Star Wars soundtrack
The Star Wars soundtracks denote the series and film music of the Star Wars film series, whose history with the 1977 released movie Star Wars (original title: Star Wars ) began. Creator of Star Wars is the screenwriter , producer and director George Lucas . The Star Wars soundtracks are still among the most successful and well-known film scores in cinema history.
At the core of Star Wars from currently three film trilogies: the original trilogy, in addition to Star Wars (1977, Episode IV), the films The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Episode V) and Return of the Jedi (1983, Episode VI) includes ; the prequel trilogy, which takes place in the period before the original trilogy, with the films The Phantom Menace (1999, Episode I), Attack of the Clones (2002, Episode II) and Revenge of the Sith (2005, Episode III); and finally the sequel trilogy following the original trilogy, which began in 2015 with The Awakening of Power (Episode VII), was continued in 2017 with The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) and will end in 2019 with The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX). In addition, there are two offshoots that are officially marketed as A Star Wars Story . These are Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , which was released in 2016, and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the plot of which is set apart from the main trilogies.
The American film composer John Williams is responsible for the film music for all previous Star Wars episodes . The music for Rogue One ( Michael Giacchino ) and Solo ( John Powell ) were not composed by Williams, but use themes composed by Williams . Kevin Kiner composed the music for the animation series The Clone Wars and Rebels . The soundtrack of all Star Wars films was produced in the studios of Skywalker Sound .
Basic concept
John Williams explained in interviews that the concept of George Lucas for the film music of Star Wars on "Non-futurism" was based. The filmmaker said that in a film in which almost everything is futuristic, the music must form an antipole to it and form a familiar and therefore emotional world that is located in the past. On this fundamental concept, John Williams composed a film score that is strongly based on the musical idiom of Wagnerian orchestral music from the 19th century. The concept of the Star Wars soundtrack tries not only to provide the background music for the dramaturgy but also to use grandiose, orchestral means to lead the viewer into the emotional sphere of the world-famous, and therefore familiar, western high culture. John Williams said in interviews that George Lucas wanted the soundtrack to evoke common theater plays.
In accordance with the western tradition of theater, Star Wars assigns a specific musical theme to each character and important locations . With every appearance of the particular figure or the particular scene, the theme repeats itself in a varied form (i.e. adapted to the development of the figure, the mood of the situation, etc.). This procedure corresponds to the Leitmotiv technique developed by Wagner .
In the first three Star Wars films, three main themes dominate:
- the theme for the central hero Luke Skywalker , held in idealistic, light tones and euphoric, pompous, orchestral melodies.
- the theme for evil, kept in martial sounds and marching rhythms or, in the case of the emperor, by organ sounds accompanied by gloomy choirs.
- the romantic theme for the film character of Princess Leia provided with numerous, filigree, dreamy flute tones and many string elements.
Critics repeatedly emphasize the masterful processing of these film motifs in the film plot. For example, with increasing tension in the sequence of scenes by John Williams, the musical motif of evil is also intensified by varying it through the various sections in the film orchestra.
Another example of the perfect processing of orchestral music in films is often the background music for space battles. These are not only set to music with the usual orchestral dynamics, but are also enriched with unusual elements such as dissonances in the string cues to increase tension.
Work on the soundtracks
Film saga
Original Trilogy (Episode IV - VI)
Star Wars (1977)
With Star Wars , John Williams made his breakthrough in 1977 and became world famous. Steven Spielberg recommended him for the successful cooperation on the soundtrack for the hit movie Jaws to his friend George Lucas for his Star Wars movies on. Williams and Lucas decided to use the leitmotif technique, which was no longer used at the time. Williams wrote different topics for various locations and characters. The popular fanfare of Star Wars is the subject of the young Luke Skywalker . Williams also wrote a subject for Princess Leia and Tatooine .
Williams also composed a main theme for the entire Star Wars series. However, this is not, as many people assume, the triumphant opening fanfare, but the composition that is used in "The Throne Room" in Episode IV. This theme appears in each of the Star Wars films and only varies in the instrumental cast.
