Ludwig

Ooh, that's another good one! It's nice, too, that I already have the post on the March itself as a starting point, so it's not as daunting as it might otherwise be. It's been added to the list.

Was it in an interview that Williams said he convinced Lucas to use a completely original score for Star Wars rather than an original score plus classical pieces? If so, where can I find that interview? Or is it documented somewhere else?

You're in luck! After I finish with Morricone's OUATITW, I'm starting a 6-part series on Goldsmith akin to the Williams series I did last year, and the two scores you mention are two of the six. Thanks to Mr. Shark for starting this thread. I'm always looking for new ideas to blog about. I'm actually already thinking of next year and the big Episode VII and how to lead up to it nicely. How about a 6-parter on six SW themes, one from each film? Any other ideas on how to anticipate it appropriately?

Yes, of course. But be sure to mention tedfud's keen insight about an octatonic interpretation as well. The more I think about it, the more it seems it's both - an octatonic segment used in a way that suggests the Phrygian mode. Or a Phrygian segment decorated in a way to suggest octatonic. Either way.

Actually, you could see it either way. I just meant regular Phrygian with added notes. Yes, you could say the flourish is octatonic, but then that interpretation breaks down when we get the second half, which I rather see as a normalized Phrygian. Also, the ostinato isn't pure Phrygian, just inflected by it. Again, you could say octatonic. I just hear the flat-2 thing as strongly Phrygian, much like Powell's ostinato in the Bourne films, which this one strongly resembles.

This is a complicated little passage. The cue starts with the ostinato on C with a Phrygian inflection (the Db). But notice at 0:14 that the ostinato is transposed up to E, so now that becomes the tonal centre for the moment. Bars 15-16 show this, with E both starting and ending each ostinato figure, and again with a Phrygian inflection (now F-natural). So with bar 17, the dyad (two-note chord) in the brass suggests E minor, giving some harmony to the ostinato. The D#-F# dyad that follows is actually a kind of "pivot chord" back to C, since they lead to E-G but now with C as tonic (as it is strongly in the bass - not shown in your example). This chord also relates to what happened at the start of the cue, not only returning to C as a tonic, but also by the D#-F# itself. Notice its appearance at 0:08 in the brass over the C ostinato. The wind flourishes over these dyads help the music modulate back to C. The first half of the flourish essentially outlines the E Phrygian mode but with the added notes of Ab and Eb, which are also part of the E ostinato from the previous bars, but written enharmonically as G# and D# (see the winds in bar 15). The second half of the flourish begins in the E Phrygian again but on its second note (F). But notice that the 3rd sixteenth of this second half starts to form parallel 5ths with the lower winds, and that on the 4th beat of the bar, the 5th is on C, a hint that C is returning as tonic. The last four sixteenths then form neighbouring parallel 5ths around C and resolve emphatically to a C major chord, reaching a climax just as C is restored to its place as tonic. Whew! That was complicated.

Studying scores for compositional reasons is all about finding sounds that you want to integrate into your own personal style. So I would suggest focusing on those portions of the scores that you find most arresting then actively trying to imitate them in short compositional studies. If you have a strong sense of your own style and an ear for distinctiveness, it won't sound like the original, but something new.

Yeah, cuz you know so little about music theory.

I've always considered this a deceptive resolution of a secondary dominant. In the case of a V/vi going to IV, in the key of vi that would be V-vi, a deceptive resolution. My favourite example of this progression is from classical music - Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata, heard below at 1:01 (but listen from 0:59 to get the context): It's actually preceded by a regular deceptive resolution, V7-vi in the tonic key, so the relationship between it and the way the secondary dominant resolves is made particularly clear. As for the JP Island Fanfare, it's the same mentality - we expect the i chord of D minor but instead get its VI chord, which actually turns out to be the larger-level tonic, so it's deceptive but in a more satisfying way than the V7/vi - IV you mention.

Well, the claim isn't that Williams = Beethoven, but that Williams' contribution to film music via Star Wars = Beethoven's contribution to western art music via the Eroica.

As far as historical writings go, Williams will be remembered most for his score to Star Wars. Without exaggeration, it is to the history of film music what Beethoven's Eroica Symphony is to the history of classical music - it presented a style of music that was clearly based on old traditions but re-formulated in a way that was, for the most part, quite novel. And, like the Eroica, its influence on subsequent music in its genre is so great as to be immeasurable. For Star Wars alone, Williams will not be forgotten, at least in film circles. In classical music circles, film music concerts have become quite common, so there has obviously been a significant overlap between the two audiences. It's in academic circles that Williams' stock has the most potential to rise because it's been suppressed for so long. Only now is that beginning to change. So in all, I foresee a positive reception from most, something like: "Embraced by academics and classical music audiences alike, but still revered by many film music afficionados as the greatest composer in the history of film." That's where I'd place my vote.

