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Star Wars Concert Suites


curlytoot

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By memory:

STAR WARS

  • Main Title
  • Princess Leia's Theme
  • The Little People
  • Here They Come! *
  • The Battle
  • The Throne Room and Finale

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

  • The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)
  • Yoda's Theme
  • Han Solo and the Princess
  • The Asteroid Field
  • Finale

RETURN OF THE JEDI

  • Parade of the Ewoks
  • Luke and Leia
  • Jabba the Hutt
  • The Forest Battle

THE PHANTOM MENACE

  • The Flag Parade
  • Anakin's Theme
  • The Adventures of Jar Jar
  • Duel of the Fates

ATTACK OF THE CLONES

  • Across the Stars

REVENGE OF THE SITH

  • Battle of the Heroes

THE FORCE AWAKENS **

  • Rey's Theme
  • March of the Resistance
  • Scherzo for X-Wings

* Not included in the original Williams suite, but suggested by Charles Gerhardt and approved by Williams.
** Unconfirmed

EDIT: Written at the same time as Score's post.

EDIT 2: "Cantina Band" is not part of the original Star Wars suite, it was first added by Zubin Mehta for his 1978 recording, then included on several re-recordings, but it's not an actual movement of the SW suite.

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Thanks! As far as a recording of "Finale" from ESB, does a recording of the concert version exist? Is it the last track of the Gerhardt album? Or is it simply "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the OST? Trying to find it on Spotify.

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I've got a personal compilation of Star Wars concert suites that contains the following:

Indicated in BOLD are all tracks that are expanded or modified from their OST counterparts.

Main Theme (Star Wars) from The Hollywood Sound

The Adventures of Jar Jar (The Phantom Menace) from Themes from "The Phantom Menace" and Other Film Hits, Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Anakin's Theme (The Phantom Menace) from Re-recording by Erich Kunzel

The Flag Parade (The Phantom Menace) from Themes from "The Phantom Menace" and Other Film Hits, Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Duel of the Fates (The Phantom Menace) from Instrumental Recording by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Orie Suzuki

Across the Stars (Attack of the Clones) from Re-recording by Erich Kunzel

Battle of the Heroes (Revenge of the Sith) from Re-recording by Erich Kunzel

May the Force Be With You, Piano and Violin recording by Joshua Chiu

Princess Leia (Star Wars) from Keisuke Wakao Plays Music of John Williams

The Little People (Star Wars) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

The Cantina Band (Star Wars) from Re-recording by Erich Kunzel

Here They Come! (Star Wars) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy (NOTE: Includes Concert Ending)

The Imperial March (The Empire Strikes Back) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

The Battle in the Snow (The Empire Strikes Back) from National Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted By Charles Gerhardt (NOTE: Includes Concert Ending)

The Asteroid Field (The Empire Strikes Back) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Han Solo and the Princess (The Empire Strikes Back) from National Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted By Charles Gerhardt

Yoda's Theme (The Empire Strikes Back) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Jabba the Hutt (Return of the Jedi) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Parade of the Ewoks (Return of the Jedi) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Luke and Leia (Return of the Jedi) from Keisuke Wakao Plays Music of John Williams

Into the Trap (Return of the Jedi) from National Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted By Charles Gerhardt (NOTE: Includes Sarlacc Sentence and Concert Ending)

The Forest Battle (Return of the Jedi) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Yub Nub (Return of the Jedi) from National Philharmonic Orchestra, Conducted By Charles Gerhardt (NOTE: Ending truncated)

Throne Room and Finale (Star Wars) from John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

What versions would you guys recommend for the following so that I complete this collection?

"The Battle"

"Yoda's Theme": What multiple versions are there?

"Finale" from Empire Strikes Back

I am most interested in versions that are as different as possible from the original film versions.

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For "The Battle" suite, I know only one recording of it: by Zubin Mehta.

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Here's the GREAT playlist CSR did for the 35th anniversary of Star Wars in 2012.

