IJ4: Track 4

[Josh500 1,615]

04 Irina's Theme [Concert Suite]

0:00-0:39 Saxophone and muted horn present "Irina's Theme," which bears much resemblance to both Indy's theme and the Crystal Theme in its melodic contour.

0:39-1:17 Horn performs Irina's Theme over trembling violas and celli, the second part of

the theme being performed by celli in canon with the violins, and is then

developed somewhat,

1:17-1:46 The violins finally take over the melody, and then continue the development over

a pedal dominant bass note. This culminates in a trilled dominant chord.

1:46-1:59 The "Russian Theme" is introduced with a brass chorale.

1:59-2:26 Low horn and cimbalom conclude with the first part of Irina's Theme,

and is left unresolved after a disturbing cluster of low cimbalom notes.

(by Bowie)

So what does everybody have to say about THIS track?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Gud musik fur sexc vlussian nikitas.

[Josh500 1,615]

Nobody wants to talk about "Irina's Theme"???

[Ollie 1,059]

Dude seriously, Bowie is doing these threads.

Are you so desperate for polls you have to jump in on his idea?

[Josh500 1,615]

Dude seriously, Bowie is doing these threads.

Are you so desperate for polls you have to jump in on his idea?

Dude, seriously, can you make a constructivce contribution for once? Where do you see a poll here?

[Ollie 1,059]

I'll start when you start.

[Bowie 45]

Oh stop it boys. Actually I've been really busy/preoccupied all weekend, only just now getting a chance to really sit down and read through threads. I'm happy for Josh to take over the thread-making. I will provide the analyses as I see each thread .

[Josh500 1,615]

I'll start when you start.

Case in point.

[Limbonaut 2]

When I first heard the midi sample on this site a few weeks ago I thought it was okay. When I heard the sample on Amazon later I liked it more. Then when I heard the sample from CeDE that had the full cellos playing it became my favorite track!

[King Mark 3,631]

what's track 4?

Seriously,are you caving in to Genius Gone Insane's pointless complaints

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

This might be the most memorable new theme in the score. It has a great noir feel, as Williams mentioned in the interview, which is heightened by the sultry saxophone rendition at the beginning of the piece. I think it's a good example of the seemingly simple tunes Williams writes that have a catchy "hook," causing the melody to stay with you after the music ends. At least, it's been popping into my head a lot over the past few days. And the "Russian Theme" horn outburst? Uh, hell yeah. Great track.

[Ollie 1,059]

My favorite performance is the bold statement 49 seconds into the "Jungle Chase" cue.

[Josh500 1,615]

Yeah, this theme is certainly one of the best this new score has to offer.

I love the many variations throughout the score. I didn't realize it immediately, but The Jungle Chase starts with a bold brass statement of this theme, which I find perfect!!! Irina Spalka kicks off that chase, after all...

[Samuel Walters 0]

Irina's theme had to grow on me but what it lacks in immediate impact it makes up for in its construction. There's just something about it.

[Josh500 1,615]

Irina's theme had to grow on me but what it lacks in immediate impact it makes up for in its construction. There's just something about it.

I don't think the concert piece of Irina's Theme (4th track) is the best example of it. I much more it in The Jungle Chase and Finale (among others).

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Where is Irina's theme actually used in the underscore? I know it's in "Spell of the Skull", "Jungle Chase" and "Finale", but other than that? Am I missing some statements?

[Bowie 45]

Where is Irina's theme actually used in the underscore? I know it's in "Spell of the Skull", "Jungle Chase" and "Finale", but other than that? Am I missing some statements?

Quite a few! I'll add them to this post as I re-find them...

"...The Secret Revealed,"

3:53-4:03 on the horns

4:30-4:41 on muted trumpet

5:00-5:06 fragmented in the trumpets

5:34-end on the trumpets

Ants!,

1:52-2:04 in my opinion, is a severely truncated motif, (i.e., notes 6-7-8 of Irina's Theme) but this depends on whether she's in this scene for it to be likely.

And don't forget the Russian theme (her secondary theme) is all over Ants!, The Spell..., Jungle Chase and a couple of others....

