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Shadows Of The Empire: Best Prequel Score!


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Doesn't all music convey a story, on some level?

No.

Any type of music *may* tell a story of course. Suites may, symphonies may, operas obviously do, as do ballets usually. I've never been sure about the term "suite" - many suites, like the Peer Gynt suites, are taken from stage music, similar to suites taken from film scores, but there are also works originally written as suites, like Holst's The Planets. But then, there also are ouvertures that actually are standalone works, and I've never quite figured out that concept either.

In any case, SotE isn't a symphony (neither is Shore's LOTR symphony, really, even though the term symphony has become very vague in the 20th century). You may call it a suite, if you like, but tone poem probably describes it best.

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A suite is a collection of pieces, originally dances(late 17th and 18th century), and later it has become a popular term for collections taken from a larger body of music (Suite no.1 from "Daphnis and Chloe", "Symphonic Suite from West Side Story", etc.).

A tone poem is a free-form, (usually) single movement piece that can be overtly programmatic (as in Liszt's and Strauss'), but may also be less centered on extra-musical material.

Of course, there are also plenty of programmatic symphonies, a recent example being Corigliano's 1st symphony, and also his 2nd and 3rd symphonies. McNeely's "Shadows of the Empire" deviates from the architecture of a film score by being free from visual restraints, meaning a composer doesn't have to tailor his musical drama to an external one,-the composer gets to rely on his musical instincts for timings, and not the actual timings of a scene.

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Well, I suppose you could call it that, but I think we usually associate "tone poem" with more blatantly programmatic pieces. And "Music for Orchestra" (which I think is fantastic) is very much an "abstract" piece of music (of course "abstract" and "programmatic" are very problematic terms, as neither is absolute).

I think the most unproblematic category for it is simply a piece for orchestra, an "orchestral work", which doesn't provide any kind of information beyond a description of its medium, much like other abstract titles, such as "string quartet", "wind quintet", etc.

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Only a 'seasoned' JWFan forum member could get away with making an accusation like this. A newcomer like me (thats not to say that I'd ever make such a ludicrous announcement)would be shot down in flames if I dared to make such a statement.

I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

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Only a 'seasoned' JWFan forum member could get away with making an accusation like this. A newcomer like me (thats not to say that I'd ever make such a ludicrous announcement)would be shot down in flames if I dared to make such a statement.

I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

Whoa, whoa, drop the Thought Police act already.

It's just a discussion of music - which, by the way, you haven't heard. The SotE game only uses about three of the tracks, and they're not the best ones.

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Only a 'seasoned' JWFan forum member could get away with making an accusation like this. A newcomer like me (thats not to say that I'd ever make such a ludicrous announcement)would be shot down in flames if I dared to make such a statement.

I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

Whoa, whoa, drop the Thought Police act already.

It's just a discussion of music - which, by the way, you haven't heard. The SotE game only uses about three of the tracks, and they're not the best ones.

I'm not going to entertain this argument further than my previous comments.

And thank you for presuming as much as you so clearly do - How you know that one did not INDEED purchase the soundtrack to the game? What with me being a huge Star Wars fan (at the time) and Williams fan. Of course I never wanted to hear it :roll:

It is unwise to believe you're a special one of a kind.

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I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

I never stated a theory, I stated an opinion.

A theorey requires some scietific basius of verifiable fact

The fact is that I enjoy SOTE more then I enjoy about 80 % of the music from the prequel scores.

There is nothing nonsensical about that, and there is nothing you can disprove.

I always liked this score, at least the last half, but to say it's better than the prequels is ridiculous.  In Shadows you have one good theme (Xizors), in the Prequels you have Anakin's Theme, Duel of the Fates, the Love Theme, Battle of the Heroes, along with countless motifs for bad guys.

Anakin's Theme is the only Prequel theme that can compete with any of the themes from the OT.

It was so good that it was deemed inappropriate for widespread use in AOTC and ROTS.

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I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

I never stated a theory, I stated an opinion.

A theorey requires some scietific basius of verifiable fact

The fact is that I enjoy SOTE more then I enjoy about 80 % of the music from the prequel scores.

There is nothing nonsensical about that, and there is nothing you can disprove.

Okay fair enough, I'll avoid pedantic remarks in return.

I'm glad you love the music to SOTE. Even though I utterly disagree with you, I hope you continue to enjoy it, I'm sure you will.

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Only a 'seasoned' JWFan forum member could get away with making an accusation like this. A newcomer like me (thats not to say that I'd ever make such a ludicrous announcement)would be shot down in flames if I dared to make such a statement.

I played SOTE - its was pretty shit as a game though the score was commendable enough, but this thread and its theory is a nonsense. Pure and simple.

Whoa, whoa, drop the Thought Police act already.

It's just a discussion of music - which, by the way, you haven't heard. The SotE game only uses about three of the tracks, and they're not the best ones.

I'm not going to entertain this argument further than my previous comments.

And thank you for presuming as much as you so clearly do - How you know that one did not INDEED purchase the soundtrack to the game? What with me being a huge Star Wars fan (at the time) and Williams fan. Of course I never wanted to hear it :roll:

It is unwise to believe you're a special one of a kind.

Based on your comment, I assumed that you had only heard the music as featured in the videogame. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

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And thank you for presuming as much as you so clearly do - How you know that one did not INDEED purchase the soundtrack to the game?

It is not a soundtrack to the game. It is music written independently of the game and then put in the game.

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As far as I know he might have known that it would also be used in the game, but the primary task was to write music "for" the novel. But I don't have insider information, so I might easily be wrong. :)

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Why would anyone have to write music for a novel,was it used in an Audio book?

K.M.

I heard it.

Its synth versions of Xizor's theme mainly.

COuld anybody check my previous post about han solo and the princess theme appearing in the score? I think it may got unnoticed in this new dicussion about tone poems and suites, and i would like some feedback about it...

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I think SOTE is amazing, and I enjoy it very much. Especially Imperial Palace and the Beggar Canyon Chase.

But comparing it to Williams' soundtracks is probably not entirely fair as McNeelly didn't have to match his music to happenings on the big screen. He could dwell on a theme as long or as short as he wanted, defining his own rhythms and timings. A piece like Imperial Palace for example would have to be chopped to pieces severely for use in TPM.

I just enjoy SOTE as an album on it's own, whether it's a symphony, a tone poem or whatever.

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Were?
Seduction of Princess Leia: 2:45 to end. Is this par of Han Solo and the Princess (or may Princess Leia's Theme)? If it is, very clever writing, as since i think Leia broke the seduction thiking of Han (and becasue Chewie's door bashing too)
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Didn't Williams once say he regretted that McNeely didn't consult him?

I believe Williams regretted that the project went ahead even though he had turned down the offer.

He was carefull to note that he did not object to anything McNeely had written though. (ever the diplomat ;))

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At that time there was even fear the Williams and Lucasfilm were in some bad terms and nobody knew for sure if he would score the prequels?

I just think that if only john williams have done SOTE in that dry 1996 year that he only did sleepers...

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Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this score very much. But sometimes the music is just too "in-your-face", everything is pretty obvious. Some nice tracks, no doubt, though.

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Pretty much.

I wish Ottman didn't use the Ostinato so much as theme, but used the march instead. Basically he uses the ostinato as a build up to nothing.

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I suppose he thinks the same about scoring a animated movie :/

I think he's said in an interview at some point that he'd like to do it, if the opportunity came along.

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heh. Then Disney is stupid for not asking him (they can afford paying him) and Spielberg too since his dreamworks studios have made several movies of that kind...

HECK even Land Before Time was produced by Spielberg and Lucas!

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