Music of Star Wars

John Williams, composer of all seven Star Wars saga films

The music of the Star Wars franchise is composed and produced in conjunction with the development of the feature films, television series, and other merchandise within the epic space opera franchise created by George Lucas. Released between 1977 and 2015, the music for the primary feature films was written by composer John Williams and, in the case of the first two trilogies, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. In July 2013, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that Williams would be returning once more to score the seventh episode, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[1] Williams' scores for the two existing trilogies count among the most widely known and popular contributions to modern film music.

Additionally, music for an animated spinoff was written by Kevin Kiner, and further music has been composed for Star Wars video games and works in other media. The 2016 spinoff film Rogue One will be scored by Alexandre Desplat, the first major Star Wars film not to use Williams.

The scores utilize an eclectic variety of musical styles, many culled from the Late Romantic idiom of Richard Strauss and his contemporaries that itself was incorporated into the Golden Age Hollywood scores of Erich Korngold and Max Steiner. While several obvious nods to Gustav Holst, William Walton, Sergueï Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky exist in the score to Star Wars, Williams relied less and less on classical references in the latter five scores, incorporating more strains of modernist orchestral writing with each progressive score. The reasons for Williams' tapping of a familiar Romantic idiom are known to involve Lucas' desire to ground the otherwise strange and fantastic setting in well-known, audience-accessible music. Indeed, Lucas maintains that much of the original trilogy's success relies not on advanced visual effects, but on the simple, direct emotional appeal of its plot, characters and, importantly, music.[2]

Star Wars often is credited as heralding the beginning of a revival of grand symphonic scores in the late 1970s. One technique in particular is an influence: Williams's revival of a technique called leitmotif, which is most famously associated with the operas of Richard Wagner and, in film scores, with Steiner. A leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of the film. It is commonly used in modern film scoring as a device for mentally anchoring certain parts of a film to the soundtrack. Of chief importance for a leitmotif is that it must be strong enough for a listener to latch onto while being flexible enough to undergo variation and development.

A series of concerts which featured Star Wars music, Star Wars: In Concert, took place in 2009 and 2010. First performed in London, it went on to tour across the United States and Canada, last playing in London, Ontario, Canada on July 25, 2010.

Overview

Films

Year Title Composer Conductor Orchestrator Orchestra
1977 Star Wars John Williams John Williams Herbert W. Spencer London Symphony Orchestra
1980 The Empire Strikes Back
1983 Return of the Jedi
1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Conrad Pope
John Neufeld
2002 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Conrad Pope
Eddie Karam
2005 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Conrad Pope
Eddie Karam
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens John Williams
William Ross
Gustavo Dudamel [3]
William Ross Freelance orchestra
2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Kevin Kiner Kevin Kiner
Nic Raine
Kevin Kiner
Nic Raine
Takeshi Furukawa
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Television

Kevin Kiner composed the score to the film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) which lead into the animated TV series of the same name while using some of the original themes and score by John Williams. His own material for the film includes a theme for Anakin Skywalker's Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, as well as a theme for Jabba the Hutt's uncle Ziro. Kiner went on to score the TV series' entire six seasons, which concluded in 2014. A soundtrack album was released that same year by Walt Disney Records.[4]

Kiner continued his work with the franchise for the animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014), which also incorporates Williams' themes.[5]

Year Title Composer Additional composers
2008–2014 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Kevin Kiner Takeshi Furukawa
David G. Russell
Matthew St. Laurent
Reuven Herman
Russ Howard III
2014–present Star Wars Rebels David G. Russell
Matthew St. Laurent

Composed for the original trilogy

First appearance in Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope)

First appearance in The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V)

First appearance in Return of the Jedi (Episode VI)

Composed for the prequel trilogy

First appearance in Episode I: The Phantom Menace

First appearance in Episode II: Attack of the Clones

First appearance in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Composed for the sequel trilogy

First appearance in The Force Awakens (Episode VII)

Minor motifs

In addition to the series' major leitmotifs, a host of subsidiary motifs occur throughout the film series, some whose existence is tied to a single scene while others recur infrequently or are given little development. Instances of minor motifs occur more often throughout the prequel trilogy, which can be attributed to the fact that Williams was composing music for characters and events that preceded his original work. As theorist Laurence E. MacDonald states, "[Williams] had the challenge of scoring each new film [of the prequel series] to reflect aspects of the story that are part of the first trilogy, while maintaining the integrity of scenarios and characters that are not in the earlier films."[17] These minor motifs include:

Diegetic music

Diegetic music is music "that occurs as part of the action (rather than as background), and can be heard by the film's characters".[18] In addition to the orchestral scope that was brought on by John Williams' musical score, the Star Wars franchise also features many distinguishing diegetic songs that enrich the detail of the audio mise-en-scène.[19]

Concert suites

Reception

Awards

The score of the original Star Wars film of 1977 won John Williams the most awards of his career:

He also received the 1977 Saturn Award for Best Music for both the Star Wars score and his score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[25]

Williams's score for the 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, also earned him a number of awards:

The Empire Strikes Back was also nominated in 1981 for Best Original Score the 53rd Academy Awards (the award was won by Michael Gore for Fame).[28]

Williams's subsequent Star Wars film music was nominated for a number of awards; in 1984 his score for Return of the Jedi was nominated for Best Original Score at the 56th Academy Awards.[29] His compositions for the prequel trilogy also received nominations: the score for The Phantom Menace was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition at the 2000 Grammy Awards[30] and Revenge of the Sith was nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Soundtrack Album.[31]

