(in conjunction with the recent premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
Star Wars Theme
Iconic movie theme
of this epic movie series.
Composed by prolific film composer
John Williams for the first Star Wars movie in 1977.
A full symphonic work. Rich texture. Memorable melody lines.
Bold brassy fanfare with abundance of macho suspension chords and cascading fourths.
Interesting mystique-sounding chords and woodwind lines in second part.
Effective use of all sections of the orchestra.
More information in Wikipedia entry here.
The popularity of the movie series has spawned many "covers" of the main theme.
A few notable ones are featured below.
The Definitive Version
Jimmy Fallon, The Roots and Star Wars Cast (2015) - Acappella
An unusual creative mosaic of voices and characters.
Cast members include Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Surprisingly faithful to the original version harmonically and structurally.
Sonya Belousova (Player Piano) (2015) - Piano
Virtuoso Piano Paraphrase. Expertly arranged.
Similar to a classical Rachmaninoff or Godowsky paraphrase.
Exploits characteristics and range of the piano for an effective transcription highlighting key elements of William's score rather than a passive piano reduction of orchestral parts.
If rubato and slower tempo is unsettling, replay at 1.25x speed.
Would prefer a transcription of the symphonic suite rather than a medley of themes from the series.
However the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme) (7:13) is worth listening to.
Highlight
Cooper Carter (2015) - Guitar Multitrack
Amazing fingerwork and electrifying sound.
Demonstrates versatility of the electric guitar.
Tremendous effort and attention to detail.
Creative "transcription" of orchestral parts
using glissando and harmonics with distortion and reverb effects.
Each orchestral part labelled accordingly, with different Star Wars T-shirt and a different guitar!
Atokun111Kyusu (2008) - Electone
Amazingly faithful reproduction of parallel orchestral motifs, with only two hands (and feet)!
Includes 20th Century Fox introduction theme - a nice touch.
John Williams conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra (Live) (2010)
Conducted by the composer. The man himself. Concert setting.
Looks rather serious most of the time.
Nice to see closeup of each instrument when playing key motifs.
of this epic movie series.
Composed by prolific film composer
John Williams for the first Star Wars movie in 1977.
A full symphonic work. Rich texture. Memorable melody lines.
Bold brassy fanfare with abundance of macho suspension chords and cascading fourths.
Interesting mystique-sounding chords and woodwind lines in second part.
Effective use of all sections of the orchestra.
More information in Wikipedia entry here.
The popularity of the movie series has spawned many "covers" of the main theme.
A few notable ones are featured below.
The Definitive Version
Jimmy Fallon, The Roots and Star Wars Cast (2015) - Acappella
An unusual creative mosaic of voices and characters.
Cast members include Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Surprisingly faithful to the original version harmonically and structurally.
Sonya Belousova (Player Piano) (2015) - Piano
Virtuoso Piano Paraphrase. Expertly arranged.
Similar to a classical Rachmaninoff or Godowsky paraphrase.
Exploits characteristics and range of the piano for an effective transcription highlighting key elements of William's score rather than a passive piano reduction of orchestral parts.
If rubato and slower tempo is unsettling, replay at 1.25x speed.
Would prefer a transcription of the symphonic suite rather than a medley of themes from the series.
However the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme) (7:13) is worth listening to.
Highlight
Cooper Carter (2015) - Guitar Multitrack
Amazing fingerwork and electrifying sound.
Demonstrates versatility of the electric guitar.
Tremendous effort and attention to detail.
Creative "transcription" of orchestral parts
using glissando and harmonics with distortion and reverb effects.
Each orchestral part labelled accordingly, with different Star Wars T-shirt and a different guitar!
Atokun111Kyusu (2008) - Electone
Amazingly faithful reproduction of parallel orchestral motifs, with only two hands (and feet)!
Includes 20th Century Fox introduction theme - a nice touch.
John Williams conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra (Live) (2010)
Conducted by the composer. The man himself. Concert setting.
Looks rather serious most of the time.
Nice to see closeup of each instrument when playing key motifs.
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