John Williams (b. 1932) is perhaps the most famous and accomplished composer alive today. His fame rests on the dozens of movie scores he has composed, including the entire Star Wars saga, the Indiana Jones series, and the initial Harry Potter films. Like so many of the characters he scores, he has quite a rich back story, including a jazz career as Johnny Williams and a Sinfonietta for Winds and Percussion from the 60s. There is no denying, though, that his film scores have been front and center in his career.
The Force Awakens is episode VII in the Star Wars Skywalker saga. It was released in 2015, marking the return of the franchise 10 years after the conclusion of the prequel trilogy and 28 years after the original film hit the screen. It thus explores the state of the galaxy far, far away a generation after the overthrow of the evil Empire and the redemption of Darth Vader. We are introduced to new characters including Rey, a young woman of mysterious provenance; Finn, an ex-stormtrooper on the run; Poe Dameron, a hotshot pilot for the Resistance; and Kylo Ren, a deeply conflicted dark side Force master whose rising First Order threatens the very existence of the New Republic. Some familiar heroes also populate the cast: the famous crawl begins “Luke Skywalker has vanished.” This mix of the familiar and the new allowed John Williams to add to the fantastical menagerie of musical themes in his score, and the new material often relates to the old in interesting and surprising ways.
Jay Bocook’s Symphonic Suite from Star Wars: The Force Awakens explores several of these new ideas while retaining the most famous of the originals:
It is largely based on the “Jedi Steps and Finale” music from the film:
The components of this represent almost every corner of the movie. The opening “Jedi Steps” have Rey, after an arduous journey, finding the vanished Luke Skywalker and offering him his lightsaber:
Embedded in there is the “Force Theme”:
The “Main Theme” takes over as the credits begin:
This gives way to “Rey’s Theme”:
“Kylo Ren’s Theme” is dark and tortured like the character – but listen further for some surprising treatments:
The next bit borrows from “Poe Dameron’s Theme”:
The “March of the Resistance” follows:
There is obviously much available on the web about this stuff. Here is just the tip of the iceberg.
Starwars.com – features all the new stuff and merchandise as well.
Wookieepedia – The online encyclopedia devoted specifically to Star Wars and its many, varied spinoffs. Enjoy!
Star Wars in 30 seconds, reenacted by bunnies. Yes, bunnies.