When John Williams and George Lucas were looking for suitable music for a space bar scene in which aliens play strange instruments, they did not come up with any recognizable, functioning musical solution. It wasn't until George Lucas had the idea that Benny Goodman's Aliens Swing scores from the 1970s could have been found somewhere on the desert planet Tatooine and that they were now trying to perform in the space bar that the music production team was enthusiastic . John Williams composed jazz / swing runs on the piano, which the orchestra then played with a few instruments such as steel pan , clarinet and saxophone.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
For Episode V , Williams created two new and distinctive leitmotifs. One was for the Jedi Master Yoda , the other for the dark Sith Darth Vader . This composition - known as " The Imperial March " - has become cult and world famous. Williams also wrote a motif for the love between Princess Leia and Han Solo .
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Williams composed a leitmotif for the Ewoks and the Imperator, among others. A motif for Jabba the Hut was also written. In this Star Wars movie was first used more modern music - to be exact rock music . However, this is not added to the background music, but as a song by the singer "Max Rebo" in Jabba's palace.
The parade of the Ewoks is a parody of a march from the opera The Love for the Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev .
Prequel Trilogy (Episode I - III)
The Phantom Menace (1999)
The new trilogy of the Star Wars series began Williams as usual with the famous fanfare. The themes he used were largely new and had little to do with previous compositions. The reason for this was that the key characters from Episodes IV – VI did not appear in these films. An exception were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda , whose leitmotifs he adopted from the earlier films. But Williams also composed new leitmotifs in The Phantom Menace . The most important is "Anakin's Theme" (later Darth Vader). Williams also wrote a theme for the Trade Federation's March, a theme for the Gungan Jar Jar Binks, a tragic theme for the funeral, a theme for the Jedi master Qui'Gon Jinn, a theme for Anakin's mother Shmi and a motif for Darth Maul . Williams also composed an epic theme for the great duel between the Jedi and Darth Maul ("Duel of the Fates"). It became very popular and henceforth returned in Episodes II and III. At the end of the film for the festival on Naboo, Williams wrote a graceful and solemn variation on the theme of Emperor Palpatine. Traditionally, continued Williams, the Star Wars series with the usual End Credits Suite from "The Throne Room and Finale" section.
The final song of Episode I features the Emperor theme from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi . In contrast to the original version, which is sung by a male choir, the theme in Episode I is sung in a modified form and much faster by a children's choir. It stands for the carefree joy over the election of Palpatine as chancellor - in the old films in a dark version it symbolizes the evil that the emperor embodies in the later films.
Attack of the Clones (2002)
Williams wrote a new leitmotif for Attack the Clones - a love theme for Anakin and Padmé ("Across the Stars"). A number of other themes and motifs were also composed for Episode II. These include a theme for the separatists, a theme for the stormy planet Kamino, a theme for the picnic on Naboo and the arena march, which underlines the events in the arena of Geonosis. Furthermore, as usual, many well-known themes and motifs from the previous films are rearranged.
Revenge of the Sith (2005)
In Revenge of the Sith , Williams composed no leitmotifs, but new themes nonetheless - one for the betrayal of Anakin, the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan , Anakin's dark side and General Grievous . The soundtrack ends with “The Throne Room” from Episode IV to ensure a transition from the new to the old trilogy; however, the final track is the third longest track of all Star Wars soundtracks (and the longest without a break) and had to be shortened for the film so that the “Throne Room” part cannot be heard in the film.
Sequel Trilogy (Episode VII - IX)
The Force Awakens (2015)
The soundtrack for The Force Awakens was released on December 18, 2015, at the same time as the premiere of the film. John Williams returned to compose the film music, having already composed the music for all previous films. It is the first soundtrack that was not recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
The Last Jedi (2017)
The recordings began in December 2016 and continued over several months until May 2017 in close cooperation to develop the film. It was recorded by members of the Los Angeles Freelance Orchestra, and the vocal parts were sung by members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The film recordings were directed by John Williams and William Ross . The 20-track recording was released on December 15, 2017 under the name Star Wars: The Last Jedi (original film soundtrack) and is 77 minutes long. Both well-known motifs are developed further and completely new ones are introduced, so that John Williams remains true to his style of leitmotifs.
