BTR1701

Very true. I prefer the Chicago Symphony because they are legendary for their powerful brass section, and STAR WARS is a brass-heavy genre.
 
Of course, with digital editing these days, it's really all up to the guy in the booth how it comes across on an album recording.

I wouldn't have a problem with the suites if they were in *addition to* the complete score, not at the expense of it.

I wouldn't have a problem with the suites if they were in *addition to* the complete score, not at the expense of it.

I wouldn't have a problem with the suites if they were in *addition to* the complete score, not at the expense of it.

Very nice! Thanks so much

Not sure why it's a big deal to be the "first woman (anything)" anymore now that anyone can be a woman just by declaring themselves to be one.
 
 
"Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn't written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope. It's the only legacy character that he hadn't done."
 
Umm... Chewbacca? R2? C3PO? All legacy characters who don't have themes.
 
I know some people say the little motif below from EMPIRE is supposed to be the Droids' theme, but it was only ever used in EMPIRE and even then only in the first reel during the Hoth scenes, so it can hardly be called a full-fledged theme for the robots.

Not sure why it's a big deal to be the "first woman (anything)" anymore now that anyone can be a woman just by declaring themselves to be one.
 
 
"Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn't written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope. It's the only legacy character that he hadn't done."
 
Umm... Chewbacca? R2? C3PO? All legacy characters who don't have themes.
 
I know some people say the little motif below from EMPIRE is supposed to be the Droids' theme, but it was only ever used in EMPIRE and even then only in the first reel during the Hoth scenes, so it can hardly be called a full-fledged theme for the robots.

The score to THE FABERMANS will be out this year as well.

The score to THE FABERMANS will be out this year as well.

The score to THE FABERMANS will be out this year as well.

It's as if Elgar himself arranged it.

Really? Because this is one of the rare times JW has disappointed me.
 
The end credits (Finale) was JW's opportunity to wave a musical goodbye to the franchise, the fans, and basically 40+ years of his life's work, and instead of new, original, and poignant material, he basically copy/pasted the Imperial March from the Hal Leonard Signature Series, did some stuff with Rey's theme, then copy/pasted the end of RETURN OF THE JEDI.
 
It's like he finished scoring the film, then realized he still had almost 11 minutes of credits to fill and was, "I'm tired of this, I'll just take a bunch of stuff that'll fill the time from previous films and call it a day." I thought his end credits music in FORCE AWAKENS was far superior, especially the way it ended on a variation of the Rebel Fanfare, then a quiet denouement to a major chord in the basses with Luke's theme quietly ringing out in solo celeste. That was an emotional gut-punch the first time I heard it. This was just, "Oh, that again? I've heard that a dozen times in every Hollywood Bowl concert ever."
 
I don't like how it was mixed. The brass-- especially the trumpets-- is a lot tinnier and weaker than previous recordings.

Really? Because this is one of the rare times JW has disappointed me.
 
The end credits (Finale) was JW's opportunity to wave a musical goodbye to the franchise, the fans, and basically 40+ years of his life's work, and instead of new, original, and poignant material, he basically copy/pasted the Imperial March from the Hal Leonard Signature Series, did some stuff with Rey's theme, then copy/pasted the end of RETURN OF THE JEDI.
 
It's like he finished scoring the film, then realized he still had almost 11 minutes of credits to fill and was, "I'm tired of this, I'll just take a bunch of stuff that'll fill the time from previous films and call it a day." I thought his end credits music in FORCE AWAKENS was far superior, especially the way it ended on a variation of the Rebel Fanfare, then a quiet denouement to a major chord in the basses with Luke's theme quietly ringing out in solo celeste. That was an emotional gut-punch the first time I heard it. This was just, "Oh, that again? I've heard that a dozen times in every Hollywood Bowl concert ever."
 
I don't like how it was mixed. The brass-- especially the trumpets-- is a lot tinnier and weaker than previous recordings.

Yeah, that's it. Not enough endless looped booming electronic drums! Williams' problem is that he just hasn't made his music generic and repetitive enough.

