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What does everyone think of 'March of the Resistance'?


DarthDementous

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1 hour ago, Quintus said:

I thought about those two notes many times actually, in the early days. They didn't quite sit right with me, and I thought the melody might have perhaps been more satisfying to me if they were reversed. 

 

Really? I disagree entirely. There's something unexpected yet perfectly inevitable about those two simple notes.

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12 hours ago, Quintus said:

I thought about those two notes many times actually, in the early days. They didn't quite sit right with me…

I felt the same way early on (maybe earlier in this thread lol), and still do. The way those two notes disappear and leave that V chord just hanging there, the harmony just seems a little too…obvious to me, too exposed. It actually made me cringe the first time I heard it, like it was someone doing a pastiche of Williams. I feel the same way about most of The Adventures of Mutt.

 

Love the rest of March of the Resistance, though. Everything from the stretto to the end of the track is just aces.

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I think he's probably played around with them and finally settled on the two notes which most helped to convey a sense of 'starwarsy' fun in what is otherwise a pretty serious sounding theme for the 'good guys' with unusually strong classical stylings. There's a part of me though which might have preferred it if he'd maintained the orchestral earnestness with two notes which stayed 'true' to the tonal pomp of the piece. 

 

This is a very minor nitpick, mind. The Resistance March gives me johnnygasms on a regular basis. 

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If you look hard enough you can find hints of other Star Wars themes in almost all other Star Wars themes. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

 

In the case of Rey's theme, I don't think there's much to compare both with, apart from the first two notes, which are the same. And I suppose the little hops could be derived from the Rebel fanfare...perhaps. But I think the minor-third interval appears a lot in Star Wars in general...it's a kind of signature of the musical Universe the SW scores inhabit (IMO). 

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At first it was a JW standand.  It almost mirrors the Trade federation theme, maybe something from Last Crusade or Jurassic when the convoy arrives at the museum.

 

After a couple of listens however it began to leave its mark.  When my 5 year old started humming it, I knew it was something special.  Now we both sing it constantly!  This whole score keeps dropping new surprises with every listen.

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  • 3 weeks later...
10 minutes ago, Marcus said:

What I especially like about "March of the Resistance", is how consciously stark and austere it is. There's very little of the pomp or opulence usually afforded such marches in Williams' ouvre.

 

A gritty fugal piece, it eschews most of the frills and heraldics that typically accompany similar fare (as evidenced by the remarkably barren percussion setup -only timpani, with a few splashes of piatti and suspended cymbal- , as well as by the general avoidance of flourishes and other brilliant gestures), and instead gains a ruggedness that seems a perfect musical match for its on screen counterpart.

 

The one truly great flourish it does contain, though, -the great trumpet and trombone (+tuba) fanfare towards the end of the march- , is one of the cleverest variations yet on the Rebel Fanfare!

 

 

I had not realized the Rebel fanfare inclusion--cool.  I like its grittiness as well.  While I usually like the flourish of Williams concert marches, I do like the variety it adds to the Star Wars universe.  It has got to be a great piece to experience in concert. 

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Is it a variation on the Rebel fanfare? It's different rhythmically and harmonically...though it has the same sort of feel (but with lesser stabiliy).

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It is indeed a variation, altering both the rhythm and the harmonic content, but retaining the melodic contour.

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On 1-5-2016 at 11:23 PM, Datameister said:

Really? I disagree entirely. There's something unexpected yet perfectly inevitable about those two simple notes.

 

Obviously, yes. There's a V - I cadence in there (D -> Gm).

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1 hour ago, Marcus said:

What I especially like about "March of the Resistance", is how consciously stark and austere it is. There's very little of the pomp or opulence usually afforded such marches in Williams' ouvre.

 

A gritty fugal piece, it eschews most of the frills and heraldics that typically accompany similar fare (as evidenced by the remarkably barren percussion setup -only timpani, with a few splashes of piatti and suspended cymbal- , as well as by the general avoidance of flourishes and other brilliant gestures), and instead gains a ruggedness that seems a perfect musical match for its on screen counterpart.

