The Rise of Skywalker The Rise of Skywalker OST Album Discussion

[ricsim88 239]

11 minutes ago, BTR1701 said:

 

I don't think it's disjointed. I think it's uninspired and just a rehash of what's come before.

 

(I love the rest of the score. It's just this one cue that I don't like.)

 

But the live performances, both concerts and live-to-projection, use the real deal.

We performed HPSS last month, and it was all synths. Maybe they don’t always do it the same way.

[BTR1701 59]

18 minutes ago, ricsim88 said:

We performed HPSS last month, and it was all synths. Maybe they don’t always do it the same way.

 

When I saw POTTER live-to-projection with the Chicago Symphony last year, they used an old-school beautiful dark wood--mahogany?-- celesta. Very ornate looking.

[ricsim88 239]

7 minutes ago, BTR1701 said:

 

When I saw POTTER live-to-projection with the Chicago Symphony last year, they used an old-school beautiful dark wood--mahogany?-- celesta. Very ornate looking.

That’s really cool!

[King Mark 3,411]

why isn't the fantastic version of the Star Wars main theme in a certain scene on this album .Criminal

[Cerebral Cortex 3,336]

I like the little Superman "reference" in Battle of the Resistance. Neat throwback to almost exactly 41 years ago. Surely not intentional but still fun: 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,257]

I caught that in the film

[Alex 2,694]

The intricacy and depth of all the action cues is mindblowing. The man is 87 and is still sharp as a tac.

[The Five Tones 292]

Star Wars: Episode IX OST - The Fall of Fan Service

[Edmilson 5,673]

Listening to the OST once again.

 

My gosh, aside from the Main Title itself, only 13 seconds of track 01 Fanfare and Prologue are actually used on the movie, according to Jay's spreadsheet. Track 02 Journey to Exegol is also hacked to pieces, and only 1 minute 15 seconds (out of a 2 minutes 49 seconds track) were used, so less than half of it. Probably the cut Williams scored of the initial sequence is very different from the final cut released in theaters.

[Arpy 4,099]

#ReleaseTheSynderCut

[Cerebral Cortex 3,336]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

Track 02 Journey to Exegol is also hacked to pieces, and only 1 minute 15 seconds (out of a 2 minutes 49 seconds track) were used, so less than half of it. Probably the cut Williams scored of the initial sequence is very different from the final cut released in theaters.

 

Such a shame. That entire track is so much fun and is an album highlight for me. Has the same sound and energy to me as if Williams had had to score that type of scene in the prequels. Deserved to have been heard in full. 

[DominicCobb 194]

The finale suite almost recalls a Film Night concert performance, no? I've only seen him conduct once but he did The Rebellion is Reborn, the Star Wars Main Title/Finale, and The Imperial March. This kind of feels like that, you've got the new suites and then the greatest hits.

[Arpy 4,099]

There's nothing worse than hearing something you love before seeing the film be butchered or completely absent when you finally see it. Happened several times in the past where the impact of the music is lost because of the edits and mixing. It's one of the pitfalls of listening to the score before seeing the film - I was more disappointed than if I had gone in completely unaware. 

 

I hope someone can reincorporate The Speeder Chase back into the film somehow.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,336]

I don't really know why, but I really like the Imperial March rendition in Finale. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything special about it. Sounds the same as every time I've heard it in a concert arrangement recording. There's no reason for me to really like it. Yet, for some reason, I really do. Somehow the orchestra has never sounded larger, more fierceful, or brighter playing it than when we hear it in Finale (IMO). 

[DarthDementous 996]

10 minutes ago, Cerebral Cortex said:

I don't really know why, but I really like the Imperial March rendition in Finale. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything special about it. Sounds the same as every time I've heard it in a concert arrangement recording. There's no reason for me to really like it. Yet, for some reason, I really do. Somehow the orchestra has never sounded larger, more fierceful, or brighter playing it than when we hear it in Finale (IMO). 

It's easily the best recording of the Imperial March I've ever heard, something about the Los Angeles orchestra this time around is so sonically powerful in this movie.

[lairdo 694]

On 12/21/2019 at 11:22 AM, BTR1701 said:

On 12/21/2019 at 9:23 AM, BrotherSound said:

Recent JW scores often (always?) use a synth Celesta, rather than the acoustic instrument. The famous Harry Potter opening, for instance.

 

But the live performances, both concerts and live-to-projection, use the real deal.

 

Yep. And Gloria led me to believe that on TFA, it was a live instrument. But I could have misunderstood.