Galaxy's Edge exists in a different medium than the films, and it's hugely different from the rest of Disneyland, so I'm not convinced by those comparisons.
 
That being said, I'm of two minds with it. On the one hand, I was worried early on that the experience would involve constant recognizable orchestral Star Wars music. That would have been awful. Area BGM is most effective when it's made up of music you'd be likely to hear in the environment being depicted. (Jazz in New Orleans Square, medieval instruments in Fantasyland, guitar and banjo in Frontierland, etc.) It's source music, in film terms. Because as silly as it sounds...the scores of Star Wars don't exist in the universe of Star Wars. Luke doesn't know the Force theme. Jabba doesn't ask his palace band to bring out the tuba and play his theme. And even a musical genius like Figrin D'an has never heard of an oboe or a violin. These are filmic devices for giving emotional context to specific moments. Perfectly suited to attractions, shows, and other settings where specific events or moments are being staged, but not appropriate for when you're just walking around Batuu on your own adventure. So I'm super glad that there's not a hint of orchestral score in the area BGM.
 
On the other hand, indigenous source music is featured in just about every SW film. In keeping with that, I imagined/hoped that you'd wander in and out of earshot of the music enjoyed by the denizens of Black Spire. They could have even snuck some fun references to the iconic themes into this alien soundscape. The fact that most of the land is completely devoid of any music is surprising and a little disappointing to me. The animal sounds and the roars of ships overhead are enough for some areas, but the very few spots that have music work really well, and the land would benefit from more of that. I'm thinking especially of areas like the marketplace. Imagine something in the vein of the Most Espa music in that area. It'd be perfect!
 
At least we aren't being constantly bombarded with a "greatest hits" playlist of Star Wars music throughout the land, though. That would be waaayyyy too much of a good thing.

My wish would be for the Chicago Symphony to re-record the score to RETURN OF THE JEDI. I really don't like the quality of the original recording and that legendary CSO brass would own that score.

I thought it was interesting that comments from the professionals who are involved in recording these cues are similar to the folks here with regard to the sound quality of Abbey vs Sony.
 
https://www.finalemusic.com/blog/may-the-fourth-spotlight-on-joann-kane-music/
 
Can you say anything about the difference in working on Star Wars music with an American orchestra in a different studio?
 
The LSO is a leading, well-established, top symphony orchestra. They play together all the time and they have a definite kind of overall sound and Abbey Road also has got its own unique sound. We’re working with a studio orchestra in L.A. which is a fine orchestra, at Sony, one of the L.A. scoring stages in Culver City. It’s a big room that can absorb a lot of sound. And so there’s a denser kind of feel to the sound the orchestra makes than at Abbey Road – it’s not quite as bright. It’s a slightly different experience.
 
I also found it interesting that Williams apparently doesn't use an orchestrator anymore, instead sending his sketches directly to Joann Kane, which prepares the scores and parts from the sketches.
 
Can you describe your workflow on these films?
 
John Williams writes very detailed handwritten sketches. On the prequels, these sketches went to orchestrators. The orchestrators would write pencil scores and we would copy parts into Finale. But for the past six or seven years, John has just sent the sketches directly to us. We put them straight into Finale. I’ve kind of edited them, checked them out myself, and then we’ve used them at the stage for recording.

I thought it was interesting that comments from the professionals who are involved in recording these cues are similar to the folks here with regard to the sound quality of Abbey vs Sony.
 
https://www.finalemusic.com/blog/may-the-fourth-spotlight-on-joann-kane-music/
 
Can you say anything about the difference in working on Star Wars music with an American orchestra in a different studio?
 
The LSO is a leading, well-established, top symphony orchestra. They play together all the time and they have a definite kind of overall sound and Abbey Road also has got its own unique sound. We’re working with a studio orchestra in L.A. which is a fine orchestra, at Sony, one of the L.A. scoring stages in Culver City. It’s a big room that can absorb a lot of sound. And so there’s a denser kind of feel to the sound the orchestra makes than at Abbey Road – it’s not quite as bright. It’s a slightly different experience.
 