01 Star Wars Main Theme / Gould, LSO

02 Princess Leia Theme / Gerhardt, National Philh. O

03 The Little People / Williams, Skywalker SO

04 Here They Come / Kojian, Utah SO

05 The Battle / Mehta, LA Philh. O

06 Han Solo and the Princess / Gerhardt, National Philh. O

07 The Imperial March / Kunzel, Cincinnati PO (from Star Tracks)

08 Yoda's Theme / Williams, Boston Pops O

09 The Asteroid Field / Kojian, Utah SO

10 The Forest Battle / Williams, Boston Pops O

11 Finale (from ROTJ) / Gerhardt, National Philh. O

12 The Flag Parade / Talgorn, RSNO

13 Duel of the Fates / Talgorn, RSNO

14 Across the Stars / Bateman, Royal Philh. O

15 Battle of Heroes / Kunzel, Cincinnati PO


Duel of the Fates (The Phantom Menace) from Instrumental Recording by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Orie Suzuki

Oh... that's totally new for me. :)

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EDIT 2: "Cantina Band" is not part of the original Star Wars suite, it was first added by Zubin Mehta for his 1978 recording, then included on several re-recordings, but it's not an actual movement of the SW suite.

That's correct, however the piece has been published by Hal Leonard in full score (in the Signature Edition volume "Music from the Star Wars Saga"), so I would consider it as a proper and "approved" concert piece. But indeed, it did not belong to the original conception of the Star Wars Suite.

Thanks! As far as a recording of "Finale" from ESB, does a recording of the concert version exist? Is it the last track of the Gerhardt album? Or is it simply "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the OST? Trying to find it on Spotify.

I do not know if a recording of the concert version exists. What I know is that the concert version does not include the full cue "The Rebel Fleet", but only the last fragment (a few seconds), then it goes on with the complete End Title. The reason, I guess, is that the TESB suite has the concert version of "Han Solo and the Princess" immediately before that cue, so it could have been redundant to include the whole "Rebel Fleet" cue. Also, there are probably differences in the orchestration between the concert version and the film version.

Unless you absolutely want to hear every note ever written by John Williams in any possible arrangement, repackaging and subtle orchestration variations, I would suggest to be happy with "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the movie score.

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For "The Battle" suite, I know only one recording of it: by Zubin Mehta.

There's also the extended version on the Gerhard recording (titled "The Final Battle").

Thanks! As far as a recording of "Finale" from ESB, does a recording of the concert version exist? Is it the last track of the Gerhardt album? Or is it simply "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the OST? Trying to find it on Spotify.

I do not know if a recording of the concert version exists. What I know is that the concert version does not include the full cue "The Rebel Fleet", but only the last fragment (a few seconds), then it goes on with the complete End Title.

The Gerhardt recording is just the "Finale" without "The Rebel Fleet".

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Thanks! As far as a recording of "Finale" from ESB, does a recording of the concert version exist? Is it the last track of the Gerhardt album? Or is it simply "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the OST? Trying to find it on Spotify.

I do not know if a recording of the concert version exists. What I know is that the concert version does not include the full cue "The Rebel Fleet", but only the last fragment (a few seconds), then it goes on with the complete End Title. The reason, I guess, is that the TESB suite has the concert version of "Han Solo and the Princess" immediately before that cue, so it could have been redundant to include the whole "Rebel Fleet" cue. Also, there are probably differences in the orchestration between the concert version and the film version.

Unless you absolutely want to hear every note ever written by John Williams in any possible arrangement, repackaging and subtle orchestration variations, I would suggest to be happy with "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the movie score.

I don't know if you have Spotify, but there is a (less-than-official-looking) recording of a BBC orchestra doing it, which seems to start from the end of "The Rebel Fleet". I wonder if that's what you're referring to?

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Erich Kunzel once did a Star Wars concert here and he played Finale, if I remember correctly he started it from the last statement of Han Solo & the Princess before the end credits begin.

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Erich Kunzel once did a Star Wars concert here and he played Finale, if I remember correctly he started it from the last statement of Han Solo & the Princess before the end credits begin.

Yeah, that's what the BBC orchestra recording does.