[Tydirium 1,013]

Listened to all three sequel OSTs tonight; just finished. Pretty wild to go back to TFA and re-listen to the very first iterations of Rey and Kylo's themes, and then to hear how many times they are reprised in various interesting ways over the course of the trilogy.

 

I will also say that I love the three main concert arrangements of this trilogy (one per film): "Rey's Theme", "The Rebellion Is Reborn" and lastly "The Rise of Skywalker". These are some of the best themes he's written in recent memory, and the arrangements are all top-notch.

 

I wish JW would record a SW album now that he's finished with the saga. Use the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles (or the "Skywalker Symphony", or whatever) and just re-record a bunch of stuff, especially tracks he's never re-recorded before, like: "Duel of the Fates", "Battle of the Heroes", "Rey's Theme", "March of the Resistance", "The Jedi Steps", "The Rebellion Is Reborn", "The Rise of Skywalker" and of course the new arrangement of "Han Solo and the Princess", among others.

[igger6 827]

1 hour ago, Tydirium said:

I wish JW would record a SW album now that he's finished with the saga. Use the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles (or the "Skywalker Symphony", or whatever) and just re-record a bunch of stuff, especially tracks he's never re-recorded before, like: "Duel of the Fates", "Battle of the Heroes", "Rey's Theme", "March of the Resistance", "The Jedi Steps", "The Rebellion Is Reborn", "The Rise of Skywalker" and of course the new arrangement of "Han Solo and the Princess", among others.

 

I'm just generally very curious to see JW's next move now that Star Wars scoring proper is behind him.  Will he record an album of film music pieces?  Throw himself into concert music?  Retire to Kajimi?

[Amer 1,930]

I suppose he would do this way after he has settled down to complete maybe next year. I hope he gets a new film project in next year. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,257]

Indy 5!

[Docteur Qui 1,498]

The end credits suite is actually growing on me a bit. Apart from the complete rehash of the TFA finale which I don’t like at all (it’s too mysterious and dark, not resolute enough for the final scene of the saga), the rest really flows well. I agree that the performance of the Imperial March is just so intense and menacing, and considering how much more that theme appears in this film I’m not surprised he put it in.

 

The new themes are wonderfully arranged here, and I actually adore that the main title fanfare follows on from the Rise of Skywalker theme so organically, just minus the big blasting trumpet notes. Hearing the ROTJ credits to close it out actually works for me now as I haven’t really listened to that track for years, and it genuinely felt new and revitalised. The final chord does feel so resolute, and it gave me chills on my second listen.

 

Still not as revelatory as TFA or the absolute benchmark that is ESB, but much, much better than TLJ and the prequel suites (AOTC has a pretty great finale into the credits though, and both it and TPM have fabulous codas after the direct lifting of the concert suites)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,257]

The finale doesn't do much for me. It feels to much like a medley of highlights, not stitched together very well. 

 

And instead of finishing on the Star Wars concert suite ending like ROTJ and ROTS did, i would have preferred something new.

 

I prefer it when Williams writes new music over reusing pre-existing.

[Docteur Qui 1,498]

Oh so do I, and I was very disappointed on my first listen. But as I said it’s grown on me a bit, mainly from the strength of the new themes and their arrangements.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,257]

Really? They seem mostly generic read throughs of familiar material. Very loud though.

[Gurkensalat 322]

3 hours ago, Stefancos said:

Indy 5!

 

Tintin 2!!

[gkgyver 1,644]

Is anyone else getting Yorktown Theme vibes from Rise Of Skywalker here and there? 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,257]

Yeah.

[BTR1701 59]

11 hours ago, igger6 said:

 

I'm just generally very curious to see JW's next move now that Star Wars scoring proper is behind him.  Will he record an album of film music pieces?  Throw himself into concert music?  Retire to Kajimi?

 

He's signed on to score the next Indiana Jones flick, if they ever get it off the ground.

[danbeck 108]

8 hours ago, gkgyver said:

Is anyone else getting Yorktown Theme vibes from Rise Of Skywalker here and there? 

I was wondering why it was sounding like a Giacchino piece to me. Now you identified why. 

Both beautiful pieces of music.

 

"The master becomes the apprentice and the apprentice becomes the master."

[gkgyver 1,644]

Wrong master, wrong apprentice. 

[aviazn 273]

On 12/21/2019 at 6:47 PM, Docteur Qui said:

I was really moved by the beautiful piano statement of the intro chords in one very important part of the film. What an absolute treat.

Haven't seen the film yet, but that really stuck out at me on the album. Almost Thomas Newman-y.

