A New Hope Score Discussion: Track 1 and 2

I would love to discuss the entire Star Wars trilogy through musical terms. I very much liked the DVD chapter by chapter discussion for the films and I would like to emulate that for the CDs. I'm very interested in this music, but I'm not a student of this field and would love better interpretations. Hopefully this will catch on and we can go through every track, but who knows.

Track 1 - 20th Century Fox Fanfare by Alfred Newman
Track 2 - Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner

I grew up after the original films came out, but every time I hear that fanfare I think Star Wars. I remember that I was watching Garden State in the theater and when the Fox fanfare came on, just for a second, I thought I was about to embark on another adventure in space. Disappointed I was, but it still pleases me to here it nonetheless.

Speaking of iconic moments - the opening blast from the horns, woodwinds, strings, hell everyone in the orchestra. Every time I sit down to watch these movies I also jerk back in my seat from the blare and the instantaneous brightness that appears from the screen. It's truly a 1930s/40s serial adventure. John Williams has established it with one note. The entire trilogy has taken shape and been announced with one note. Its remarkable to me every time I hear it. But that's just one note, then we get the STAR WARS MAIN THEME. A composition so exuberant and excellent it spun off its own disco track. How many composers can say that? I'm sure lots have been said about this main theme, but I think it's worth brining it up now and again; to remind us.

The end of the main theme it's a transition piece of music that seems to speed up, getting faster and faster until a sudden hush of the music and it slows down. It sucks the viewer in completely and then says, "wait a minute, I'm controlling the action here." Then it sinks into some flutes dancing around, but quietly, creating a sense of mystery. "What is out there in the stars? Who lives there? How do they live?" John Williams finishes this cue off with a sub-theme that probably, I think, represents the rebels. It reoccurs in the next cue and I think is an excellent composition. He cuts into this sub-theme, however, with a methodical beat. Da-da...da-da-da-daaa-da. The empire has arrived and it is in control, literally sucking this ship into its hanger. All in all this cue is a full embodiment of the Star Wars music. John Williams does so much in so little time. As said before, you can truly watch these movies with no dialogue and completely understand what's going on.

That's my take. I'll leave this up for awhile to see if there's any interest in it. If there is I'll probably add a track every week otherwise I'm happy that I've tried to start this topic.

 

Personally, I think this is an excellent thread.
And you're dead on about the motif you refer to as a sub-theme.
That is indeed the rebel fanfare.

Oh, and yeah whenever the Fox Fanfare is played before ANY film I too always anticipate the first blast of the SW theme.... naturally.

 

Excellent music.

Interestingly, if you listen to the outtakes of "Main Title," you'll notice a brief orchestral surge that leads into the opening blast in the first three. A nice listen, but ultimately wrongheaded.

 

Anybody else familiar with the woodwind triplets in the second strain of the main theme (the quieter middle portion played mainly by strings)? I absolutely love how those triplets weave in and around the melody. Anybody who's read the conductor's score knows what I'm talking about. Not to mention the incredible Eb clarinet runs at the beginning of the final statement of the "A" theme! These are just a few of the reasons I actually prefer the first "outtake" recording of the Main Title to the film mix; all these ornate woodwind figures are right at the forefront. It seems a shame (to me) that they were mixed down.

Also interesting is listening to the outtakes of the LSO - arguably one of the best orchestras in the world - falling apart at the end of the Rebel Fanfare. Granted, that's a very fast figure for trombones to have to triple-tongue, but it's simply amazing to hear the bones and the timps struggle to stay together.

So...how long do we talk about a cue before proceeding to the next? This is fun.

 

This is great. It's exactly what I was hoping for. JMN77 and Cerrabone I love your comments. pahket I was hoping someone like you could add some technical description to this thread. That's something I'm unfamiliar with, but very interested in. I'll keep this up for three days probably, to get a little more interest, and then move on. Hopefully this stays popular and we can get all the way to ROTS (crossing my fingers they'll have announced a complete score CD release by then).

"Anybody else familiar with the woodwind triplets in the second strain of the main theme (the quieter middle portion played mainly by strings)? I absolutely love how those triplets weave in and around the melody. Anybody who's read the conductor's score knows what I'm talking about. Not to mention the incredible Eb clarinet runs at the beginning of the final statement of the "A" theme! These are just a few of the reasons I actually prefer the first "outtake" recording of the Main Title to the film mix; all these ornate woodwind figures are right at the forefront. It seems a shame (to me) that they were mixed down."

I have to agree with you on the woodwind triplets. I actually preferred how those played in the outtake than in the current main theme. But on the whole I find the current main theme to be far superior. It was great to hear John Williams work on the CDs.

 

Yes. The booklet mentions that the woodwinds were toned down at Lucas's request... I agree with him. Maybe I'm just used to the final edit, but somehow the prominence of the clarinets and such give the music a stuffy, old-fashioned feel - and I think the woodwind writing in the A section was a little too thick, anyway.

 

Right now I have nothing to add but I just need to say that I love this thread!

 

Cerrabore, I admit I can agree with you and Uncle George about the decision to mix the woodwinds down. The flutes, clarinets and oboes all have these terribly ponderous tremelos at measure 6 (any clarinettists ever try to do a tremelo from clarion C to G and make it sound halfway decent?) that are, as you say, very thick. But even when mixed down you can still hear them if you know what to listen for. I understand that the instruments needed to be balanced better (the Main Title is heavier in woodwinds than most people realize), but at the same time, I love this tremelo at the beginning - it gives it such a shimmer!

