TROS 9: Symmetrical Design (Minutes 41-45 with Dominic Sewell)

Star Wars Music Minute

In minutes 41-45 of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey shoots lightning from her fingers and destroys the First Order transport that she believes Chewie is on. Dominic Sewell returns to the show to discuss symmetry in the Friendship theme, the shroud over John Williams's writing process, mus-emes (musical memes), and more!

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Hello there!
• 8:47 - Listening to the beginning of these minutes.
• 9:41 - Big B buildup reminds Dom of a part from Wozzeck (Alban Berg).
• 22:02 - Assigning meaning to pitches depending on the context.
• 27:53 - Music climbing by semitonal increments. Failed climb in the brass.
• 31:53 - Do you think this score has more in common with Revenge of the Sith and/or Return of the Jedi than any other particular film?
• 39:22 - John Williams thinking visually (speculation).
• 45:15 - The shroud over John Williams's process. Broad strokes and modalities. German/Austro-Hungarian versus Russian/French sound worlds.
• 52:00 - Williams will go down as one of the greatest orchestrators.
• 59:37 - Octatonic goodness.
• 1:05:15 - Descant.
• 1:09:08 - The recording of this film is incredible (close, clear, dry, not swathed in reverb)
• 1:12:34 - Symmetry in the Friendship Theme.
• 1:22:14 - Threepio.
• 1:26:12 - Interesting voicing (clarinet is buried in the brass texture).
• 1:33:35 - Juxtaposition of two completely different themes. Intrusive thoughts.
• 1:38:53 - Kamino Kaper tangent.
• 1:44:43 - Does John Williams explicitly engage with duality in his theme-writing?
• 1:49:12 - Zimmerfication of Williams?
• 1:55:39 - Our favorite Rise of Skywalker musical themes.
• 1:58:50 - A very bold statement about minor 7ths.
• 2:04:32 - Stuttering, half-step-heavy villain themes.
• 2:09:41 - Speculating on Williams's revision process. Mythology of Williams.
• 2:19:35 - SWMM Questionnaire
• 2:29:47 - Shoutout to Michael Abels (Acolyte good).

Things to Check Out:

• On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring (book by Fred Karlin and Rayburn Wright) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2097046.On_the_Track
• Wozzeck, Act III Scene 2 (Alban Berg) - https://youtu.be/702knK1mop0?si=gYcasnwRVZnQV5F5
• WOZZECK - The Operatic Equivalent of GUINNESS (David Bruce Composer) https://youtu.be/e8V-x9CSPlA?si=cwcViqXYVzkx7iFJ
• John Williams on the SmartLess podcast: https://youtu.be/xi-axVKJ3Tc
• John Williams discussing Alex North, part 1: https://youtu.be/iKq1c-wpVe4?si=R7wcddyIXMcCmvnD
• John Williams discussing Alex North, part 2: https://youtu.be/rYSmemYleEE?si=vx3qdV6BIuTipBGQ
• Chrysanthe's review of the Century of Film Music concert (curated by John Williams): https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/la-phil-classic-film-music-leads-john-williams
• Shawn Murphy recorded and mixed the scores for The Rise of Skywalker and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
• "Dance of the Montagues and Capulets" (from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet) - https://youtu.be/8VY-A7GVLyQ?si=KGxAlZrc97xph2XO
• Die Walküre: Magic Fire Music (Wagner) - https://youtu.be/bG6p8bLdaQU?si=TztdijWshAO4vdQb
• Anakin’s Theme and the Musical Aftermath of The Phantom Menace (article by Frank Lehman): https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2024/07/30/anakins-theme-essay/
• Main Title from King's Row (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) - https://youtu.be/tysCiL1-24w?si=_dc2_oIANP9ZMim2
• Harold in Italy (symphony with viola obbligato by Hector Berlioz) - https://youtu.be/Q4NC4E5RXik?si=E3DajNGVjgKgKIuK
• Thematic Transformation and the Limits of Leitmotivic Analysis (Frank Lehman talk) - https://youtu.be/4ZBCNK0PYrk?si=UFbRSzm_-KYONTzj
• Dominic's analysis of "The Lighting of the Beacons" from The Return of the King - https://youtu.be/tVW249k5uuQ?si=8lc2W3azRxGuCppL
• Near Miss (film that Dominic scored) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29193907/
• Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music (book by Andy Hill) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31386128-scoring-the-screen
• La Belle Noiseuse by Dominic Sewell; performed by harpist Amy Turk - https://youtu.be/nEqgmi4RJ4s?si=6o3OJHCdUHaWIkNC
• "The Brahms" chord (coined by Dominic): C-Ab-C spanning one octave
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

• 41a. Kylo Ren A (Aggressive)
• 42. Kylo Ren B (Hesitant)
• 57. Friendship
• 109) Friendship (Variant)
• 61b. Knights of Ren (Slow Form)

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

• FYC 5. "A Prisoner"
• FYC 6. "To Kijimi"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

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

• New: Symphonic. Complex. Multilayered.
• Previous: Transporting. Transforming. Transcendental.

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

• New: How the orchestrators of Star Wars voice John Williams's woodwind and brass parts.
• Previous: Dom would like to talk to John Williams about what his teachers taught him.

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

• New:
  • Lord of the Rings (again) - Howard Shore
  • Rings of Power - Bear McCreary
  • Oppenheimer - Ludwig Göransson
• Previous:
  • Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore
  • Doctor Who (TV series) - Murray Gold
  • The Orville (TV series) - Bruce Broughton (main theme), Joel McNeely, Andrew Cottee, John Debney, and Kevin Kaska
  • Death of Stalin - Christopher Willis

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Guest: Dominic Sewell

• ESB 6: Battle of Hoth Set Theory (Minutes 26-30 with Dominic Sewell) - https://youtu.be/oOvHkaciOVk
• Website: https://dominicsewell.co.uk
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DominicSewellMusic
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DominicSewellMusic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dominicsewell/

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