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  • 2 years later...
On ‎20‎/‎12‎/‎2015 at 10:28 PM, Score said:

That's correct, however the piece has been published by Hal Leonard in full score (in the Signature Edition volume "Music from the Star Wars Saga"), so I would consider it as a proper and "approved" concert piece. But indeed, it did not belong to the original conception of the Star Wars Suite.

I do not know if a recording of the concert version exists. What I know is that the concert version does not include the full cue "The Rebel Fleet", but only the last fragment (a few seconds), then it goes on with the complete End Title. The reason, I guess, is that the TESB suite has the concert version of "Han Solo and the Princess" immediately before that cue, so it could have been redundant to include the whole "Rebel Fleet" cue. Also, there are probably differences in the orchestration between the concert version and the film version.

Unless you absolutely want to hear every note ever written by John Williams in any possible arrangement, repackaging and subtle orchestration variations, I would suggest to be happy with "The Rebel Fleet / End Title" from the movie score.

What concert suite are you talking about here? Apart from Hal Leonard's releases, are there official concert suites published by other companies for each OT film?

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I'd like to add The Jedi Steps, The Jedi Steps and Finale, and The Rebellion is Reborn to the great lists by @Score and @Ricard. In the future, let's hope we also can add Poe's Theme. :)

 

As @curlytoot points out, the concert version of TESB's Finale has indeed been recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Charles Hazlewood. It's on the last disc of their 4-CD collection "The Age of the Silver Screen", and it's performed and interpreted quite well! Some may not like the amount of reverb, though.

 

 

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3 hours ago, bollemanneke said:

What concert suite are you talking about here? Apart from Hal Leonard's releases, are there official concert suites published by other companies for each OT film?

 

I think you are referring to the TESB suite that I mentioned, right? If so, I am referring to a suite that was available only for rental to orchestras (in manuscript form), which included the cues that I had listed in my first post, namely,

 

1) The Imperial March

2) Yoda's Theme

3) The Asteroid Field

4) Han Solo and the Princess

5) Finale

 

This suite (in manuscript form) was not published and it's not available for sale. When Hal Leonard published the "Star Wars Suite", almost 20 years ago I guess, they included the Imperial March and Yoda's Theme. A few years ago, Hal Leonard published "Music from the Star Wars Saga", which included "The Asteroid Field". The two remaining pieces are not available for sale yet. Which is really a pity, especially with respect to Han Solo.

 

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I'd like to add The Jedi Steps, The Jedi Steps and Finale, and The Rebellion is Reborn to the great lists by @Score and @Ricard. In the future, let's hope we also can add Poe's Theme. :)

 

 

We need to add something more to the old 2015 list, actually! The suite from "The Force Awakens" includes:

 

1) March of the Resistance

2) Rey's Theme

3) Scherzo for X-Wings

4) The Jedi Steps (concert version)

5) The Jedi Steps and Finale

 

I have updated my list at the beginning of the thread.

 

 

 

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On 21 December 2015 at 5:03 AM, curlytoot said:

I don't know if you have Spotify, but there is a (less-than-official-looking) recording of a BBC orchestra doing it, which seems to start from the end of "The Rebel Fleet". I wonder if that's what you're referring to?

 

I briefly had a CD of this in the '90s. Can't remember the label or CD title though. EDIT: I found it, it was called Golden Cinema Classics, Vol. 4: The Epic Film.

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41 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

I don't think I'll be including that ESB finale in my playlist, it's not a concert arrangement, JW never re-recorded it...

 

It is a concert arrangement, as made clear by the first posts of this thread.

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7 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

But it doesn't sound like one, it's just a film cue with a missing section.

 

No, it is a concert arrangement. There are few differences and not very noticeable, but, for example, the brass section used in the film cue is larger than that used in the suite. All the cues listed in the first posts of this thread were specifically re-arranged for concert purposes by John Williams. Sometimes the differences are small, sometimes they are bigger.

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1 hour ago, bollemanneke said:

Okay, and what about The Battle from ANH? I know Gerhardt added it, but does it actually differ from the film version?

