Popular Post Falstaft 2,132 Posted April 17, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 17, 2020 Now that the dust has settled a bit since December, I thought it might be nice to start a discussion on some of the highlights of The Rise of Skywalker's score. Technically, "A New Home" is Williams's apparent final word for this franchise (since the Force Theme statement that follows is repurposed from TFA...which was repurposed from ROTS...which was repurposed from ANH). And, thank goodness Williams is finally allowed some space to breathe musically, with no dialogue, cuts, or sound effects to distract us. It's a subtle and quite desolate piece of music to my ears, and on first glance perhaps exceedingly simple. But over its brief 1:50 duration, it actually conveys a wealth of complex emotions and musical allusions amidst those pacing minor arpeggios. There's obvious and not-so-obvious nods to Rey's Theme, plus Jedi Steps & maybe the Imperial March, or even Across the Stars, with that time signature and the prominent rising minor sixth interval. I can't help but discern a dash of Shmi's Funeral from AOTC -- a hugely apposite reference, albeit unlikely an intentional one. It's at once a piece that summarizes a lot of the music of Star Wars, while still standing quite apart. Despite my utter distaste for this scene from a narratival and character perspective, its hard for me to deny that it really lands on an emotional level. What do you all think? crumbs, Tiburon, Cerebral Cortex and 11 others 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post crumbs 14,317 Posted April 17, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 17, 2020 Well said @Falstaft. Likewise I consider A New Home the true final cue of the saga, considering almost everything that follows is lifted from elsewhere. Appropriately restrained, not a single note wasted nor there unnecessarily. It brilliantly encapsulates the evolution in writing style for this trilogy; three scores more focused on the subtle weaving of themes into a larger tapestry than the outright bombast of previous films (though we began to see signs of this shift towards the end of the last trilogy, notably The Immolation Scene and Padme's Ruminations). I mused after The Force Awakens that Williams could not have written Rey's Theme when he started Star Wars, only after decades of refining his craft. Appropriately, this cue closes the book on that theme with the same musical prowess and pathos I'd only expect from Williams at this level of compositional maturity. Tiburon, Bellosh, Falstaft and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted April 17, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 17, 2020 The track kills me because it manages to perfectly encapsulate the feel for us closing the page on Rey's story, on this trilogy, and on the saga all simultaenously, something that the film fails to come even close to doing for me. There's something delicious about noting the contrast musically between the bombast that introduced and brought us into this exciting new world and the solemn orchestra that plays us out of it. There is a measured thoughtfulness in how Williams doles out the emotional weight in this piece as it builds that makes me think there had to have been some introspective reflection along those lines when he crafted it. Then again, how could there not? I just wish that the film had been able to achieve the necessary narrative satisfaction to fully take advantage of the full power of the piece. Not trying to be overly negative towards the film here. Musically, as the curtain closed, Williams played us out perfectly. crumbs, Bellosh, Joni Wiljami and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,514 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 The end figure doesn't sound like "the end". It sounds like a question: "the end?" Compare: Jurassic Park Falstaft 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,317 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I'll make a bold prediction here but I don't think this score is Williams' final word in the Star Wars musical universe. Falstaft 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Smeltington 1,440 Posted April 17, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 17, 2020 Thank you for making this thread. I immediately loved this cue in the theater, watching the film for the first time. Funnily enough, even I was sitting there basking in the glow of this tremendous cue, I also started consciously thinking as the cue was winding down, "PLEASE god let it fade all the way out before Binary Sunset comes in". When it DID do that, I could have cheered. So thank you God and John Williams (aka the same person) for allowing this to be its own Binary Sunset-free track on the album, for us to treasure forever!!! Falstaft, Bellosh, Tiburon and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 4,660 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 4 hours ago, crumbs said: I'll make a bold prediction here but I don't think this score is Williams' final word in the Star Wars musical universe. Are we talking fiddling with concert pieces or contributing new music to a film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,317 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 2 minutes ago, Tom said: Are we talking fiddling with concert pieces or contributing new music to a film? The former. He's certainly done with the films but I have this nagging feeling he might have an itch left to scratch when it comes to concert arrangements, especially for Rey. Molly Weasley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellosh 3,419 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Terrific post, @Falstaft This is the JWFan content I just absolutely love. It's one of the reasons why I love this score so much, it's has a lot of warmth to it. 15 hours ago, Falstaft said: & the Imperial March At what part does it reference that? I couldn't pick up on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeltington 1,440 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Yeah, with your mention of the references, it's interesting to think about potential connections. But as for intentional ones, I think it's only meant to contain variations on Rey's theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviazn 273 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I love it and it's great, but at the same time, I can't help but think it's basically JW's response to JJ saying, "So we put Jedi Steps in the temp track…can you do that again, but different?