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Oops. Forgot to mention "Ants!". Didn't notice the one in "The Secret Revealed". Guess that gives me another excuse for giving it another listen. Thanks.

[Josh500 1,615]

It just occurred to me, after listening to the album a dozen times and after seeing the movie, that Irina's Theme is my favorite new theme of the movie.

This theme goes through MANY variations (brass, strings, saxophone etc), and I love every single cue . . . I get chills when I hear it. So evil and romantic, but also somehow nostalgic in a bittersweet way. And the concert version is simply gorgeous . . . like Cate Blanchett. Does anybody agree?

[Limbonaut 2]

I may be wrong but I think this may be the first theme JW wrote for a female character that wasn't also a love theme. A lot of the themes for female characters are kind of delicate and sweet even when the characters themselves really weren't. Princess Leia and Marion are tougher than their respective themes would indicate! Irina's Theme is feminine and seductive when played a certain way but can be strong and forceful if played another. Willie Scott's theme fit her perfectly, glamourous and comically over the top lush and romantic.

[Josh500 1,615]

Hmmmm . . . I never thought about it, but by Golly, you may be right!

Although is Sayuri's Theme a love theme??? I don't think so.

[indy4 155]

Best new theme of the score, easily. Just listen to it at 2:48 of "Jungle Chase."

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

I think the version at the beginning of The Jungle Chase is my favorite.

[Neimoidian 14]

I used to argue with someone who is a musician (quite talented and educated, that's for sure) and he claimed there is no saxofone in the Irina's Theme. According to him it's just the French Horn sounding that way. I disagreed.

According to JW, he tried to give the theme a fell of old sax-driven femme fatale sound, but he never explicitely said he used a saxofone in that piece.

So I ask you - is it a sax or not?

[Josh500 1,615]

I used to argue with someone who is a musician (quite talented and educated, that's for sure) and he claimed there is no saxofone in the Irina's Theme. According to him it's just the French Horn sounding that way. I disagreed.

According to JW, he tried to give the theme a fell of old sax-driven femme fatale sound, but he never explicitely said he used a saxofone in that piece.

So I ask you - is it a sax or not?

Hmmm, interesting. Assuming your friend is really knowledgeable in these kind of things, he may be right. It DOES sound like a sax, but who knows what kind of techniques there are for playing the French horn?

Think about Hedwig's Theme. I thought that the main melody (after the celesta opening) was played by horns and some other woodwind instruments, and it turns out a saxophone was used there as well! Honestly, I still can't hear it, but under certain circumstances, these 2 instruments may sound very similar.

[Jay 37,374]

Some of the best performances of Irina's theme are not on the OST...

[UK_Tubist 6]

Sorry, but there is DEFINITELY a sax at the beginning of Irina's theme, doubling the stopped horn all the way through. You can hear its distinctive timbre most prominently on the G#-A at the very beginning (ie the second and third notes of the theme) and especially the two B flats at 00:22. After that latter moment, the horn becomes more prominent, but it's certainly there still.

[FattyMcButterpants 1]

Why are there so many misspellings of Irina's name? Spalka, Spotko, Spotka ... it's SPALKO!

[Genius_Gone_Insane 5]

what's track 4?

Seriously,are you caving in to Genius Gone Insane's pointless complaints

Thanks KM for making me feel valued here.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

King Mark has sunk into eternal bitterness over the state of unreleased IJ music. He means no harm.

[Josh500 1,615]

Hey does anyone else just love the moment 1:17-1:46???

This section never made it into the movie, but whenever I listen to it on the album, I feel my heart swell . . . it's so gorgeous. Reminds me a bit of Across the Stars, but different . . . maybe just "Russian." I think the French reviewer hit the nail on the head when he said, "Melancholic, noble and threatening, evoking an ambitious and tragic Russia, the leitmotif of Spalko indicates a complexity of extremely rare writing."

[Limbonaut 2]

Yeah, I love when the high strings play the melody. You do hear this part in the credits. The bridge for the Imperial March on the other hand has never been heard onscreen!