 

Yes, a lot. The concert cue is a sort of medley of a portion of "The Death Star", a portion of "Ben Kenobi's Death", and portions of the second and third cues making the "Battle of Yavin". These parts are edited together, with some small alterations and the usual modifications in the orchestration. None of the cues involved in the medley is complete.  

 

EDIT

The Superstructure Chase cue in ROTJ is assembled from part of "The Battle" concert cue, and part of "Here They Come" (also in the concert version).

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Minor semantical complaint, "tracked" would mean the actual recordings from '77 would have been used. This is not the case, Superstructure Chase was recorded in '83 (in horrid conditions), it's just a cue which is written from material from those two other cues.

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27 minutes ago, Holko said:

Minor semantical complaint, "tracked" would mean the actual recordings from '77 would have been used. This is not the case, Superstructure Chase was recorded in '83 (in horrid conditions), it's just a cue which is written from material from those two other cues.

 

Correct, I edit my original post.

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5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Isn't it two different versions, the OST version and the concert arrangement? Not to mention the edited and expanded DVD/blu-ray version...

 

The suite includes 1) an extended version of "The Jedi Steps" made for concert use, see this:

 

 

2) the film version of "The Jedi Steps and Finale", which is almost identical to the album version (if I remember correctly there are some minor differences that affect a few bars in the End Credits, really nothing important), which ends quietly, as in the album, 3) an alternate ending that can be used in concert performance (if the conductor prefers it), which replaces the quiet ending with a brassy triumphant fanfare. (For what is worth, I prefer the quiet version).

 

 

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13 hours ago, Score said:

 

The suite includes 1) an extended version of "The Jedi Steps" made for concert use, see this:

 

 

2) the film version of "The Jedi Steps and Finale", which is almost identical to the album version (if I remember correctly there are some minor differences that affect a few bars in the End Credits, really nothing important), which ends quietly, as in the album, 3) an alternate ending that can be used in concert performance (if the conductor prefers it), which replaces the quiet ending with a brassy triumphant fanfare. (For what is worth, I prefer the quiet version).

 

 

 

I'm aware of the Jedi Steps-only version. The concert arrangement of The Jedi Steps and Finale is different from the OST version; the main difference being an extended version of Poe's theme in the concert arrangement (as heard on the Lockhart album). Thanks for pointing out the alternate brassy ending. The DVD/blu-ray version of The Jedi Steps and Finale is longer than the OST version to accomodate more credits; it has been extended with parts of Scherzo for X-Wings.

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  • 1 month later...

I have updated my list at the beginning of this thread to add the new Han Solo & Leia arrangement. I also included a clarification about the two versions of Yoda's theme.

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  • 1 month later...

What do people think about classifying the “New Han and Leia” concert piece under TFA rather than ESB? Of course it is a quote of the ESB theme, but, isn’t its added melancholy due to the contemporary sad events portrayed in TFA? I imagine it as Leia contemplating their relationship at the time of their bittersweet reunion in TFA, or after Han’s death.

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  • 1 month later...

Williams usually changes things in his concert versions after he writes it for the film. Another example the lost world theme. So yes I would consider it another version. Well maybe it's just a rework or update...

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So we can add Han Solo's theme to this, yes? It joins Rey's Theme, March of the Resistance, Scherzo for X-Wings, The Jedi Steps, Jedi Steps and Finale, The Rebellion is Reborn and Han Solo and the Princess as Williams' "third age" of Star Wars concert suites.

 

If we're super lucky, we'll get another 3 new suites in Episode IX (hopefully two new theme arrangements and an epic end credits suite to complete the trilogy of trilogies).

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Given the single, compact suite on The Last Jedi (which I like!) I'm not sure we'll get too much in the way of suites.

 

But I am hoping for something special for the end-credits. Even if its not the end for the episode (it better be!), it will be the end for the Williams "cycle", so it better be his gotterdammerung.

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19 hours ago, crumbs said:

So we can add Han Solo's theme to this, yes? It joins Rey's Theme, March of the Resistance, Scherzo for X-Wings, The Jedi Steps, Jedi Steps and Finale, The Rebellion is Reborn and Han Solo and the Princess as Williams' "third age" of Star Wars concert suites.