By the way, anybody wondering what the first page of the Main Title looks like in conductor's score form, you can see it here.

Man, I could geek out about this all day!

 

Amen to geeking out!

I love how the awesome Fox Fanfare was revived for ANH, and in its full glory, not just the short version that is usually played for TV shows. I beleive that John Williams recorded a new recording for ESB, although this may be by a different orchestra, I don't know.

Main Title is sadly not one of my favourite Star Wars pieces. (Even if it is the best known) The Star Wars main title is a piece of musical brilliance, and sounds great, its just that I have heard it too many times to be wowed by it.

Rebel Blockade Runner, on the other hand is great! A modern composer would typically play some foreboding or discordant music, but John blasts us off our seats with the historic first ever grand statement of the Rebel Fanfare. As the Star Destroyer passes overhead, the pounding notes echo the pounding heartbeat over the viewer. ("How big IS that thing... ... ... oh *^$%@@$%#%^*!!!!") Then a quick march kicks in as the Tantive IV is reeled in by tractor beam, and the Rebel Fanfare is once again stated. Perfect introduction. In fact, an awesome introduction was absolutely crucial to capturing the audience from minute 1 of this film.

I am going to rate each cue out of 100 in my own opinion as I go.

Fox Fanfare: 82%
Main Title: 80%
Rebel Blockade Runner: 93%

Hopefully I can bring myself to rate some 100%...

 

Williams recorded a Fox Fanfare for ESB, and was used until sometime in the early 90s, I believe, and it was revived for the Prequels.

 

I agree with pretty much everything that's been said in this thread, although I am always disappointed by the drowning out of most of "Rebel Blockade Runner" by the sound effects in that scene. It's almost impossible to hear over the laser blasts and roaring engines.

 

Sometimes the sound effects and music can work together in perfect harmony. Rebel Blockade runner is a pretty good example, and I cannot imagine the piece without the loud laser shots.

 

Let me tell you kids... back in the days before DVD, music wasn't under-mixed into oblivion. That's right. "Rebel Blockade Runner" used to actually feature prominently in the film that once was Star Wars.

 

I love being called a kid by someone who is 6 years my junior.

Nevertheless, you are right. Even the newest verison of ANH has changes in the mix where the music is buried under sound effects when it previously wasn't. Case in point is the Death Star battle when the X-Wings dive and the Force theme is mixed out of existence.

 

I'm one of the few people I know that doesn't mind most of the changes on the DVDs, but that one actually makes me angry. That fact that it's, for the most part, non-existent (I can somewhat make it out when pressing my ear against the surround speakers) is just sloppy. What's even worse is that when Lucasfilm was asked about it (and flipping the orchestra -- what the hell?!) they merely pass it off as a "creative decision". Yeah, sure, you make a "creative decision" to obliterate one of the pinnacle musical passages in the movie so that it sounds grittier and more realistic? Let's not even mention the fact that it comes in perfectly clear in the French mix on the same DVD.

The way the music is treated in the ANH DVD mix is atrocious. There are many times throughout when the music is barley audible.

To get back on track, the Blockade Runner is a perfect opening for the film.

 

Same goes for someone being 2 years older than me, my senior. But I guess that makes more sense, then.

 

I never knew the music was toned down for the SE. Too bad, it is a landmark musical moment.

 

I never noticed that the music had be toned down. I'll have to pay attention to that next time I watch the dvd.

 

If you bought the 2006 dvd set, it should be easy enough to compare the two versions.

There are certainly questionable audio mix decisions on the dvds - even the prequels. Some of them are "creative decisions" that are obviously meant to highlight the sound effects (at the expense of the score). Some just leave one scratching one's head. I wonder who is responsible for most of these...

 

We have moved on to the next track. Feel free to continue discussing here.

Track 3 can found here

 

I wish AOTC and ROTS had newly recorded fox fanfare. I liked how each time it was slightly different. Damn money saving decisions.

Anyways, this was the greatest opening to a score ever IMHO. Just right in your face. Almost scaring you if you've never seen Star Wars before.

 

The only thing that bugs me is how distorted the opening note is, even on the DVD. They've tried to crank the levels up so high that the pitch goes a half-tone sharp! Just listen. On DVD, the opening chord is B-natural major, not B-flat, and then it ramps - disgustingly - back down to B-flat. Always bothered me.

 

This mixing thing is precicely why anyone who likes John Williams should be an enemy of Ben Burtt.

I like listening to the out takes. The LSO just isn't playing with confidence like they do in ROTJ. I don't think they expected the music they were playing. I've read stories about the first trumpet player coming in for the first time to play with the LSO being at these recording sessions.

I definately like the mixing of the first out take, (15 I think) where the winds are front and center. They just keep getting more and more buried as the recordings progress. The orchestral swells at the beginning and the re-orchestration of that first note is so interesting to hear. It just sounds out of place without all of the brass on that double sforzando with the rest of the orchestra.

The other interesting thing to listen to in the recordings is the piccolo solo and how Tomlinson messes with the mix to make it less rythmic in the strings to be a little more random and mysterious.

Very classic cue. Definately one of the best written introductions.

~JW