| > cMusicWeb.com > Movies > Star Wars Soundtracks > A New Hope Soundtrack |
  |
[ a new hope soundtrack ]
 |  |
 |
|||
|
|
 |
|
|
THEMUSIC
 |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
CURRENTS
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
SEARCH
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
cMUSICMAIL
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|||
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE SOUNDTRACK (1977)
Flashback: the 1970s in Hollywood, when movie studios relied heavily on rock and roll to cross-promote album and theater ticket sales. Upstart film graduate George Lucas, however, never considered a techno or 'futuristic' sound for his space opera. He called on composer John Williams to contrast the effects-laden visuals with a romantic, traditional symphony. Williams didn't disappoint. These Oscar-winning compositions, now known technically as the Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope soundtrack, sold more than five million copies and singlehandedly revitalized the retail market for film scores. Commanding and brass-dominated, the "Main Title" stands as a classic refrain for all cinematic history, cutting to an eerie strings cue that has forever after been associated with the vastness of black, starlit space. Swift trumpets support a teasing oboe melody in tracks 4-5, a cryptic movement indicating the jawas and other Tatooine creatures."The Princess Appears" plays during some of the movie's most memorable scenes, and includes the reflective introduction of Obi-Wan Kenobi's theme (heard as Luke Skywalker watches the suns set). Jouncy and quite variant, Williams dramatizes "The Land of the Sand People" with savage percussion noises, while gloomy trumpets build to the discovery of death in Luke's "Return Home." "Inner City" uses counterharmony and bongo drums to recondition many prominent themes, as conductor extraordinaire John Williams leads the London musicians through "Mouse Robot," "The Walls Converge," "Ben's Death," and other medieval-yet-modern excursions. Many of the tracks, from "Imperial Attack" to "Princess Leia's Theme," uniquely brand this chapter of the Star Wars saga, completely rewritten or scrapped in later movies. While it does manage to revisit the major themes of A New Hope, the "End Titles" piece is much more than a rehash, an encore of true imagination and adventure. Filmmakers can't get John Williams now for the price Lucas did in 1977; but, then, never have the work of a producer and composer fit so well as on Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope.
- Josh Shepherd
Articles written by the staff.
Maintained by WebMaster Dan Ficker.
Site Design by da Man
All Material © 1999-2005 Different Media LLC
Support cMusicWeb.com