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 4,660 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 41 minutes ago, aviazn said: I love it and it's great, but at the same time, I can't help but think it's basically JW's response to JJ saying, "So we put Jedi Steps in the temp track…can you do that again, but different?" In all fairness, that is exactly the purpose of every temp-track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,914 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 23 hours ago, Falstaft said: Now that the dust has settled a bit since December, I thought it might be nice to start a discussion on some of the highlights of The Rise of Skywalker's score. Technically, "A New Home" is Williams's final word for this franchise (since the Force Theme statement that follows is repurposed from TFA...which was repurposed from ROTS...which was repurposed from ANH). And, thank goodness Williams is finally allowed some space to breathe musically, with no dialogue, cuts, or sound effects to distract us. It's a subtle and quite desolate piece of music to my ears, and on first glance perhaps exceedingly simple. But over its brief 1:50 duration, it actually conveys a wealth of complex emotions and musical allusions amidst those pacing minor arpeggios. There's obvious and not-so-obvious nods to Rey's Theme, plus Jedi Steps & the Imperial March, and maybe even Across the Stars. I can't help but discern a dash of Shmi's Funeral from AOTC -- a hugely apposite reference, albeit unlikely an intentional one. It's at once a piece that summarizes a lot of the music of Star Wars, while still standing quite apart. Despite my utter distaste for this scene from a narratival and character perspective, its hard for me to deny that it really lands on an emotional level. What do you all think? I love the idea for this thread. But technically, "A New home" is JJ Abrams final word on Williams's original music. For all we know, this scene was scored mid way and constant revisions to other cues happened after this. It would be interesting to know what was JW's last new music for the epic, but I very much doubt it was the last scene shown in the film. This might not have been JW's intention even since his version 1 of this scene might be quite different than a muddled final version. To me, it doesn't land emotionally as well as it could have. I am one of the rare people who experienced the saga before it was a thing and can recall the significant impact that Star Wars (77) and Empire (80) had was immediately and devastatingly powerful. This music and scene does not carry that weight. I am talking both dramatically, emotionally, and musically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,317 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 We do know at least one alternate version exists for this sequence, possibly two if Ready to be a Jedi is the cue in the final film (which means both versions of Return to Tatooine are unused and unheard). Falstaft and BrotherSound 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 It feels like a mystical reflection on the end of the Skywalker line as it passes into legend. It should have been called "Legend of Luke" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ludwig 1,120 Posted April 18, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 18, 2020 After transcribing the cue, I found some interesting connections in relation Rey's theme in particular. Here are the first two lines of the cue: I like that the triplet ostinato is basically a fleshed out version of the opening of Rey's theme (shown in the small notes above the first bar). It saturates the cue with her sound in a nice subtle way. The melodic bass line that comes in the end of bar 2 I hear as a deconstruction of, again, the opening of Rey's theme, as shown in the small notes below bars 2 and 3 (notice the reversed order of 2 notes and the shifting of the order of notes as well). And it makes sense as Rey sets up a new life for herself with a new home, name, saber, etc. The bass melody of bar 6 of course refers to Jedi Steps, but it's also cool that the 8th-note figure just before it is both part of the end of Rey's theme (in rhythm and shape) but the rhythm is also part of Jedi Steps (just after the theme's opening 2 notes). So Williams exploits the similarity to splice the two together in seamless fashion. And the several moves to the 6th degree of the minor scale throughout are another aspect of Jedi Steps, but it's woven in so organically that it just gives you the flavour of it without directly referencing that part of the theme. In all, I'd say this is a splendid example of Williams using his gift for melodic variation to come up with a surprising amount of music from so little material. Falstaft, Cerebral Cortex, DrTenma and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Smeltington 1,440 Posted April 18, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 18, 2020 39 minutes ago, Ludwig said: The bass melody of bar 6 of course refers to Jedi Steps Nice insight, hadn't put my finger on that. 40 minutes ago, Ludwig said: In all, I'd say this is a splendid example of Williams using his gift for melodic variation to come up with a surprising amount of music from so little material. Yes! Just when you think, can this man possibly come up with any more great variations on Rey's theme, he busts out one of the most out-there versions yet. Joni Wiljami, BrotherSound, crumbs and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverTrumpet 638 Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Even before I know the (awful) scene it accompanied, it always felt like the musical equivalent of all the musical legends of Star Wars being buried in the sand by strong winds, knowing they'll be uncovered one day many years in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTenma 116 Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 I love ite from the very first moment I listened! One of the best moments in the score and also one of the very few moments were JJ allowed the music to stand out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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