Darth Crossfader

Given the orchestration, my first thought was 'Vadar's Death' from ROTJ, but it's
 
 

Given the orchestration, my first thought was 'Vadar's Death' from ROTJ, but it's
 
 

Given the orchestration, my first thought was 'Vadar's Death' from ROTJ, but it's
 
 

That's probably the simplest way to summarise it. Shore's four stave sketches do not (generally speaking) indicate instrumentation - composition and orchestration are effectively two discrete processes.
 
Example sketch from Greg Laporta's site (https://greglaporta.com/post/115736960532)
 

 

That's mean. This shouldn't even be a joke. Accusing someone of doing that isn't dark humor or anything, it's just mean spirited.

Funny, I've spent the past couple days writing about exactly this magical passage you've brought up, @AGiambra! Williams's harmonic vocabulary is incredibly rich, and progressions like you mention do not always lend themselves to "explanations" in a standard, functionally tonal sense. Which is not to say they're constructed in an arbitrary way at all!
 
The harmonic weirdness doesn't end with the C|Db chord either! Immediately afterwards, you get C|A and finally C|Eaug. And then the section with the iconic piccolo solo, which is a *tiny* bit more explicable -- basically, a prolonged C(b6) chord, with the piccolo suggesting a C-mixolydian(b6) scale.
 
These augmented chord complexes--and the scales that go along with them (wholetone, hexatonic, mix-b6)--have a fair bit of history in suggesting ~~cosmic~~ states. To offer just a little bit more for you to explore, check out Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia Antartica, the eerie textures and harmonic effects of which I imagine were in Williams's ear  -- and certainly Jerry Goldsmith's a few years later in the sublime ST:TMP!.
 
 
I also suspect you'll find the introduction to Schreker's Die Gezeichneten up your alley:
 

You all are putting more thought into TPM than George Lucas did when he wrote the script.

Qui-Gon...from 02:00
 

1M4a is here
 
 

The film and score are so masterful and deeply moving, this sequence always brings me to tears.  This film exemplifies two masters of their medium at the pinnacle of their craft.  Sublime, mature, rich, complex, efficient, and ultimately deeply moving.  This is from a moment in the film where so much is happening subtextually.  A masterpiece of film making, scoring, and storytelling.  
 
 
The film never scores the action, only the subtext or inner thoughts of the characters.  Something Spielberg and Williams hinted at in all their prior collaborations but here it is in full display.
 
A few reasons why this film hits me so hard - I think it was 2014, I was flying back from Baltimore, Maryland, after performing there.  That was after a wonderful experience performing with Marin Alsop and the amazing musicians and friends in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  Since I had to fly with my trombone in a seat without it blocking any passengers in case there was an evacuation, I was boarded first and in the front row. Next were a group of 20 senior citizens that were all part of the Honor Flight Network (a non-profit organization whose mission is to transport Veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice). This was one of the most enjoyable flights I had ever taken making the five-hour flight feel like only 30 minutes it was over so quick.
 
The man sitting next to me was known as the “kid” because he was the youngest one at 87. He was a rear gunner on a B-17 bomber. I told him I was a pilot which excited him, and I felt helped loosen him up as we began talking about what he saw and experienced flying dozens of dangerous missions, the fright of the Luftwaffe, friends he lost, and the incredible randomness of great tragedies. Our initial discussion was about the experience he had as a vintage aviator.  Then he almost started tearing up recalling a routine mission with several of his friends where all on board died because the plane simply flew into a mountain. I could feel the cold, noise, smell, fear, cramping, claustrophobia inside the rear and belly turret of these long missions over enemy terrain. He said the introduction of the P-51 Mustang was a game changer because they would now have armed escorts on their dangerous missions who were as agile (probably more so) as the Luftwaffe. They frequently didn't even know what happened to their friends. After difficult missions, they simply returned and noticed airplanes missing or bunks unoccupied. No word of what happened to their friends...are they now POW? Did the plane ditch in the sea? Were there any survivors? They had no easy answers. How terrifying it must have been to fly these missions before the P-51 where it must have felt like they were a large sitting duck! Now at least, they had a chance.
 
Halfway through the flight, many of these men had to go the bathroom so my front row chair became a rotating door of great stories from these incredible veterans. One consistent story I heard was how much they all revered one of the passengers on the flight above all else. Finally, he made his way to the front row seat awaiting the bathroom.
 
When he sat next to me, we started talking and I saw his cap "101st Airborne Screaming Eagles" Infantry division. My jaw dropped. He was a paratrooper on D-Day who jumped from a glider behind enemy lines in the middle of the night during the Invasion of D-Day. Against incredibly bad odds, he survived the battle telling me that night, he lost half his company. Just imagine, in a 24-hour period losing one out of two people you trained and bonded with.  These guys were around 17 to 22 years old at that time and I couldn't believe I was looking them directly in their eyes hearing them recount these horrific experiences firsthand.  This scene from Saving Private Ryan, the 101st is crossing paths with Captain Miller's (Tom Hanks) character as they look through the dog tags of paratroopers killed.  I met those men.  
 
It was incredibly humbling to meet these true heroes and I was reminded of them each time I see this film. I will never forget meeting them and hearing their stories firsthand. 
 

1M4
 

Are you sure you know what an elephant looks like?

Are you sure you know what an elephant looks like?

Because we know exactly what JW's and Herb Spencer's handwriting looks like, and also because this is a sketch score, not a fully orchestrated score which Spencer would have produced based on the sketch score.

Because we know exactly what JW's and Herb Spencer's handwriting looks like, and also because this is a sketch score, not a fully orchestrated score which Spencer would have produced based on the sketch score.

Because we know exactly what JW's and Herb Spencer's handwriting looks like, and also because this is a sketch score, not a fully orchestrated score which Spencer would have produced based on the sketch score.

And the answer is...
 
 

Maybe JW is an alien? All his best music seems to be written with aliens in mind...

Yeah, apart from the similarities in orchestration, I'd say those two segments don't have all that much in common.
 
Are we going to shame composers for using tremolo strings now?

Glad the score for Attack of the Clones is finally Oscar nominated, two decades late.

I always thought that Clint Bajakian's work on Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (video game) totally captured the "feel" of Williams' Indy scores, particularly with regards to the brass writing:
 
 
 
 

Also Hatching Baby Raptor. Manages to sound hauntingly beautiful yet unsettling at the same time. A perfect marriage of visuals and music.

Andre Previn's debut album on Contemporary Records (a cornerstone label for the LA jazz scene of the 50s and 60s)
 
Woof!