''
*''[[Call of the Champions]]''
*[[List of compositions by John Williams]]
*[[List of compositions by John Williams]]

⚫
==References==
{{Reflist}}


{{Italic title}}
{{Italic title}}
{{John Williams}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Compositions by John Williams]]
[[Category:Compositions by John Williams]]
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[[Category:1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]]
[[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]]
[[Category:Concert band pieces]]
[[Category:20th-century classical music]]
[[Category:20th-century classical music]]
[[Category:Olympics on NBC]]

Latest revision as of 17:42, 18 July 2024

"Summon the Heroes"
Single by John Williams
from the album Summon the Heroes
ReleasedJuly 19, 1996 (1996 Summer Olympics)
VenueAvery Fisher Hall, New York City, US
GenreClassical
Length6:17
LabelNBC
Songwriter(s)John Williams
Producer(s)John Williams
John Williams singles chronology
"The Olympic Spirit"
(1988) 		"Summon the Heroes"
(1996) 		"Call of the Champions"
(2002)

Summon the Heroes is a one-movement orchestral composition written for the 1996 Summer Olympics by American composer John Williams for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). It premiered on July 19, 1996, in abridged form, at the opening ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia, played by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Williams. The piece is the third of four compositions he has written for the Olympics, following 1984's Olympic Fanfare and Theme and 1988's Olympic Spirit, and preceding 2002's Call of the Champions.[1]

Composition and performances

[edit]

Summon the Heroes is scored for a full orchestra. It is in the key of C major and is marked at 80 beats per minute, lasting about six minutes.[2] The piece is dedicated to Tim Morrison, trumpet soloist of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

Music journalist Jon Burlingame described the piece as having "antiphonal brass choirs" and added that it was "longer and more complex" than Williams' previous Olympic compositions.[1] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks noted "Roman and Greek-like historical appeal" in the brass writing that the work "featured with nobility."[3] Musicologist Margaret Dilling compared the piece to Williams's previous Olympic works, noting their common elements including an opening fanfare, theme performed by solo or soli trumpet, and a penultimate "galloping bolero-type ostinato" leading to a "grand-slam finale."[4]

It was played in full on the album Summon the Heroes by the Boston Pops Orchestra, released April 30, 1996.[citation needed] The piece was played at the 1996 Summer Olympics on July 19 by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, in an abridged form lasting three-and-a-half minutes, and conducted by Williams.[5][6]

Reception

[edit]

In reviewing Summon the Heroes on the 2002 album American Journey (featuring an eponymous composition and the 2002 Olympic theme Call of the Champions, among other Williams' pieces), film music critic James Southall highly praised the work, saying that it "...manages to offer in six minutes the kind of development and depth that simply isn't possible in the shorter tracks that have come before." Southall added, "For my money it's Williams's best concert piece, and maybe his best piece period."[7] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks also praised the work for having more world appeal than Williams' other Olympic compositions.[3] Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times, however, called it "junk" and "no more than an exercise in chest-thumping and whooping", preferring Michael Torke's Javelin, which was commissioned for the 1996 Cultural Olympiad.[6]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Burlingame, Jon (February 21, 2014). "Film Composers Achieve Olympic Victory: Tiomkin music to be featured in Sochi closing ceremony". The Film Music Society. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "Summon the Heroes - Deluxe Score". Hal Leonard Online. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Clemmensen, Christian (January 14, 2002). "American Journey (John Williams)". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Dilling, Margaret W. (1997). "Review of The sound of the Games: Music for the 1996 Centennial Olympics; Summon the Heroes, ; Rhythm of the Games, , ; Voces Unidas, ; One Voice, ; People Make the World Go 'Round". Ethnomusicology. 41 (2): 316. doi:10.2307/852621. JSTOR 852621. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. ^ Henry, Derrick (28 March 1996). "WILLIAMS' MUSIC TO SUMMON OLYMPIC HEROES". Deseret News. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b Swed, Mark (18 July 1996). "The Best Music Doesn't Get 'Official' Nod". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. ^ Southall, James (2002). "American Journey Review". Movie Wave. Retrieved February 27, 2015.

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