''Call of the Champions'' is a fanfare for orchestra and choir composed by John Williams for the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. Premiering at the Opening Ceremony on February 8, 2002, it began with the call by the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...

of "Citius! Altius! Fortius!" (Faster, Higher, Stronger), which is the Olympic Motto chosen by the founder of the modern Games, Baron

Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...

. The recording of this theme heard during the 2002 Winter Games was made November 27, 2001 in Maurice

Abravanel Hall Abravanel Hall is a concert hall in Salt Lake City, Utah that is home to the Utah Symphony, and is part of the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts. The hall is an architectural landmark in the city, and is adjacent to Temple Square and the ...

in Salt Lake City, with the composer conducting the

Utah Symphony Orchestra The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

and the 360-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Because of differing opinions on the pronunciation of the Latin text, the Choir actually recorded several versions, leaving the final decision to be made by the producers. The issue was whether to use a Classical pronunciation of the Olympic Motto (kitty-us, alty-us, forty-us), a liturgical one (cheetsy-oos, ahltsy-oos, fortsy-oos), or a hybrid of the two (chitty-us, etc.). In addition to the text variations, the Choir and Orchestra also recorded two versions of the theme for timing purposes. The full-length, five-minute version appears on the John Williams CD '' American Journey'' and in the Tabernacle Choir's own recording on ''Spirit of America'' (with the Orchestra at Temple Square) and is the one performed by the

and

the Orchestra at Temple Square The Orchestra at Temple Square (Orchestra) is a 110-member orchestra located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Orchestra was created in 1999 under the direction of Gordon B. Hinckley, then the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain ...

in their concerts. A shorter version, about half the length of the original, was recorded for the Opening Ceremony of the Games. In addition, the theme was repeated throughout the games. A common occurrence was during medal ceremonies where the theme played during the presentation portion of the ceremony. The work is Williams' fourth composition for the Olympics, after 1984's "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," 1988's "The Olympic Spirit," and 1996's "Summon the Heroes." This song was used at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece as the torch was brought into the stadium during the opening ceremony.

References

2002 Winter Olympics Compositions by John Williams Compositions for symphony orchestra Choral compositions Concert band pieces Olympic theme songs 2002 compositions {{Olympic-stub

See also

References