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Suites from Star Wars 1977. Mehta vs. Gerhardt


Alfonso Tornero

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Since my early days of studies on John Williams’ Opus, I have always been intrigued and confused about the two big Suites from Star Wars. Now, thanks to the wisdom and knowledge of jwfan.com scholars, I hopefully await for a lot of answers to the numerous mysteries about these transcendental pieces.

These are the movements from the two different suites, obtained from the original LPs presentations:

 

Zubin Mehta

1. Main Title

2. Princess Leia’s Theme

3. The Little People

4. Cantina Band

5. The Battle

6. The Throne Room and End Title

 

Charles Gerhardt

1. Main Title

2. The Little People Work

3. Here They Come!

4. Princess Leia

5. The Final Battle

6. The Throne Room and End Title

 

Mehta Movements 1, 2, 3 and 6 can be considered equivalent to Gerhardt 1, 4, 2 and 6. Main Title and Princess Leia arrangements are similar to those from the original album by John Williams. The extended concert version of The Throne Room and End Title doesn’t appear in the original album, but it is undoubtedly from the hand of the composer, and so it has been well-known as a concert piece and has been printed under Williams’ signature.

Mehta Movement 3, The Little People, is almost equal to Gerhardt Movement 2. Although a different presentation from the recording from the original Williams' album, I dare to affirm that it is an arrangement by Williams himself, since it would appear in the cd John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy [1990].

Mehta Movement 4, Cantina Band, sounds more like an “improvised” arrangement. I suppose it would be difficult to ascertain Williams’ involvement in it.

Mehta Movement 5, The Battle, which combines music from disperse scenes, makes me doubt: could it be a special arrangement by Williams’ himself? If it is so, it is unique to this suite, as far as I know.

Gerhardt Movement 3, Here They Come!, with its special concert coda, doesn’t appear in the original album, but it would be used with an almost identical content in Williams’ own recording for the cd John Williams Conducts The Star Wars Trilogy [1990], so I assume it is an arrangement by the composer (it also appears in Varujan Kojian’s cd The Star Wars Trilogy [1983].)

Gerhardt Movement 5, The Final Battle, presents a concert arrangement of themes in an order and form unique to this suite. I really would like to know if the conductor was using a music sheet by the composer, or if the arrangement should be credited to Gerhardt himself.

 

1977-05-25 1978b Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Suite from Star Wars).jpg

1977-05-25 1978a Close Encounters of the Third Kind · Star Wars (Suite from Star Wars).jpg

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2 hours ago, Alfonso Tornero said:

Since my early days of studies on John Williams’ Opus, I have always been intrigued and confused about the two big Suites from Star Wars. Now, thanks to the wisdom and knowledge of jwfan.com scholars, I hopefully await for a lot of answers to the numerous mysteries about these transcendental pieces.

These are the movements from the two different suites, obtained from the original LPs presentations:

 

Ok, let me see if I could help. It was proceeded by some arrangements intended for school bands and orchestras, but the very first "professional-grade" suite from Star Wars to be published is the Star Wars Symphonic Suite, published by Fox Fanfare Music in 1977. It has five movements:

 

I. Main Title

II. Princess Leia's Theme

III. The Little People

IV. The Battle

V. The Throne Room and End Title

 

This suite forms the core of the Gerhardt recording, though he apparently personally suggested the addition of 'Here They Come!' (anyone know a source for this?), to which Williams obliged, adding a new introduction and coda. That arrangement was published by Fox Fanfare in 1978 as part of a revised seven-movement suite, which also adds Cantina Band and reorders some movements. It's confusingly also titled Star Wars Symphonic Suite:

 

I. Main Title

II. The Little People

III. Here They Come

IV. Princess Leia's Theme

V. The Cantina Band

VI. The Battle

VII. The Throne Room and End Title

 

This appears to be the basis of the Mehta/LAPO recording, though they skipped 'Here They Come'. I believe this Cantina Band arrangement was originally published separately from the suite in 1977.

 

2 hours ago, Alfonso Tornero said:

Mehta Movement 5, The Battle, which combines music from disperse scenes, makes me doubt: could it be a special arrangement by Williams’ himself? If it is so, it is unique to this suite, as far as I know.

 

2 hours ago, Alfonso Tornero said:

Gerhardt Movement 5, The Final Battle, presents a concert arrangement of themes in an order and form unique to this suite. I really would like to know if the conductor was using a music sheet by the composer, or if the arrangement should be credited to Gerhardt himself.

 

As far as I know, these are both 'The Battle', though I seem to recall the Mehta recording makes a cut or two.

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3 minutes ago, BrotherSound said:

As far as I know, these are both 'The Battle', though I seem to recall the Mehta recording makes a cut or two.

 

I thought it was Gerhardt who reinstated parts that JW cut when assembling the suite.

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Thank you very much. So, we are speaking about an original work by Williams himself. The only doubt, Mehta and Gerhardt battles, that may be a reduction or an expansion (and whatever the truth, perhaps both supervised by the composer...)

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1 hour ago, BrotherSound said:

This suite forms the core of the Gerhardt recording, though he apparently personally suggested the addition of 'Here They Come!' himself (anyone know a source for this?), to which Williams obliged, adding a new introduction and coda.

 

I believe I saw it stated in some liner notes, though I'm not sure which ones. My Dolby Surround copy of the Gerhardt album doesn't have any, but perhaps the original Stereo LP had them?

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The liner notes are included in the regular CD edition.

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Secondly, I asked to include one more movement, Here They Come!, a short, brilliant scherzo depicting a chase and sky flight between space ships, and in including this movement to rearrange the playing order of the now six movements. To this he agreed with enthusiasm.

 

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