TROS 23: Mufasa Is Dead (with Christina Ward)

Dec 9

In minutes 111-115 of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey Force-transfers her lightsaber to Ben, Palpatine sucks the life out of the Dyad, and Lando shows up with a massive Citizens' Fleet ready to join the fight. Christina Ward (from The Band Batch) returns to the show to analyze Palpatine's vocal delivery from an operatic speak-singing perspective. We also discuss Disney villains, Verdi's Macbeth, purposely-ugly music, and more!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Hello there!
11:42 - Orchestration during Sith Whispers.
24:53 - Palpatine's misogyny.
33:35 - Magical, childlike twinklies.
35:15 - Breathing of Rey and Ben.
38:10 - Additional details from the novelization. Do they make a difference?
46:51 - First Thrawn reference.
53:35 - "Really Bad Feeling" motif.
59:05 - Coordinated "stab" from the orchestra.
1:00:13 - Rey's Chimes theme and types of motion in music.
1:09:33 - Emphasized sound of the lightsabers being dragged.
1:22:24 - Mystery Motif, ascending minor arpeggios with a flat 6. Bernard Herrmann's influence.
1:31:58 - Analyzing Palpatine's vocal delivery: rhythmic structure, pitch, speak-singing (sprechstimme).
1:37:59 - Verdi, recitative, characterful singing, Disney songs.
1:41:06 - Sprechstimme in the work of Schoenberg, Berg, Schreker, and other early 20th century composers.
1:48:46 - Palpatine's line ("The Jedi are dead") almost sounds like singing.
1:51:20 - Comparing this scene to Jeremy Irons's performance as Scar in The Lion King.
2:01:07 - Notation of "Sith Whispers" according to Frank Lehman.
2:05:21 - Verdi's Macbeth and purposely ugly-sounding music (witches chorus).
2:19:21 - Critiquing Poe's leadership.
2:29:33 - Giving us a victory so we can have a tragedy.
2:37:41 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

Sprechgesang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprechgesang
Types of motion: https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/TypesOfMotion.html
Verdi "Macbeth" - Che faceste? Dite su! (Witches) - https://youtu.be/PMbxBDIWOFs?si=mAzWmo8OIcv_D1oC
Scar Becomes King (begin at 0:50): https://youtu.be/f9nAcuRioTc?si=svWk96lTzuFs5LjS
Lion King Stampede (first 9 seconds): https://youtu.be/x__EVvWUT3A?feature=shared
Football Crowd Chants 'Defence' into Medium Cheer Take 3 (0:02-0:08 'crowd shouting defense'): https://youtu.be/ASDL034oxS0
TROS 10: Dialogue Is the Melody (Minutes 46-50 with Camila Quiñones) - https://www.starwarsmusicminute.com/podcast/tros-10-dialogue-is-the-melody
Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

41b. Kylo Ren 1.5 (Redeemed)
45) Sith Whispers
61b. Knights of Ren (Slow Form)
3. Force
110) Really Bad Feeling
52a. Tension (Basic Motif) (arguably, perhaps)
45a. Rey A (Theme A-Phrase)
46a. Rey B (Chimes)
34b. Mystery (Form 2)
18) Descending Heroic Tetrachords
1a. Main Theme (A Section)
1b. Main Theme (B Section)

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

FYC 19. "Coming Together"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

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

New answer: Growing bacteria culture.
ESB answer: Heartfelt. Direct. Dramatic.
Solo answer: Droids. Hopeful. Dramatic.

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

New answer: Will there continue to be pop collaborations in Star Wars, like with "Twin Flame" (Victoria Monét) in The Acolyte.
ESB answer: What the aural representation of Chiss brainwaves, particularly Sky-walkers, would be.
Solo answer: What are the thematic relationships that tie the dark side with Imperialism, musically speaking? Similarly, what musical relationships tie the light side with rebellion and goodness?

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

New answer: Bleach (anime series composed by Shirō Sagisu)
ESB answer: Ms. Marvel (composed by Laura Karpman) and Moon Knight (composed by Hesham Nazih)
Solo answer: Dune (music composed by Hans Zimmer, sound team led by Mark Mangini and Theo Green)

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Guest: Christina Ward