The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The soundtrack for The Rise of Skywalker , again written by John Williams, was released on CD at the same time as the film was released in theaters on December 19, 2019. It was recorded again by an ad hoc orchestra. The recording lasted eleven days between mid-July and November 2019.
A Star Wars Story Films
Rogue One (2016)
Alexandre Desplat was originally supposed to compose the film music. In September 2016 it was announced that Michael Giacchino , who had already composed the music for the Star Trek reboot films and was featured in a cameo in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens , would take over his work . According to Giacchino, he composed the score in just four weeks. The soundtrack includes 21 pieces of music and was released on December 16, 2016 by Walt Disney Records .
Solo (2018)
John Powell composed the score for solo. It is the second Star Wars film, after Rogue One , whose music is not from John Williams . However, he offered to write the theme for Han Solo and to provide Powell for his composition. In an interview, Williams said he was "very happy" about Powell's participation in the film. He is "very excited" to hear the final soundtrack.
Series
The Clone Wars (2008-2014)
In summer 2008, the animated film The Clone Wars, equipped with elaborate 3-D technology, was shown in cinemas worldwide as a pilot film for the series of the same name. Kevin Kiner created the soundtrack based on the traditional motifs of John Williams. The soundtrack was recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, which has already been used for successful film projects such as Anatomie 2 or Lost Highway . Kevin Kiner has composed music for numerous television series, including CSI: Miami and Stargate - Kommando SG-1 . Kevin Kiner also composed the soundtracks for the TV series The Clone Wars, which followed on from the movie . In February 2014 he made a selection of more than 50 pieces of music available to listen to free of charge.
Rebels (2014-2018)
Kevin Kiner also composed the music for the animated series Rebels , which is set shortly before the events of Star Wars .
Aftermath
The Star Wars soundtrack became one of the most popular orchestral music and has been at the top of the charts in the online film music database Soundtrack Collector for years . So far, all Star Wars soundtracks released, with the exception of Return of the Jedi , have made it into the "Top 10" of the American Billboard album hit parade. The soundtrack for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was released on May 3, 2005, and made history as the third Star Wars soundtrack to hit the Billboard charts in a very short time and sell well excellent.
ET - The Extra-Terrestrial , the hit film from 1982 directed by Steven Spielberg, including many Star Wars -Figuren, such as Yoda , who as a disguise at a Halloween appears -party. At this point John Williams, whoalso composed the film musicfor ET, quotesthe musical motif of Yoda from the Star Wars films.
The conductor Charles Gerhardt , known for his film music records , recorded Williams' film music with the National Philharmonic Orchestra for his RCA albums Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978) and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983). Other conductors such as Erich Kunzel and John Mauceri also used excerpts from the Star Wars scores for CD releases.
To date, a number of new topics have been added. Particularly House - DJs used the music for their songs. For example, Bastian Van Shield recorded the “Mos Eisley Cantina” theme in 2011 with Spencer & Hill in a three-minute electronic version. The whistling tones of R2D2 were also used. The title appeared as a cantina . In the official music video, children played a short version of Episode IV .
Awards (selection)
In a list of the best film scores of all time published on September 23, 2005 by the American Film Institute (“ 100 Years of Film Scores ”), based on the evaluation of a jury consisting of over 500 artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians of the film industry , the soundtrack of Star Wars reached first place.
Kevin Kiner and his music for The Clone Wars and Rebels have been nominated for three Annie Awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards .
