What SW music gives you chills?

This is somewhat similar to threads about most beautiful SW music, but everyone has a different reaction to "beautiful" pieces.

These give me downright chills:

-The complete Leia them in ANH SE (CD2, #2)
-"Yoda and the Force" from ESB SE
-Luke and Leia from ROTJ SE
-Leia's news/Light of the Force" from ROTJ SE

I love JW's use of crescendos and swells, use of dynamics,and emotions

I also feel like he captures the feelings of mysticism so poignant to SW films, especially with Yoda and the Force - you really feel that Luke is blown away by Yoda's raising the X-Wing from the swamp...

 

This is easy:

-"Burning Homestead" from ANH
-"Death of the Emperor" from ROTJ

Some of you might notice that both of those cues employ the Force theme breaking into the music, in a most dramatic way. Definitely chills!

 

Pretty much all the major cues from the OT and TPM give me chills. It would be a very long list if I tried to write one.

 

Binary Sunset - ANH
Rescue from Cloud City - ESB
The Emperor's Death - RotJ

 

-Darth Vader's death
-Yoda's death (love it, with the chime and everything)
-Anakin's theme
-Han being forzen in carbonite

...just to name a few.

 

Imperial City -- SotE

 

ANH:

1) "Imperial Attack" - The part where the pod flies toward Tatooine.

2) "Binary Sunset"

3) "Tales Of A Jedi Knight" - The music that plays when we first see Obi-Wan, plus the all the music from Obi-Wan's house. I was always disappointed that that music wasn't on the soundtrack LP.

4) "The Stormtroopers" - I always liked this piece, which unfortunately, also was *not* on the soundtrack LP. That little quote from the 'Psycho' score is a nice bit, and actually works for the "sneaking around"-feel of the piece.

5) "Throne Room And End Title" - Even 24 years later, hearing that piece still makes me happy.


ESB:

1) "Luke's Escape" - or whatever the music is called when he escaped from the Wampa.

2) "The Rebels Escape Again" - or whatever the bit where the Millennium Falcon escapes from Hoth is called.


ROTJ:

1) "Into The Trap"

2) "Funeral Pyre For A Jedi" - I also like the music when Vader turns back to the good side of the Force.


There are *countless* others, but I'd fill up a whole page if I went on. These are the ones that come immediately to mind.....

 

The piece of music that can give me chills are the chants heard during Maul's theme.....weird!

 

defenatly the emperor's death

 

Yeah, dolphin. That music is pretty cool. I really like the part where Obi-Wan is watching Qui-Gon and Maul go at it, and you hear that creepy-sounding tone, along with the whispering voices:


"Kora....Ra Ta Ma..."


John Williams always comes up with something unique which fits the action on screen *perfectly*.

 

I'd have to say these always give me chills and/or goosebumps for some reason...

ANH: Binary Sunset, Princess Leia's Theme
ESB: Yoda's Theme, Yoda and the Force
ROTJ: The Dark Side Beckons, Death of the Emperor, Light of the Force
TPM: Anakin's Theme (the climatic part with the strings in the middle), and 'Kora, ra tama' bits.

 

Thanks for all of your responses.

I was listening to Luke and Leia again and again and this really gave me the chills...

The ending strings section mirrors the same notes as what's used at the end of Anakin's Theme right before the strings pick up the Vader's theme section at the end. I thought this would be amazing for JW to tie the family together in that way.

Did anyone else notice this or am I reading into the music?!

 

The Dark Side Beckons through The Emperor's Death... coupled with the scenes from the movie, make it one of the best scenes in a movie that I've ever seen. It's the epitome of the Star Wars Saga, and wonderfully done.

 

Then again, with the possible exception of "Lapti Nek", it's hard to think of any 'Star Wars' music that hasn't "moved" me at one time or another.

You could devote an entirely *separate* website just to great 'Star Wars' themes....


The vast majority of it is brilliant!!

 

Wow, great topic guys...this area of the JC has been lacking in stuff like this lately!

Here are my top 10:
1. Yoda's death
2. The Asteroid Field
3. Duel of the Fates
4. Anakin is Free (leaves Shmi)
5. Luke and Leia (ROJ)
6. Death of Darth Vader
7. City in the Clouds (arrival to Bespin)
8. Vader and Luke's first duel (ESB)
9. Qui-Gon's death
10. Qui Gon meets with the Jedi Council

 

Hands down....


First playing of the Empire Theme in ESB with Vader looking out into the stars....possibly the coolest shot in the film, too.

 

dolphin, those hushed Maul chants get me too! Oh, and anything with the Force theme in it...I also agree about the Throne Room/End Titles. I'm still teaching myself that on the piano. I looove it.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Racer Roars to Life." I've loved that little piece of music since the Qui Gon Jinn tone poem.

It reminded me a lot of the Binary Sunset piece from ep 4, with the time of day, quick emotional swell that pulls back, and a young boy's dreams of escaping Tatooine for a more exciting life.

 

tpm-"the racer roars to life"
anh-"binary sunset"
tesb-"the music at the end of the credits that was used for the end of the tpm trailers"
rotj-"the funeral pyre scene"

 

The first time I heard "Duel of the Fates", I got chills, and almost cried.

Leia's Theme still gives me chills!

Qui Gon's Noble End

The Opening Credits...
and so many more!

 

It has to be Luke and Darth Vader's final duel and of course "duel of the fates"

 

For me it has to be some of the less sweeping, more thematic type tracks.

Duel of the Fates to me doesn't exactly scream out chilling overtones, nor does the grand escapism of The Imperial March.

Rather, the highly personal, spastic tracks are the ones that send chills down my spine, such as the haunting whispers in Maul's theme or the goulash chanting (moaning) in the Emperor's theme.

But, I also find that the most chilling musical compositions from Star Wars are the ones with two tones, a gradual degrading from a happy emotion into a dark and sobering theme, such as Anakin's theme from Episode I.

And then of course, JW is the master of foreshadowing events or true agendas of characters from the saga in his soundtrack, such as the subtle edge given in most of the music heard on Cloud City or the theme for the cave of vision on Dagobah.

In retrospect, I find that those are the most chilling, the most haunting.

 

Binary Sunset
Leia's Theme
Anakin's Theme
Duel of the Fates
Yoda's Theme
The Death Star - The Stormtroopers
Enter Darth Maul

 

?DS Fanfare at the end of Burning Homestead
?Mos Eisley Fanfare
?Trench Run
?Luke Being Swiped by Wampa/Alternate Han in Echo Base
?Dagobah scenes
?Escape from the Space Slug
?March in Cloud City
?Hyperspace
?End/Credits ESB
?Battle of Gall
?Imperial City
?The Destruction of Xizor's Palace
?Luke falling into the Rancor Pit
?Explosion of SailBarge/Liftoff from Tatooine
?Yoda/Ben scenes on Dagobah
?Arrival at the Fleet
?Into the Trap
?Trench Run II
?Death of the Emperor
?Death of Anakin
?Anakin's Funeral Pyre
?End Celebration/End credits