Well, you have to consider the listening experience as well, most of the tracks included are concert pieces and arrangements. Most people are not looking for "boring", "filler" underscore music. Well, obviously they think so. But I would challenge the idea that most people wouldn't want to hear something like the two cues I suggested, the first of which contains statements of both the Imperial March and Emperor's Theme, and the second of which is short enough to be a nice contrast to the concert arrangements.

In an online discussion I was privy to about computer-generated music, the notion of competent vs. great music arose. One respondent had this to say, a wonderful way of explaining something of the ineffable quality of great music: I would say that "inspired improbabilities" is a great way to describe many of the most satisfying moments in Williams.

I have a not-much-theory background and got the idea, though the fact that I was able to interpret the roman numeral notation in the text was pretty important for that. Thanks. That does help!

The thing I wish is that they would include more breadth in these kinds of compilations. It's always the chestnuts and theme-based or action cues, which, while we couldn't do with at least some of them, they don't really give an accurate picture of Williams' astounding compositional range. More underscore cues like "The Emperor Confronts Luke" from ROTJ or "You Bred Raptors" from JP have bone-chilling effects that aren't a part of his norm for the more celebrated cues. Obviously, they do this because the chestnuts and themes sell better. But there's great music in the underscore too!

Yeah, it's hard to know just how much theory to spill. I guess I figure, if they understand the symbols to begin with, they'll be ok with secondary dominants. Maybe that's assuming too much. It's a tough part of the analysis to discuss in non-technical terms. Basically all I want to show is that the root-position chords are the more stable ones in the progression. The others are "filler" or "passing" chords. I thought of comparing it to Jill's theme, but it would be difficult to hear unless you're trained in harmony, so I left it alone. Perhaps someone with a non-theory background could respond to this, if the passing chords idea makes sense, or if it's talking over heads.

Here is part 2 of my series on Morricone's classic score for ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, this time with an in-depth look at how Cheyenne's theme displays Ennio's highly unique style. Special thanks go to Mr. Shark for helping me identify the instrumentation. http://www.filmmusicnotes.com/ennio-morricones-score-for-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-part-2-of-3-cheyennes-theme/

"Indy's Very First Adventure" from The Last Crusade is a cue that is a downright tour de force of inventiveness. It includes a great many of Williams' typical techniques: atonal chords with a tonally suggestive bass, leitmotivic references, parallelism, scherzo-esque textures, rollicking good tunes, big brassiness, and colorful orchestration. It's not just that these techniques are there, but that they're fused into a coherent, engaging, and exciting whole in a way that only Williams could do. If that ain't inventive, I don't know what is.

Max Steiner once proclaimed: "Every character should have a theme." Despite the obsolete sound of this phrase, character themes are still the most common tactic when themes are used in any recurring way in current films.

To play devil's advocate, the same reasoning of allusion could well be applied to the oft maligned Horner. As airmanjerm observes in the Horner plagiarism thread, the similarity between "Battle in the Matura Nebula" and Prokofiev's "Battle on the Ice" goes beyond the musical and into the narrative situation. Homage or plagiarism? http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20214#entry721833

What I don't get is why they didn't just use the original piece. It's not like it's copyrighted.

I gather that there's still some apprehension that Williams "plagiarized" Tchaikovsky for Home Alone. I think we're on solid ground in assuming that the desire for the "soundalike" (call it what you will) came from higher up since with a composer of Williams' calibre and work ethic (striving to find just the right theme and so forth), it's not in his musical DNA to do so. He has a strong sense of personal style, so anytime these situations come up, I would be liable to point to the filmmakers as the real source.

It's just that the sound-design style is becoming more pervasive in film scores these days, so while Statement 2 may be losing its ground compared to contemporary scores, Williams' stylistic toolbox is nevertheless wider than just about all other film composers past or present (Goldsmith being a likely equal here). So from the perspective of the entire history of film music, it's probably for the most part true. After all, that toolbox includes: Late-Romantic, extended tonal (early 20th century), jazz, pop, modernist, minimalist, experimental, and of course Classical Hollywood. That's one helluva range.

Entirely. G7alt could be a lot of things. That's why I like the less concise but more descriptive label. Laziness should not be tolerated! Yes I know. I had it as F#m7 then changed my mind and forgot to delete the "m". D'oh.

We all know that those who call Williams nothing more than a plagiarist are uninformed about his music. It's a rumour that began on faulty reasoning and became credible to some only because they want to believe that Hollywood blockbusters (for which they know Williams) can't possibly have great music.