ESB 11: Free-Floating Motivic Particles

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Written By Chrysanthe Tan

In The Empire Strikes Back minutes 51-55, Han and Leia share their first kiss and we meet the Emperor for the first time. Joining me (for the 4th time!) is music theorist/film musicologist Frank Lehman. We discuss the lineage of musical love themes, John Williams's distinctive Lydian signature, the strange proto-Emperor cue, and he gives us a sneak peek of the major updates he's making to the Star Wars Thematic Catalogue.

This episode is also on YouTube (with visuals): https://youtu.be/N_jXuEWiaLY 

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 - Hello there!

  • 3:20 - Teasing the Emperor scene.

  • 8:17 - Augmented hexatonic collection of pitches (characteristic chord type in ESB, 4-20).

  • 11:26 - Yanked out portion of the cue, R5P3 "End Fix" (orchestrated by Angela Morley).

  • 15:05 - Instrumental introduction to Han & Leia's theme. A distinctive treatment of Lydian mode (descending pentachords -- the 5th down to the tonic).

  • 18:50 - The descending Lydian figure is a Williams hallmark of his 80s-ish scores. Examples from E.T. (1993) and ALWAYS (1989).

  • 25:05 - On Han being a "scoundrel."

  • 29:01 - What do you think of the comparisons to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto?

  • 38:35 - Listening to other love themes: El Cid (Miklós Rózsa), Adagio from Spartacus (Khachaturian)

  • 51:48 - First truly functional chord in a while. Enharmonicism.

  • 57:27 - Throwing down the gauntlet.

  • 58:23 - John Williams holding back on the low bass note until a beat or two after the onset of a theme.

  • 1:00:11 - Proud lineage of musical love scenes that are interrupted.

  • 1:08:50 - Han Solo and the Princess concert arrangements (there are at least 3!)

  • 1:14:56 - Sneak peek of changes to the thematic catalogue.

  • 1:29:36 - Dom shoutout 1.

  • 1:38:21 - Brittle, rocky xylophone.

  • 1:45:39 - 90's Emperor/Energizer Bunny commercial.

  • 1:46:26 - Fascinating musical sequence during the Emperor's first appearance.

  • 1:55:44 - Dom shoutout 2.

  • 1:58:09 - ESB editor Paul Hirsch on temp tracking this scene with Bartók.

  • 2:06:28 - Comparing Ian McDiarmid to the original emperor's voice from 1980 (Clive Revell)

  • 2:13:19 - Dark Side motif.

  • 2:25:00 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

Cues:

  • Tail end of 5M3 "Yoda's Entrance"

  • 5M4/6M1 "Solo And The Princess"

Musical Themes:

  • 11a. Han & Leia (A Section)

  • 11b. Han & Leia (B Section)

  • 10a. Imperial March (Theme)

  • 24) Imperial March Vamp

  • 16a. Dark Side (Motif)

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

  • "Luke's Nocturnal Visitor"

  • "Han Solo and the Princess"

---------------

STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

  • New answer: My lifelong obsession.

  • Solo season: Vaguely remembered music.

  • ANH season: Dissonant pedal notes. Minor planing triads.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

  • New answer: What was going on in the scoring of Obi-Wan Kenobi?

  • Solo season: Who will be main composer for the Kenobi series?

  • ANH season: What are we musically in store for as Star Wars moves onto the next chapters of its development? What was the actual score to Episode IX supposed to be (before changes)?

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

  • New answer: White Lotus (series) (composed by Cristobal Tapia de Veer)

  • Solo season: Severance (series) (composed by Theodore Shapiro)

  • ANH season: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) (composed by Jerry Goldsmith)

---------------

Guest: Frank Lehman

Frank's previous episodes:

------------------

If you want to support the show and join the Discord server, consider becoming a patron!  https://patreon.com/chrysanthetan

Leave a voice message, and I might play it on the show...   https://starwarsmusicminute.com/comlink

Where else to find SWMM:

Chrysanthe Tan

Composer / Violinist

www.chrysanthetan.com
Previous

ESB 12: Horror With a Punchline
Next

ESB 10: Mister Rogers of Star Wars