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Star Wars Concert Suites


curlytoot

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They seem musically connected which makes thematic sense, but they're all unique motivic ideas to my ears. Cut from the same cloth but hardly "duplications."

 

Just like all the various First Order related fanfares that adorn their fleet ships/vehicles. The Dreadnought, the Supremacy, the battering ram cannon all receive unique ideas that share Williams' trademark musical flourishes for baddies.

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5 hours ago, crumbs said:

 it sounds like you're just trying to talk down Williams' writings on TLJ (as usual) by flagrantly disregarding these separate ideas as "duplications."

 

Not at all.

 

I just prefer a more exclusive approach to tracking down leitmotives (or themes). I think its more consistent with the way Williams writes: He (intentionally) doesn't go the Wagner/Shore route of writing a large amount of them: instead, he writes 5-6 of them (or, in this case, half of that), which he can feature more extensivelly and make more distinct. I really don't think he would want us debating whether each three-note snippet from his scores is a leitmotif.

 

I think that leitmotives need to have a clear association, and a specific one: if its something too general and abstract (e.g. action motif) than it probably isn't a leitmotif. Likewise, the motif in question has to be substantial, not just be a generic musical gesture or something that's so brief and inconsequential that it might have re-occured by sheer accident - it needs to be intentional. On the flipside, it has to be something intentional to the score at hand - if its something you find across multiple scores by the composer, its usually more of a stylistic device than a proper leitmotif.

 

A good example from another score is the two-note brass figure that James Horner in Braveheart. Its all over the score. Is it a leitmotif, than? hell, no. First, its too generic: at a mere two notes, the figure is defined more by its timbre (growling low brass) than by the actual music. Second, if you try to pin down its role in the story, its really nothing more than "danger" or "ominous" which is far too abstract (effectivelly a replacement of Horner's prexisting three-note figure used for the same purpose in his earlier scores), and third - having recurred in Titanic - its really more of an expression of Horner's style than it is a specific leitmotif written for this score.

 

I think a great parallel is between leitmotives in a score and callbacks in the dialouge of a script. Not every line that happens twice (or more) in a script is a callback. It maybe too generic to be intentional: think about a character exclaiming "oh my god" when facing danger. A lot of the supposed leitmotif being labeled around JWFan are the musical equivalent of that.

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  • 5 weeks later...

For “The Flag Parade” and “The Adventures of Jar Jar,” is the Themes From "The Phantom Menace" and Other Film Hits (Frederic Talgorn & Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus) the way to go? The best or only recording?

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Does Adventures of Jar Jar change anything or add in little bridges and transitions? From what I remember, it's "just" a collection of score material.

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On 6/20/2018 at 11:10 PM, Pellaeon said:

For “The Flag Parade” and “The Adventures of Jar Jar,” is the Themes From "The Phantom Menace" and Other Film Hits (Frederic Talgorn & Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus) the way to go? The best or only recording?

 

Not the only recording but probably the best. Personally I've always considered the RSNO's to be the go-to recording of the TPM suite -no need to include Main Title and Arrival at Naboo of course.

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44 minutes ago, Ricard said:

 

Not the only recording but probably the best. Personally I've always considered the RSNO's to be the go-to recording of the TPM suite -no need to include Main Title and Arrival at Naboo of course.

 

Annoyingly, the main title is flubbed at the intro. Why didn't they do another take?

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1 hour ago, Ricard said:

Personally I've always considered the RSNO's to be the go-to recording of the TPM suite -no need to include Main Title and Arrival at Naboo of course.

 

Appreciate the info.

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  • 1 month later...
5 hours ago, Score said:

Done! I wish he had included it in the Suite from the beginning...

 

Me too, but I’m still happy to have it!

 

Oh, and don’t forget “The Adventures of Han”.

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On 8/7/2018 at 5:10 PM, Pellaeon said:

 

Me too, but I’m still happy to have it!

 

Oh, and don’t forget “The Adventures of Han”.

 

Ok, I added that one as well. Although, as far as I know, this is not yet officially confirmed to be a concert piece. 

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8 minutes ago, Score said:

 

Ok, I added that one as well. Although, as far as I know, this is not yet officially confirmed to be a concert piece. 

 

It's already been performed in concert multiple times.

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3 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

 

It's already been performed in concert multiple times.

 

Ah, I must have missed something then. Ok, the list is complete... until episode IX, or the next surprise!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Could anyone tell me where I can hear the two different Yoda's theme versions?

 

Do we have any recording of Cantina Band that conforms to the signature edition?

 

Do we have an official recording of the alternate TFA brass finale yet?

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1 hour ago, bollemanneke said:

Could anyone tell me where I can hear the two different Yoda's theme versions?

 

The old version is the one available on the 1997 2CD release, you can listen to it here:

 

 

The more recent version (that uses a portion of the End Credits arrangement) was used basically in every concert, for example this one:

 

 

Compare the section that starts at 1:20 in the first video (the old version) with the same section that starts around 1:23 in the second video (the new version), and you'll hear the difference. The second version is the Signature Edition one, which coincides with the version orchestrated by Spencer that was available for rental decades ago.

 

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11 hours ago, Tom said:

My guess is that the following is the signature edition of the Cantina Band (beginning around 53:00):

 

 

No, the (wonderful) version in the video is heavily re-arranged: almost the whole orchestra is playing at the end, and there is an extended sax solo (55:25) that is not in the SE. The SE score is the same as another score that was published decades ago in another edition (Fox) and it basically matches the original recording, except for a concert ending that is not heard in the soundtrack recording. I have heard that ending many years ago, so it was recorded at some point (I had a cassette with that version when I was a kid), but I cannot find it, and I cannot find a reference to what recording it was.  

 

 

 

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  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Do these new arrangements with ASM count? If so, that's 5 new suites (Leia's Theme, Across the Stars, Rey's Theme, Luke & Leia, Yoda's Theme, possibly Han Solo and the Princess but it's not on the album).

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37 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Do these new arrangements with ASM count? If so, that's 5 new suites (Leia's Theme, Across the Stars, Rey's Theme, Luke & Leia, Yoda's Theme, possibly Han Solo and the Princess but it's not on the album).

 

I have updated the list!

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  • 2 years later...

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