I also found it interesting that Williams apparently doesn't use an orchestrator anymore, instead sending his sketches directly to Joann Kane, which prepares the scores and parts from the sketches.
 
Can you describe your workflow on these films?
 
John Williams writes very detailed handwritten sketches. On the prequels, these sketches went to orchestrators. The orchestrators would write pencil scores and we would copy parts into Finale. But for the past six or seven years, John has just sent the sketches directly to us. We put them straight into Finale. I’ve kind of edited them, checked them out myself, and then we’ve used them at the stage for recording.

I thought it was interesting that comments from the professionals who are involved in recording these cues are similar to the folks here with regard to the sound quality of Abbey vs Sony.
 
https://www.finalemusic.com/blog/may-the-fourth-spotlight-on-joann-kane-music/
 
Can you say anything about the difference in working on Star Wars music with an American orchestra in a different studio?
 
The LSO is a leading, well-established, top symphony orchestra. They play together all the time and they have a definite kind of overall sound and Abbey Road also has got its own unique sound. We’re working with a studio orchestra in L.A. which is a fine orchestra, at Sony, one of the L.A. scoring stages in Culver City. It’s a big room that can absorb a lot of sound. And so there’s a denser kind of feel to the sound the orchestra makes than at Abbey Road – it’s not quite as bright. It’s a slightly different experience.
 
I also found it interesting that Williams apparently doesn't use an orchestrator anymore, instead sending his sketches directly to Joann Kane, which prepares the scores and parts from the sketches.
 
Can you describe your workflow on these films?
 
John Williams writes very detailed handwritten sketches. On the prequels, these sketches went to orchestrators. The orchestrators would write pencil scores and we would copy parts into Finale. But for the past six or seven years, John has just sent the sketches directly to us. We put them straight into Finale. I’ve kind of edited them, checked them out myself, and then we’ve used them at the stage for recording.

I thought it was interesting that comments from the professionals who are involved in recording these cues are similar to the folks here with regard to the sound quality of Abbey vs Sony.
 
https://www.finalemusic.com/blog/may-the-fourth-spotlight-on-joann-kane-music/
 
Can you say anything about the difference in working on Star Wars music with an American orchestra in a different studio?
 
The LSO is a leading, well-established, top symphony orchestra. They play together all the time and they have a definite kind of overall sound and Abbey Road also has got its own unique sound. We’re working with a studio orchestra in L.A. which is a fine orchestra, at Sony, one of the L.A. scoring stages in Culver City. It’s a big room that can absorb a lot of sound. And so there’s a denser kind of feel to the sound the orchestra makes than at Abbey Road – it’s not quite as bright. It’s a slightly different experience.
 
I also found it interesting that Williams apparently doesn't use an orchestrator anymore, instead sending his sketches directly to Joann Kane, which prepares the scores and parts from the sketches.
 
Can you describe your workflow on these films?
 
John Williams writes very detailed handwritten sketches. On the prequels, these sketches went to orchestrators. The orchestrators would write pencil scores and we would copy parts into Finale. But for the past six or seven years, John has just sent the sketches directly to us. We put them straight into Finale. I’ve kind of edited them, checked them out myself, and then we’ve used them at the stage for recording.

But that's where Williams' brilliance comes in. Luke's Theme doesn't have to always be presented as heroic and upbeat. For example, in the "Battle of Yavin" cue in Episode 4, Williams shifts the theme into a minor mode, then modulates it, making it sound anxious and unstable.

Percussion, when used effectively and musically, is wonderful. ('Desert Chase' from RAIDERS, for example) But when it's just one big copy/paste, often from an a loop library, it's *is* generic and repetitive and boring.

Yeah, that's it. Not enough endless looped booming electronic drums! Williams' problem is that he just hasn't made his music generic and repetitive enough.

Yeah, that's it. Not enough endless looped booming electronic drums! Williams' problem is that he just hasn't made his music generic and repetitive enough.

Percussion, when used effectively and musically, is wonderful. ('Desert Chase' from RAIDERS, for example) But when it's just one big copy/paste, often from an a loop library, it's *is* generic and repetitive and boring.