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John Williams' new HAN SOLO AND THE PRINCESS arrangement (Debuted 2018)


Jay

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Not the Slovak Orchestra

 

Star Wars Concert Simone Pedroni, conductor Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano "Giuseppe Verdi" July 14th, 2019 Milano, Auditorium Cariplo

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8 hours ago, Quintus said:

The video in the old OP of this says it's now set to private. Is there another link for it at all?

 

On 30/04/2022 at 8:43 AM, Jay said:

there's two embedded videos of it right on this page. 

 

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I just love the mini-development section (around the 2:00 min mark) in the new ASM version, it goes into a sort of Miklos Rozsa-esque territory which is unexpected and delightful.

 

I think this, together with Cinderella and The Long Goodbye, is my favourite ASM arrangement so far. It feels like it always belonged here.

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Umm I prefer the 2018 recording, I like this one but maybe at this moment I'm too familiar with the 2018 version and it takes some time to appreciate ASM take...

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I like the arrangement, too. Even though it even moves a little more away from the original than the 2018 version.

But it is a beautiful piece. 

 

In this case for me it is not either or, but I like both in their own way.

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I guess whoever runs the account “johnwilliamsplaylist” hasn't been creating John Williams playlists for very long… I can see how someone would think that the 2018 arrangement is the first original suite, considering that the actual first suite isn’t on any of the ESB OSTs, but come on, this is a rookie mistake.

 

 

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Why do y'all think JW had revisited and revised this piece as much as he had? The original pretty much never got played in concert. Is there even an official recording of it with JW conducting? 

 

I assume he was always unhappy with it. The theme itself is lovely and used to beautiful effect in the film. The kind of condensed arrangement in the end credits is all kinds of awesome. But the original concert arrangement is a little odd, especially in how it quotes Princess Leia's theme in the middle of it. I find that quite interesting, but I believe JW removed it in all revisions. 

 

The first revision takes on a more tragic, dramatic weight. Mutter arrangement seems to double down on that sense of sadness even more. 

 

 

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I would guess he was fond of the theme, but unhappy with the original concert arrangement because it’s a relatively unimaginative arrangement.

 

TFA and Fisher’s death gave him two reasons to revisit the theme with melancholy.

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1 minute ago, GerateWohl said:

You mean the one from the Gerhardt recording? No.

 I am partial to it because I’m old and it is too.  Which is your preferred arrangement (just curious)?

 

I’m in the process of putting the three arrangements (1980, 2018, 2022) in a playlist and really giving them some attention. 

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1 minute ago, Andy said:

 I am partial to it because I’m old and it is too.  Which is your preferred arrangement (just curious)?

 

I’m in the process of putting the three arrangements (1980, 2018, 2022) in a playlist and really giving them some attention. 

Basically, I am struggling with all the concert arrangements. My main issue with the 1980 version is that for whatever reason Williams put there in the middle of the first phrase a very unsatisfying dark chord, but really at every repetistion on the theme so that it is all the time like driving with applied handbrake. It never gets to full bloom like in the most emotional moments in the movie (finale, falcon turing back to Bespin, rescue attempt Han).

The 2018 version has that towards the end, but it does not really hit the tome of the Empire score. It sounds to me rather like a prequel piece. But it is probably my prefered version because it contains the climax that I missed in the old version.

The 2022 is a great piece as a variation of the 2018 piece, but it is even more far away from TESB.

So none of them works for me as arepresentative elaboration of the piece from the 1980 movie.

But my favourite is probably the 2018 version, which is basically a different piece containing this great theme.

But the 2022 version might overtake this. It is at least so far my favourite ASM Star Wars piece. Better than Rey's Theme, Princess Leia's Theme, Yoda's Theme, Across the Stars or Luke and Leia. I would have loved an ASM arrangement of The Asteroid Field or Parade of the Ewoks, but that didn't happen.

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8 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Basically, I am struggling with all the concert arrangements. My main issue with the 1980 version is that for whatever reason Williams put there in the middle of the first phrase a very unsatisfying dark chord, but really at every repetistion on the theme so that it is all the time like driving with applied handbrake. It never gets to full bloom like in the most emotional moments in the movie (finale, falcon turing back to Bespin, rescue attempt Han).

The 2018 version has that towards the end, but it does not really hit the tome of the Empire score. It sounds to me rather like a prequel piece. But it is probably my prefered version because it contains the climax that I missed in the old version.

The 2022 is a great piece as a variation of the 2018 piece, but it is even more far away from TESB.

So none of them works for me as arepresentative elaboration of the piece from the 1980 movie.

But my favourite is probably the 2018 version, which is basically a different piece containing this great theme.

But the 2022 version might overtake this. It is at least so far my favourite ASM Star Wars piece. Better than Rey's Theme, Princess Leia's Theme, Yoda's Theme, Across the Stars or Luke and Leia. I would have loved an ASM arrangement of The Asteroid Field or Parade of the Ewoks, but that didn't happen.

 I hope he's still unhappy with this latest arrangement and writes a fourth one!

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Years ago when he did ATTACK OF THE CLONES -He mentioned in the PR interivews that he hadnt written any Love theme in the series. And this time he had written one.

 

Han Solo and The Princess was always believed to be the quintessential love theme in the original trilogy even though it was debated that it was basically Han's theme. We first hear it in Hoth when Luke and Han are riding the Tauntuans.

 

Recently Williams revealed that Princes Leia's theme was the 'real' romantic theme intended for Leia and Luke! He then had to compensate and do a formal Luke and Leia theme in JEDI so as to confirm that they were brother and sister.

 

LOL.

 

I had kinda hoped in SITH that Kenobie and Anakin would be involved with Amidala in love triangle situation. The conflict would have been the perfect catalyst for Anakins downfall. And then Williams would have had to do a whole new love theme for this triangle relationship. Crazy!!!

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Amer said:

even though it was debated that it was basically Han's theme

 

It's clearly not Han's Theme. But it is a theme for Han.

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On 12/05/2022 at 7:00 AM, Amer said:

I had kinda hoped in SITH that Kenobie and Anakin would be involved with Amidala in love triangle situation.

 

 


That sounds like an absolutely horrible idea.  :P

 

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2 hours ago, Sergeant said:

That sounds like a threesome!

Happens in Bollywood all the time! :woop:

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