ESO to use FORCE in Music of Star Wars
It can be argued that John Williams’ brilliant scores for the Star Wars movies will one day be remembered as widely as Beethoven’s Fifth, The Magic Flute, or even Adagio in G Minor – if they aren’t already.
There is a great disturbance in the Force over the impending concerts by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, as they present The Music of Star Wars Friday and Saturday nights at the Winspear Centre. We know it well! Almost anyone can at least hum the famous “Darth Vader” theme, The Imperial March – it has become a trope signifying evil – but Williams and his partner Michael Giacchino came up with a lot more than that. There’s material from Attack of the Clones, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and other fodder in an ever-expanding canon, plus music from as many of the classic movies, Episode IV: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, The Last Jedi, and so on.
In short, plenty to fill an entire evening at the symphony.
“John Williams has created, or entered a whole category of his own with this music,” says conductor Robert Bernhardt (right). “This music transcends film music. In many ways it joins the symphonic music of our time.”
As much a fan of the movies as the music, the Tennessee conductor says that ever since John Williams himself published the official orchestral arrangements, there’s “absolute authenticity from start to finish.”
Star Wars music requires “weight,” he goes on, so orchestras are beefed up with brass, punched up with extra percussion. In Edmonton, there will be 70 players on stage, including members of the Kokopelli choir.
The program runs not chronologically as the films were released, but by their numbers in the serial, the “George Lucas system.” Fans might expect the show to open with the “Main Theme” – literally the first Star Wars notes the world heard at the beginning of A New Hope in 1977 – but it’s not.
Bernhardt explains, “That B-flat major chord is one of the lightning strikes in music of the last half Century. That was the beginning of the whole music score. It was a game changer – and it deserves to be in a very privileged point in the concert, but it’s not at the top. The most famous music of all is in the middle, when IV, V, and VI came out.
“I still have a little trouble with Episodes I, II, and III. They don’t have the gravitas of the rest of the series. I was thrilled when J.J. Abrams did The Force Awakens. I thought that was a real re-energizing of the franchise. I have been doing this for 30, 35 years, but I’m learning new music with each different film. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
Tickets to both 7:30 pm shows are $57 and up.
