In minutes 106-110 of The Rise of Skywalker, Ben Solo arrives on the scene, bringing with him a new, redeemed musical theme! As J.J. Abrams puts it, we "make the trip from Ren to Ben." I'm pleased to be joined by Samantha Tripp for an in-depth discussion about this huge moment in the score.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Hello there!
6:59 - "Approaching the Throne"
14:23 - Sith Wayfinder motif with and without Kylo Ren's Hesitant theme in the background.
18:22 - Two main set pieces ...
In minutes 106-110 of The Rise of Skywalker, Ben Solo arrives on the scene, bringing with him a new, redeemed musical theme! As J.J. Abrams puts it, we "make the trip from Ren to Ben." I'm pleased to be joined by Samantha Tripp for an in-depth discussion about this huge moment in the score.
Timestamps:
- 0:00 - Hello there!
- 6:59 - "Approaching the Throne"
- 14:23 - Sith Wayfinder motif with and without Kylo Ren's Hesitant theme in the background.
- 18:22 - Two main set pieces happening at once. Battle sounds from ground and space.
- 25:30 - Quintessential Williams action scoring. "Finn and Jannah at War" set piece theme.
- 36:29 - Why John Williams loves concert arrangements.
- 43:25 - March of the Resistance sounds less "march-y" here; it's melodically and rhythmically stretched out.
- 51:11 - Don Williams (JW's timpanist brother).
- 57:15 - LA Master Chorale in the Sith Auditorium.
- 1:08:08 - Is Palpatine's voice more echoey here? Rey's?
- 1:11:07 - Is Psalm of the Sith subtly woven into this part?
- 1:21:17 - This part reminds us of "The Immolation Scene" (Revenge of the Sith) and Barber's Adagio for Strings.
- 1:34:19 - Kylo Ren Redeemed theme!
- 1:40:37 - J.J. Abrams asking John Williams to "make the trip from Ren to Ben."
- 1:51:29 - Visualizing Kylo Ren/Ben Solo themes with a cool intervals + emotions tool (Sentisonics).
- 1:59:57 - Ben's good boy theme getting faster, more hopeful.
- 2:08:49 - Emperor's Theme (extremely hard to hear in the film, but it's on the FYC soundtrack).
- 2:16:32 - SWMM Questionnaire
Things to Check Out:
- Don Williams interview dropping hints for TROS... Unfortunately, the video seems to have been taken down! If anyone has an alternate link for it, please send it along!
- "Adagio for Strings" (Samuel Barber) - https://youtu.be/izQsgE0L450?si=r1oP8AM2tQpYBYEH
- "The Immolation Scene" (from Revenge of the Sith by John Williams) - https://youtu.be/HUpipZMNGhA?si=PqGT3KWhXi83EBlt
- Cellist Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick on "The Kiss" - https://youtu.be/nHrblao5iWk?si=zJQB-x8gI32lJ8Ih&t=2193
- Interval test from Dennis Hamm's ESB episode - https://youtu.be/J13zvJCEyyg?si=j2DS_V1cDE_SjgY6&t=5677
- Sentisonics: https://sentisonics.com/
- Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/
Musical Themes:
- Approaching The Throne
- Sith Artifacts (Wayfinder)
- March of the Resistance (A Section)
- Kylo Ren 1.5 (Redeemed)
- Sith Whispers
- Emperor
- Psalm of the Sith (A Section)
- SPM - Finn and Jannah At War
Where are we in the soundtrack?:
- OST 14. "Approaching the Throne"
- FYC 17. "Approaching the Throne"
- FYC 18. "Parents"
- 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: Dramatic. Colorful. Home.
- ESB season: Texture. Motion. Thematic.
- SOLO season: Powerful, evocative, grandiose
- ANH season: Powerful, evocative, grandiose
2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?
- New answer: Would love more of the personal stories behind the music teams of Star Wars. Relatedly, Sam is working on a database of Star Wars music personnel.
- ESB season: More about the behind-the-scenes people: recording engineers, music editors, orchestra librarians, contractors, etc.
- SOLO season: Musician stories from recording the sequel films, particularly The Rise of Skywalker.
- ANH season: What was it like for the musicians recording the original trilogy, particularly the first film? Did they realize that they were playing something so iconic?
3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?
- New answer: Outlander (TV series composed by Bear McCreary). Indiana Jones 5 (composed by John Williams)
- ESB season: The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
- SOLO season: The Shape of Water (composed by Alexandre Desplat)
- ANH season: Spider-Man: No Way Home (composed by Michael Giacchino)
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Guest: Samantha Tripp
- YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@samanthatripp8622
- John Williams conference videos: https://mediaserveur.univ-evry.fr/channels/#john-williams
- Recursive References and In-Universe Instances of the Imperial March (presentation with Frank Lehman at MaMI conference) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYV7O3uSZn0
- "Marion's Theme" (Flute and Piano Arrangement performed by Samantha Tripp and Frank Lehman) - https://youtu.be/If8YWYJPb28?si=FztVp_gFl4yBmXe9
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