 

The one truly great flourish it does contain, though, -the great trumpet and trombone (+tuba) fanfare towards the end of the march- , is one of the cleverest variations yet on the Rebel Fanfare!

 

Totally agree with your observation, Marcus. As I wrote a few posts back, Williams described it as a piece "for the radical movement that wants to bring the Jedi knights back to power". In my opinion the piece is more a depiction of the willful "revanche" feeling at the core of this group of people more than relentless military swagger à la Imperial March. Even if the piece is modeled as a steady march, it doesn't have any kind of prominent military-like percussion, like snare or field drums, something which leads to think that the theme has more to do with noble resolution and less with prominent display of war power. The fugato writing also seems to underline the complex situation in which the group is operating (even though I see it more as Williams having fun with his own material, imho). I totally LOOVE the Rebel fanfare fanfare variation, but probably my favorite little section is the horns/clarinets/piccolo in parallel harmony (from 1:45 to 1:55)--gets me pumped up every time and it's so JW.

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I much prefer the woodwind friendly recording/arrangement in his Boston performance than the Dudamel conducted track on the OST. It's too heavy on the brass for my liking and really not suited to repeat listens (actually becomes a bit grating to my ears by the end, to be honest, because there's such little relief from the brass in the LA recording).

 

I do hope there's an alternate mix of the recording in the vaults, with a heavier focus on the amazing woodwind work going on. It's almost inaudible as is on the OST but this must have been JW's intention. The Boston recording just has so much more aural relief and the orchestrations feel much more vibrant and rich.

 

And I much prefer the faster tempo of Scherzo for XWings, but I think that's universal around here.

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28 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

 

Totally agree with your observation, Marcus. As I wrote a few posts back, Williams described it as a piece "for the radical movement that wants to bring the Jedi knights back to power". In my opinion the piece is more a depiction of the willful "revanche" feeling at the core of this group of people more than relentless military swagger à la Imperial March. 

 

It's just a shame absolutely none of this was conveyed nor communicated in the film and the music wound up being criminally underutilised. 

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I think they played MOTR in minor key on piano in a Star Wars Oxygen podcast and it blew me away how versatile the theme is outside of full-blown march mode. I'm sure it'll be used cleverly in the next two films (as presumably the Resistance will come under heavy duress in VIII).

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15 minutes ago, Lonnegan said:

 

It's just a shame absolutely none of this was conveyed nor communicated in the film and the music wound up being criminally underutilised. 

 

It's not the first time JW seems to understand and convey the inner sense of what's on screen (and off screen) much better than the filmmakers themselves ;)

 

Another interesting point is that the March is in the same key of Rey's theme (A Minor) and it constantly builds up and up as it progresses.

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2 hours ago, TownerFan said:

Another interesting point is that the March is in the same key of Rey's theme (A Minor) and it constantly builds up and up as it progresses.

 

It starts off in A minor but it is primarily in G minor, and modulates to Bb minor nearer to the end.

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4 hours ago, TownerFan said:

 

The fugato writing also seems to underline the complex situation in which the group is operating (even though I see it more as Williams having fun with his own material, imho). 

 

Might be pointless to mention but I'd stress that having compositional fun or just going where the material allows formally is certainly more likely than the other very literal "meaning" you mention.  I see quite a bit of those sorts of interpretations of all film music, very literal musical parallels with character or drama, that are almost definitely sheer coincidence.  Must be careful with that sort of thing, as high school literature teachers should be more careful about the "hidden meanings" that they uncover in the great classics. I don't know, I guess it's kind of a quasi-pet peeve. 

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5 hours ago, WilliamHorne97 said:

I do believe that this track is the best from the soundtrack and is the one that stands out. Though for me, I'm not a huge fan of Force Awakens soundtrack.

 

Really? I think there are dozens of greater highlights in the score than MOTR. Even if it's great, I think Johnny has done this fuga-thingy so much better before. But still, TFA soundtrack is amazing.

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8 minutes ago, hornist said:

 

Really? I think there are dozens of greater highlights in the score than MOTR. Even if it's great, I think Johnny has done this fuga-thingy so much better before. But still, TFA soundtrack is amazing.