In 2005 the 1977 soundtrack for Star Wars was voted as the "most memorable film score of all time" by the American Film Institute in the list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores, based on the assessment of a jury of over 500 artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians from the film industry.[32]

In 2016, John Williams was nominated for Best Original Score, his 50th overall nomination, for his score to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Certifications

The soundtracks to both Star Wars and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace have been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least 1 million units, with the albums for The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones being certified Gold (500,000 units).[33] The British Phonographic Industry certified Star Wars and Episode I as Gold for shipments of over 100,000 units in the UK.[34]

Expanded Universe scores

Incidental music has been composed in the style of John Williams for a number of films, television programmes, and video games that depict characters and situations within the Star Wars expanded universe, the extended franchise licensed by Lucasfilm. These scores often borrow thematic material from the original film scores while also introducing new compositions.

Year Title Composer(s) Notes
1978 Star Wars Holiday Special Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch John Williams' Star Wars theme was adapted for the special by Ian Fraser.[35]
1984 Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure Peter Bernstein A soundtrack album containing Bernstein's music from both films was officially released as a 12-inch LP record by Varése Sarabande in 1986.[36]
1985 Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
1994 Star Wars: TIE Fighter Clint Bajakian
1995 Star Wars: Dark Forces
1996 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Joel McNeely Inspired by plot elements from the novel of the same name and utilized as the musical score for the video game of the same name, a soundtrack album was released by Varése Sarabande.[37]
2002 Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Jeremy Soule
2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars James L. Venable, Paul Dinletir
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Jeremy Soule
2004 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Mark Griskey
2005 Star Wars: Republic Commando Jesse Harlin
2008 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mark Griskey Upon the game's release, a promotional soundtrack album was made available online through Tracksounds.[38]
2010 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Like the score to the first game, it was only released as promotional content online.[39]

References

  1. "John Williams to Record Star Wars: The Force Awakens Score", StarWars.com, Retrieved November 30, 2015
  2. Burlingame, Jon (February 8, 2012). "Spielberg and Lucas on Williams: Directors reminisce about collaborating with Hollywood's greatest composer". The Film Music Society. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/arts/music/dudamel-conducts-some-music-for-new-star-wars-film.html
  4. "‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ TV Series Soundtrack Announced". Film Music Reporter. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  5. "Kevin Kiner to Score ‘Star Wars Rebels’". Film Music Reporter. April 21, 2014. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Larsen, Peter, and Irons, John (2007). Film Music, p.168. ISBN 9781861893413.
  7. 1 2 Larsen & Irons (2007), p.170.
  8. "Kings Row/The Sea Wolf (1942/1941)". Film Score Monthly. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  9. Matessino, Michael (1997). Star Wars: A New Hope (Special Edition) Soundtrack (Media notes). RCA Records.
  10. Hughes, William (May 8, 2014). "This video tracks one song across 800 years and multiple films". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  11. Larsen & Irons (2007), p.171.
  12. "In ‘Star Wars,’ music shows rare giant impact". Arab News. Agence France-Presse. November 21, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  13. Graves, Robert (October 8, 2013). The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth (2 ed.). New York, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 235. ISBN 0374504938.
  14. Freer, Ian (October 9, 2015). "80 Reasons Why John Williams Is The Man". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  15. Southall, James (2005). "Williams: Revenge of the Sith". Movie Wave. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  16. Burlingame, Jon (December 9, 2015). "Film Score Icons Williams, Morricone and Horner Loom Large in Oscar Race". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  17. MacDonald, Laurence E. (May 2, 2013). The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History (Second ed.). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. p. 478. ISBN 081088397X.
  18. The dictionary definition of Diegetic at Wiktionary.
  19. Hutchinson, Sean (November 11, 2015). "Alien Musicians in 'Star Wars,' Ranked". Inverse. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  20. Raftery, Brian (December 21, 2015). "The 9 Best Songs Ever Played in a Star Wars Movie". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  21. "The 50th Academy Awards (1978) Nominees and Winners". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  22. "The 35th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1978)". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  23. "Soundtrack 1978". BAFTA Awards Database. British Acacdemy of Film & Television Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  24. "1977 20th Annual Grammy Awards". Past Winners database. Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  25. "Past Saturn Awards". Saturn Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  26. "Soundtrack 1980". BAFTA Awards Database. British Acacdemy of Film & Television Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  27. "1908- 23rd Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  28. "The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners". The Academy Awards of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  29. "The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  30. "Final Nominations for the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards". Billboard: 73. January 15, 2000.
  31. "Grammy Award Nominees". Billboard: 60. December 17, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  32. "Star Wars Tops AFI's List of 25 Greatest Film Scores of All Time". AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  33. "Star Wars - Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  34. Certified Awards Search - BPI
  35. DiGiacomo, Frank (November 30, 2008). "The Star Wars Holiday Special". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  36. Osborne, Jerry (2010). Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide. Port Townsend, Washington: Osborne Enterprises Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 0932117376.
  37. Jarry, Jonathan (May 23, 2005). "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Soundtrack (1996)". Soundtrack.Net. Autotelics. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  38. Coleman, Christopher. "The Force Unleashed by Mark Griskey". Tracksounds. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  39. Coleman, Christopher. "The Force Unleashed 2 by Mark Griskey". Tracksounds. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.

External links

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