The Music of 'Revenge of the Sith' Posted By Britany on February 6, 2005
The official site has posted a couple of interesting articles on the recording of the 'Revenge of the Sith' score.
Here's a clip from the first article posted Thursday, February 3rd:
Composer John Williams has written over 40 distinct cues for the Episode III score, to be performed over the next few days by the London Symphony Orchestra. The recording order is delineated on an oversized printout, marking the title of the cue and the reel where it resides. These titles are more for internal use -- they rarely ever make it to the liner notes of soundtrack albums since these cues are often combined and edited to make playable tracks. My guess is that cues like "Boys Into Battle" and "Palpatine's TV Set" will likely get renamed before readied for public consumption ...
Today starts with "Padm?'s Visit," the music that accompanies a tense and dramatic encounter between Anakin and Padm?. The young lovers have shed the starry-eyed innocence of Episode II, worn down by witnessing years of warfare and deception
The next cue jumps to the early moments of film, to the first lightsaber duel in a movie packed with many. It's the three-way rematch that sees Anakin and Obi-Wan once again square off against Count Dooku. The frenetic on-screen action is accompanied by aggressive combat music devoid of any familiar character-based themes ...
The next selection for the day is "Palpatine's Seduction." Even in the heavily soundproofed confines of the control room, I can still feel the low vibrations. The music covers a conversation between Anakin and Palpatine within the Chancellor's office. We in the control room hear none of the dialogue ...
Next up is "Heroes Collide," the much anticipated start to the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. A new theme, carried mostly by the brass section, follows the two Jedi as their duel takes them from an outside landing platform to the inside of an industrial facility ...
Some of the other titles listed are:
- Fighting with Grievous - Plans for the Twins - Good Guys Arrive - Moving Things Along - Palpatines Big Pitch - Scenes and Dreams - Riding The Lizard - A Moody Trip - Yoda's To Exile
And here's a clip from the second article posted Friday, February 4th:
With each Star Wars film, composer John Williams has selected a particular composition to stand apart. It's removed from the context of the film, and generally has its start or end reworked so that it becomes a standalone musical piece. In the past, these have become singles on the soundtrack, concert suites or music videos. Examples include "Main Title," "Darth Vader's Theme (Imperial March)," "The Forest Battle," "Duel of the Fates," and "Across the Stars."
For Episode III, a dramatic cue from the sixth reel gets that treatment. Called "Revenge of the Sith" -- or less colorfully, 6M9 -- it appears in the film during the thick of the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. The first half of the second day of scoring sessions consists of capturing this piece for both inclusion in the film, and as a modified version for the soundtrack release.
In the end, it will include moments of heavy percussion, as well as the emotional sweep provided by a choir. These elements will be layered in later -- today, it's the orchestral foundation that's recorded. The music carries a nine-note sentence that is a new theme that carries throughout the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, memorable enough that I find myself whistling it later in the day.
Hit the links above to read the rest of both articles.