ESB 17: Pomp Without Circumstance (Minutes 81-85 with Alex Ludwig)
Star Wars Music Minute
English - March 06, 2023 17:05 - 1 hour - 123 MB - ★★★★★ - 31 ratingsMusic Commentary Music TV & Film johnwilliams lastjedi rianjohnson benburtt filmscoring georgelucas musictheory sounddesign starwarsleitmotifs starwarsmusic Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Musicologist Alex Ludwig (Dies Irae guru) returns to the show to discuss minutes 81-85 of The Empire Strikes Back! We talk about the form, orchestration, and rhythm of the Lando's Palace cue, the stern parenting of Yoda and Obi-Wan, and how the music paints the text.
Video version of this episode is here: https://youtu.be/tdJUdPsUQBQ
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro.
10:30 - Meeting Lando with some exhaust, a ship, and a clarinet glissando reminiscent of Rhapsody in Blue or Salome.
16:02 - So many pedals!
19:36 - Old-fashioned but unbalanced ABA-ish form.
24:14 - Jocular cello pizz for Han's laugh.
29:06 - Dotted rhythms are hard.
36:50 - Echuta.
43:08 - Transition from Cloud City to Dagobah.
51:00 - Woodwinds on a bed of strings.
56:04 - Bad cop, bad cop.
1:03:43 - Solo horn, perfect text painting.
1:06:54 - Do you ever fudge the minutes?
1:14:53 - Does Obi-Wan's voice sound unusually deep here?
1:21:15 - Last-minute pep talk.
1:23:49 - Thrawn tangent, Wayland, Joruus C'baoth
1:28:34 - Two very distinct atmospheres in the same cue.
1:32:27 - Dies Irae.
1:39:34 - SWMM Questionnaire
Things to Check Out:
Rhapsody in Blue (by George Gershwin) - https://youtu.be/TDZWLP7TgBM
Salome (by Richard Strauss) - https://youtu.be/50rnWQvIK2I
Field of Dreams (score by James Horner) - https://youtu.be/4qyVehgTxtA
Pavane for a Dead Princess (by Maurice Ravel) - https://youtu.be/DVtNt-6OTM8
Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/.
Cues:
8M3 "Lando's Palace"
Musical Themes:
15a. Cloud City 1 (Lando's Palace)
1a. Main Theme (A Section)
3. Force
10a. Imperial March (Theme)
12a. Yoda (A Section)
Where are we in the soundtrack?:
"Lando's Palace"
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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?
New answer: Stories in sound.
Solo season answer: Soaring searching strings.
ANH season answers: Triumphant brass fanfares. Ominous contrapuntal warblings.
2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?
New answer: What were the spotting sessions like for this film in particular?
Solo season answer: Who's gonna write the next paradigm-shifting Star Wars score?
ANH season answer: What it's like for new composers (Michael Giacchino, John Powell, Ludwig Göransson, etc) to play in the playground of Star Wars music -- to have all these themes at their fingertips, get to use them and take them to new places. "What is it like to get the keys to this kingdom as a composer?"
3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?
New answer: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (composed by Disasterpeace AKA Rich Vreeland)
Solo season answer: The Matrix trilogy (composed by Don Davis)
ANH season answer: The Social Network (composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) and Sunset Boulevard (composed by Franz Waxman)
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Guest: Alex Ludwig
Website (including the Dies Irae List): https://alexludwig.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/celexo
YouTube channel: Film Music Tropes - https://www.youtube.com/celexo22
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