I'm kind of dumb when it comes to music theory and noticing things, but I LOVE soundtracks and am trying to be more educated and conversant on the subject. What comes to mind with the modern type scores you're thinking of?

Comical, as Antonia Salieri would describe modern music.

@@Anonie324 Every Hans Zimmer knockoff. Hans Zimmer knows enough to write decent music and pushes the boundary of when copy and paste is too much. Everyone who copies him goes way past the line and never looks back.

@@jakegearhart Thank god someone actually answered the question lol

@@M1GarandMan3005 i would describe modern music as the audio version of blind kittens being fed through a meat grinder.

Not really. They all thought Lucas was crazy because up until then no one in Hollywood had used the old symphonic scores since the old studio days of MGM which were then considered the old days. I’m sure after Star Wars became a hit they had a blast making the Empire Strikes Back OST which lets be honest, blows A New Hope’s OST out of the water. 😊❤️

I think so as a player must of been fun especially for the brass & Lucas after all the stress finally getting to kickback and hear Williams work must be cool, and I’m sure Star Wars wouldn’t be what it is today without the music of Williams (I know he used temp tracks but still)

I know someone who played in a screening of it a few years ago with a full orchestra and as an old school fan boy it blew his mind to be playing it

Many years ago, I talked with Maurice Murphy, the principle trumpet of the LSO at the time (and for many years afterwards). He said that the recording session for STAR WARS was his first official job with the LSO. He described the music as difficult, wonderful, and a "baptism of fire". A few years ago, Williams himself talked about his relationship with Murphy during that session. The orchestra had just recorded the RAIDERS score, which Murphy said he really enjoyed playing).

@@basketballgirl723 I don't see how any of what you wrote here would somehow concern the orchestra members. I'm sure they had a fantastic, if occasionally stressful time.

Empire has a phenomenal soundtrack but I know what you mean. There's a life and a purity to the score of Star Wars (1977) that's certainly magical. Last soundtrack of Williams that had that sound was the 1978 Superman in my opinion.

I think it may have to do with the recording quality. The first one feels a bit younger and more alive, and imperfect compared to the later clean and perfect recordings of ESB and Return of the Jedi

It sounds much more classical (and by classical I mean Stravinsky and Holst and all the Romantic composers) than ESB and the scores following it, which definitely still have their classical influences, but on the whole sound much more like Korngold and other classic film scores.

I know what you mean. I think of it as as an era in John Williams' composing career from 1975-1981, containing Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. There's a sort of old-fashioned heroic motif that permeates each of these soundtracks. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is my favorite John Williams soundtrack but it has an entirely different quality to it, and Empire Strikes Back is less heroic and more brooding. E.T. obviously explores different themes as well. By the time Return of the Jedi came out, recording technology improved and Williams started to incorporate more diverse influences into his soundtracks.

Yes, absolutely love that pivotal moment that heralds the transition from approaching the Death Star to the beginning of the battle !!!

The video game Star Wars: Empire at War (and associated mod games) use this cue as the alert for when a battle is about to start .., They could not possible have made a better choice!

Absolutely! I'll add it to my to-do list...

Awsome thanks!

@@DavidMcCaulley That unheroic brass fanfare at around the 6-minute mark may very well be the “Imperial Attack” motif. It sounds extremely similar, so I suggest giving the original “Imperial Attack” piece a listen. You’d be surprised by the similarities.

Actually this is just the original.

I believe that is referred to as the Imperial Motif. It was basically an Imperial March at the time.

They are the original Imperial leitmotifs. The motif at 2:32 is associated with Darth Vader; Giacchino uses it in the Rogue One score when we see Darth Vader in his bacta tank. (it can be found in the track "Krennic's Aspirations" at around 1min 37s)

Oh right, thank you! And great video as well :)

Wow never noticed that before! Cheers

You can hear it whem the storm troopers found the escape pod, when Vader meets Leia at the beginning of the movie and several other moments I cannot think of now. So yeah, it symbolizes the Empire and its threat before John Williams came up with the brilliant follow-up, Imperial March. Imagine what Star Wars would have sounded like if he never did.

The score’s entrance was dramatic and further increased the tension. The lightning fast editing and overwhelming visuals, not to mention the audience’s emotional investment, were enough to carry the sequence. Carefully chosen silence is often the most effective film scoring technique. Without silence, the film’s tension could not get any more pronounced. Ask anyone who witnessed this in the theater; I guarantee nobody found it boring. The entire saber duel in ESB is also unscored. Williams and Lucas know what they’re doing