 

Are there any other times that solo piano appears in a Star Wars film, carrying the melody like that? (There's that piano riff when the walkers appear on Hoth, but that was cut from the film.) Only other time I can think of is Leia's theme on piano in TLJ credits, but that's a pretty meta statement.

[Henry Sítrónu 485]

more sheet music

 

(work in progress)

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,774]

I'm getting this soundtrack just for the Rey training scene and the Rebel fanfare when the fleet shows up. This will sound great!

[crumbs 13,540]

So I'm late to the party here but what's the deal with the first two tracks of the OST? In the film itself, the prologue and journey to Exogol seem like the same thing, so why are they two separate tracks? And the opening flight to Exogol is scored totally differently in the film, per the FYC. 

 

Are we assuming JW just scored a different version of the film where these two sequences were separate and he included both on the album? Or perhaps Journey to Exogol belongs much later in the film but was replaced by a revised cue?

 

Apologies if this has already been covered. I'm still catching up.

[artguy360 1,776]

The choral half of Anthem of Evil is quickly becoming some of my favorite music on the OST. I really enjoy the ghost-like vocals float over the bed of low voices.

[Arpy 4,099]

50 minutes ago, Þekþiþm said:

I'm getting this soundtrack just for the Rey training scene and the Rebel fanfare when the fleet shows up. This will sound great!

The training scene is unreleased!

 

 

Oh, nevermind, it's all there, every minute, every cue recorded for the film...

 

[crumbs 13,540]

That training cue was exactly the type of cue I expected JW to write for TLJ, before seeing the film and realising it wasn't ESB MK2. 

 

It's absolutely glorious, shame it's unreleased. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,774]

I'm sure he had a good reason for omitting it...

[crumbs 13,540]

I wish we had more of Rey's Theme on the album. It never really gets developed to the extent it does in the film. 

[pete 794]

30 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Are we assuming JW just scored a different version of the film where these two sequences were separate and he included both on the album? Or perhaps Journey to Exogol belongs much later in the film but was replaced by a revised cue?

 

Apologies if this has already been covered. I'm still catching up.

 

I don't think anyone here knows for sure. Safe to assume at least that Williams wrote some different versions as the film changed and went with his own preferences for the CD. Beyond that, I think it's all guess work unless someone involved with the process ever chimes in. Wouldn't a book that details all this be great?!

[Not Mr. Big 4,481]

18 minutes ago, crumbs said:

I wish we had more of Rey's Theme on the album. It never really gets developed to the extent it does in the film. 

The album presentation is excellent though.  Maybe the best of the ST yet

[crumbs 13,540]

Agreed, but he had a few minutes spare. Including the training cue at the start of the OST would've been a great opener between the first two cues, just to re-establish Rey's Theme. 

[The Five Tones 292]

Still almost two weeks away from my window to see the film, and it hasn't been getting any easier hearing the reference to this emotional signal from you know where
(similar tentative "minor sus/add 2" tonality and the rising scale to the dominant, on harp and synth respectively):

 

 

 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,774]

30 year countdown until the expanded!

[lairdo 694]

23 hours ago, lairdo said:

 

Yep. And Gloria led me to believe that on TFA, it was a live instrument. But I could have misunderstood.

 

Saw the film again today. And definitely, the celesta is in the movie. So probably the synth one. It's definitely played late in the movie as part of Rey's theme. My bad for not noticing the first time.

[Nick Parker 3,041]

2 hours ago, The Five Tones said:

Still almost two weeks away from my window to see the film, and it hasn't been getting any easier hearing the reference to this emotional signal from you know where
(similar tentative "minor sus/add 2" tonality and the rising scale to the dominant, on harp and synth respectively):

 

 

 

 

Compare 1:42 of the former to 4:40 of the latter.

 

 

[BTR1701 59]

Would have been nice to have heard a little bit of this in the scene where it was appropriate.

 

[crumbs 13,540]

4 hours ago, Docteur Qui said:

descending horn followed by cello at 1:10 in “A New Home” is a subtle quote of Rey’s theme?

 

Yep, Rey's Theme is hidden in there. Not the A section or any of the other motifs but one of the latter parts of the concert suite. Clever by JW. 

[Arpy 4,099]

10 minutes ago, crumbs said:

 

Yep, Rey's Theme is hidden in there. Not the A section or any of the other motifs but one of the latter parts of the concert suite. Clever by JW. 

Yes! I only noticed this part earlier today and slapped myself for not realizing it sooner. It felt familiar I just never connected it.

[Demodex 550]

2 hours ago, BTR1701 said:

Would have been nice to have heard a little bit of this in the scene where it was appropriate.

 

 

What is that?