 

If we're super lucky, we'll get another 3 new suites in Episode IX (hopefully two new theme arrangements and an epic end credits suite to complete the trilogy of trilogies).

 

I think we should wait, for the moment. This list is meant to represent the concert pieces. At this moment we don't know if the piece will be used for concert performances, in which arrangement, and so on. 

 

I'm also holding high hopes for episode IX! There was some material from Ep. VIII that could have been put into a concert suite, besides the cue that we got, and I hope there will be a longer suite for IX. To be honest, however, I care more about the full movie score itself, I hope it will be a crowning masterpiece.

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Even if it's editorially created, the finale suite for TLJ (album version) does actually cover pretty much all the new thematic material from the score, including Rose's Theme, Luke's new theme, Holdo's Theme, the Desperation/Besieged Resistance motif, and the separate recurring motif that underpins key moments of the Resistance suffering defeats (such as the Resistance bombers taking each other out in Escape and again as Luke is blasted by all the AT-M6 walkers).

 

Arguably the only other notable motif that isn't featured in the credits medley is the Canto Bight motif.

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Its not tricky to recap a grand total of three new themes.

 

The other themes you speak of are either duplications (the Rebel Desperation motif is the "Holdo" material), variations (the material in the opening and closing battles is the opening to the Rebel Desperation material, looped into an ostinato) or a none-reucrring musical setpiece such as Canto Bight.

 

One of my least favorite end-credits suites. I'm hoping for much better out of IX.

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The end credits music itself being an editorial assembly and more quick snippets of music rather than individual themes seguing into each other gracefully ala TFA is a major disappointment but it is a decent representation of the whole score. 

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I actually think the concert arrangement on the album is the superior of the two in terms of distiling the score as a whole in a single piece. For that reason, I actually enjoy the fact that it interweaves the major two leitmotives of the composition, rather than just one.

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21 minutes ago, rough cut said:

Am I the only one who didn’t care much for The Rebellion is Reborn?

 

Not that it is a bad score - by any means! - but in hindsight, it’s probably my least listened to SW score.

 

It never settles for a mood, it jumps around too much. None of the musical ideas seem to be given time to gestate or are given room to breathe - it’s always on to the next thing.

 

I totally get you!

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15 minutes ago, rough cut said:

Am I the only one who didn’t care much for The Rebellion is Reborn?

 

You're not.

 

I mean, I do like it, but I am certainly in the minority, and I totally understand what issue others have with it.

 

And I'm not too crazy about the score as a whole, either. Although, like you, I'm not saying its bad by any stretch of the imagination. I probably like it more than The Force Awakens.

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1 hour ago, rough cut said:

Am I the only one who didn’t care much for The Rebellion is Reborn?

 

Not that it is a bad score - by any means! - but in hindsight, it’s probably my least listened to SW score.

 

It never settles for a mood, it jumps around too much. None of the musical ideas seem to be given time to gestate or are given room to breathe - it’s always on to the next thing.

 

I totally get that people are in to that, but it’s just not my type of cup.

 I see what you mean but I really enjoy listening to the track. As a SW concert piece, and the only new theme arrangement to come out of TLJ, I find it very disappointing but I think that speaks to issues with the film itself. However I think it is good fun to listen to and the rhythmic string sections remind me of the dramatic string sections of The Post.

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7 hours ago, Chen G. said:

The other themes you speak of are either duplications (the Rebel Desperation motif is the "Holdo" material), variations (the material in the opening and closing battles is the opening to the Rebel Desperation material, looped into an ostinato) or a none-reucrring musical setpiece such as Canto Bight.

 

 

Are you sure about that? These are 3 very clear, different ideas to my ears. Can you provide notations to prove your statement's accuracy? Because it sounds like you're just trying to talk down Williams' writings on TLJ (as usual) by flagrantly disregarding these separate ideas as "duplications."

 

'Resistance Under Siege' Motif

 

Holdo's Theme

 

Recurring Action Motif

 

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