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!
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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