Music Monday: Olympic Edition
Date: 7/30/2012
Today's Music Monday (Olympic edition) features the London Symphony Orchestra with a cameo appearance by Rowan Atkinson -- better known as Mr. Bean -- performing the iconic title theme "Chariots of Fire" for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. The 1981 British film tells the story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, a British Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.
The film won an Academy Award for original soundtrack. Composed by Vangelis, a Greek-born electronic composer, the soundtrack for the film uses a modern 1980s electronic sound (despite the film being a period piece set in the 1920s), with a strong use of synthesizer and piano among other instruments. This was a bold and significant departure from earlier period films, which employed sweeping orchestral instrumentals.
Here is.. "Chariots of Fire":