The Isle is full of noises.
At the beating heart of last night’s London Olympics Opening Ceremony was a musical score produced by Rick Smith of Underworld.
From the moment the specially-commissioned 23-ton bell, the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, chimed, the Olympic Stadium came to life with music. The emotional punch and strength of two brand new compositions from Music Directors Underworld provided two of the most stirring moments of the night. From the majestic beauty of the LSO’s On Track Orchestra’s performing Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ to performances from Mike Oldfield, Frank Turner, Arctic Monkeys, Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzee Rascal and Emile Sandé, the entire Opening Ceremony celebrated the global impact of British music.
Says Smith, “Music is Britain’s cultural heartbeat; it’s a perpetual act of revolutionary thought. From William Blake to the Beatles via the Clash and the Chemical Brothers, the soundtrack to our lives fizzes and hums all around us like a stray signal from a radio dial that your internal antenna just can’t help but tune into”
Smith composed two original pieces of music for the Ceremony as well as producing all the music elements of the three-hour extravaganza.
‘And I Will Kiss’, the epic 15 minute score to the sequence ‘Pandemonium’ includes performances by, among others, the 1000 drummers, Dame Evelyn Glennie, LSO On Track Orchestra and The Grimethorpe Colliery Band.
‘Calibans Dream’ which announced the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the stadium, and the subsequent lighting of the cauldron, features vocal performances by Alex Trimble (Two Door Cinema Club), Elizabeth Roberts, Esme Smith, The Dockhead Choir and Only Men Aloud.
The Opening Ceremony also featured performances from Emeli Sandé with ‘Abide With Me’, Dizzee Rascal performing ‘Bonkers’, Arctic Monkeys with ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and a cover of The Beatles ‘Come Together’, Sir Paul McCartney with ‘The End’ and an inspired accompaniment to the army of NHS nurses and children from Great Ormond Street Hospital by Mike Oldfield. His live reworking of the classic ‘Tubular Bells’ and ‘In Dulci Jubilo’ was yet another uniquely British showstopper.
Danny Boyle, Artistic Director of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, revealed in January that the Ceremony theme had been inspired by The Tempest’s ‘Isles of Wonder’ speech – from which the show’s title was taken, and stared a cast of more than 10,000 performers.
In December 2011 it was announced that LOCOG had appointed Underworld, the British electronic music duo, as Music Directors of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Underworld’s Rick Smith and Karl Hyde had previously worked with filmmaker Danny Boyle on film soundtracks such as ‘Trainspotting’, ‘The Beach’ and ‘Sunshine’, and most recently on the Olivier-nominated music for ‘Frankenstein’ at the National Theatre.
The Olympic Games is regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate. The celebration of the Games encompasses many protocols, symbols, such as the Olympic Flag and Flame, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. As the Host City, London has showcased itself to the world, with an estimated viewing audience of up to 1 billion people.