 

What are your favourites mate?

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10 hours ago, crumbs said:

And I much prefer the faster tempo of Scherzo for XWings, but I think that's universal around here.

 

I sped up the recording for my edit. #SorryNotSorry

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3 hours ago, TheWhiteRider said:

I for one like the album tempo. 

 

Of the Resistance March, the Scherzo, or both?

 

The Resistance March I think is pretty enjoyable in all the versions we've heard it even though I do prefer it taken a bit faster, but the pace of the Scherzo on album is definitely way too deliberate for my taste. It was my biggest sticking point when I first heard it and I'd still never really been able to get into it until I got to hear it taken up a notch. 

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52 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

 

Of the Resistance March, the Scherzo, or both?

 

The Resistance March I think is pretty enjoyable in all the versions we've heard it even though I do prefer it taken a bit faster, but the pace of the Scherzo on album is definitely way too deliberate for my taste. It was my biggest sticking point when I first heard it and I'd still never really been able to get into it until I got to hear it taken up a notch. 

 

That about sums up my feelings on the matter, too. The scherzo feels dull to me at the concert suite tempo. The film cue takes a much more exciting speed.

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14 hours ago, TheWhiteRider said:

 

Might be pointless to mention but I'd stress that having compositional fun or just going where the material allows formally is certainly more likely than the other very literal "meaning" you mention.  I see quite a bit of those sorts of interpretations of all film music, very literal musical parallels with character or drama, that are almost definitely sheer coincidence.  Must be careful with that sort of thing, as high school literature teachers should be more careful about the "hidden meanings" that they uncover in the great classics. I don't know, I guess it's kind of a quasi-pet peeve. 

 

I tend to agree with you in general, especially in the case of Williams, who seems always to think first as a composer, finding solutions to pure musical "problems". However, I think sometimes the plot and its narrative path informs some of the musical choices as well.

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17 hours ago, Lonnegan said:

Album wise I certainly don't think it's as good as Phantom Menace was back in the day. 

After seeing the film the TPM OST became quickly one of the least well put together of the SW soundtracks. It's not something I find myself returning to when I am in the mood to listen to the score. Not a succint summation of the score at all and missing many vital highlights.

 

Speaking of the March of the Resistance I found it quite refreshingly old fashioned, especially in its nice throwback to the Williams from 1970's and 1980's when every other of his scores would feature a cool fuga or scherzo of some kind. The piece has really grown on me over the past months and I do consider the theme one of the highlights of the score. I just wish they had found ways of using it even more in the film.

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I haven't listened to the TPM ost for well over a decade, but I remember playing it pretty much endlessly back before it fully dawned on me how horrible the movie actually was, and then I grew tired of all things Star Wars for many years, including the music. For me there though I just seem to recall there was a much greater number of really enjoyable cues in TPM than there currently are in TFA. 

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9 hours ago, Red said:

I love the B-theme to this piece, though it only appears a scant few times. 

 

Absolutely, it's an incredible melody! It has that inevitable feel to it that many of the best themes have. The renditions at the start of the cue Finn and Poe, United and in Informants are terrific. 

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8 hours ago, Incanus said:

Speaking of the March of the Resistance I found it quite refreshingly old fashioned, especially in its nice throwback to the Williams from 1970's and 1980's when every other of his scores would feature a cool fuga or scherzo of some kind. The piece has really grown on me over the past months and I do consider the theme one of the highlights of the score. I just wish they had found ways of using it even more in the film.

 

Even though I like the Scherzo, I would have liked to see him use the Resistance theme and/or Poe's theme for the Starkiller attack and trench run. In a funny way, throwing the main title all over that sequence only made it all the more obvious that it was little more than a big nostalgic throwback.

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It's possible there are unheard alternates that did use that theme and JJ asked for the rescored version that we have now.

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21 hours ago, WojinPA said:

We're looking for at least 24 to have dozens. 36 would be even better. 

 

I was prepared to post four dozens(48) but if 24 will do, that is a let down for me. Just like scratch the surface.

 

Go Tampa go!!!!!!!

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