| Movie | Academy Awards | BAFTA Awards | Golden Globe Awards | Grammy Awards | Saturn Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original trilogy | |||||
| war of stars | Best film score | Best film score | Best film score | Best film score | Best music |
| Best instrumental composition ("Main Title") | |||||
| Best Instrumental Play (Pop) | |||||
| Album of the year | |||||
| The Empire Strikes Back | Best film score | Best film score | Best film score | Best film score | Best music |
| Best instrumental composition ("The Empire Strikes Back") | |||||
| Best instrumental composition ("Yoda's Theme") | |||||
| Best instrumental composition (" Imperial March ") | |||||
| Best Instrumental Play (Pop) | |||||
| Return of the Jedi | Best film score | Best film score | Best music | ||
| Prequel trilogy | |||||
| A phantom threat | Best film score | ||||
| attack of the Clone warriors | Best music | ||||
| Revenge of the Sith | Best film score | Best music | |||
| Sequel trilogy | |||||
| The Force Awakens | Best film score | Best film score | Best film score | Best music | |
| The last Jedi | Best film score | Best film score | Best music | ||
| A Star Wars Story Films | |||||
| Rogue One | Best music | ||||
| solo | Best instrumental composition ("Mine Mission") | ||||
Special soundtrack editions from 2007
The Corellian Edition was originally released as a promo CD supplement to the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack. In 2007 it was launched as a stand-alone product. " Corellia " is the name of the home planet of Han Solo , one of the main characters in Star Wars . This compilation includes a selection of themes from all six Star Wars films with the exception of The Clone Wars . All pieces were composed by John Williams and recorded and sung with the "London Symphony Orchestra" and the "London Voices".
The 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition is a further compilation of the musical motifs from all six Star Wars real films. Compared to the double-CD versions of the Special Edition published in 1997, it does not offer any new recordings. There is also a lack of informative accompanying texts for those editions, which offered an extensive and musical track-by-track analysis.
In the Star Wars - The Ultimate Soundtrack Collection all pieces of the first six episodes were also published. It was also released on vinyl (under the name Star Wars - The Ultimate Vinyl Collection ). The record version contains fewer pieces than the CD version, but is characterized by a different sound, as the pieces came directly from the master tapes.
See also
- List of all Wikipedia articles whose title begins with Star Wars
- The Imperial March
Web links
- Star Wars soundtracks on Jedipedia.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael: Lev-Ram: Behind the scenes at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound in: Fortune , October 30, 2015, accessed July 29, 2017.
- ↑ filmscoremonthly.com
- ↑ filmscoremonthly.com
- ↑ original-score.de ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ filmscoremonthly.com
- ↑ filmscoremonthly.com
- ↑ Patrick Zeilhofer : The Superman from Boston: A portrait of the film composer and conductor John Williams, Bayerischer Rundfunk, November 3, 1990
- ↑ Jon Burlingame: 'Fantastic Beasts' and 'The BFG' Tap Into Magical Musical Worlds. In: Variety. December 1, 2016, accessed December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Mark Hamill: Privileged to attend a scoring session 4 #TLJ (Tweet). In: Twitter. May 22, 2017, accessed December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Walt Disney Records: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Original Motion Picture Soundtrack From Oscar®-Winning Composer John Williams Available Today, December 15. Accessed December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Los Angeles Master Chorale Featured on STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI soundtrack. In: BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Star Wars: The Last Jedi (original film soundtrack). In: Universal Music. Walt Disney Records, accessed December 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Jon Burlingame: With 'Rise of Skywalker,' Composer John Williams Puts His Coda on 'Star Wars'. In: Variety. December 18, 2019, accessed January 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Bory's Kit: 'Star Wars: Rogue One' Replaces Its Composer . In: The Hollywood Reporter , September 15, 2016.
- ↑ Matthew Monagle: 'Rogue One' Composer Michael Giacchino Only Had Four Weeks to Write the score. In: ScreenCrush. November 26, 2016, accessed December 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Walt Disney Records to Release 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' soundtrack . In: filmmusicreporter.com . 4th October 2016.
- ^ John Powell to Score Untitled Han Solo Movie. In: StarWars.com. July 26, 2017, accessed January 18, 2018 .
- ↑ Jon Burlingame: 'Solo' Locks in Key 'Star Wars' Veteran (EXCLUSIVE). In: Variety. December 30, 2017, accessed January 18, 2018 .
- ↑ emol.org
- ↑ Spencer & Hill - Cantina ( Memento from November 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ AFI's 25 Greatest Film Scores of all Time. In: American Film Institute. 2005, accessed January 20, 2018 .
- ↑ Star Wars - The Ultimate Vinyl Collection. In: Der ReZensionÄr. Retrieved March 18, 2016 .
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