ESB 3: Snowy Spectralism (Minutes 11-15 with Jacob Jahiel)

Star Wars Music Minute

This episode is about minutes 11-15 of The Empire Strikes Back with my guest Jake Jahiel -- a musicologist, Baroque music specialist, and 2022 Fellow of the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. Today, we're talking about the Spectralist-adjacent music of Hoth, the Force theme that sprang from the petri dish, Wagner's influence, and the music that John Williams originally wrote that got cut from this scene.

Video version of this episode is here: https://youtu.be/hRujf84GhXM

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Hello there!
• 05:10 - Listening to the beginning of these minutes.
• 6:31 - How Ben Burtt made Threepio's sound here.
• 11:21 - Somber horn stinger.
• 15:15 - What is the meaning of this fragmented Force theme?
• 23:36 - Ligeti/Spectralist influences.
• 30:49 - "Ben! Dagobah!"
• 35:25 - The music that John Williams originally wrote for this scene that got cut.
• 40:56 - Quickie Topic: Tempo
• 55:21 - Why it's worth acknowledging Wagner's influence on Star Wars.
• 1:03:19 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

• Dominic Sewell's analysis of 1m3/2m1 "Luke's Escape" - https://youtu.be/xKysHgjNtmk
• Dominic Sewell's analysis of 2m2 "Ben's Instructions" - https://youtu.be/Dh9W98GykGs
• "Allegretto" from Beethoven's 7th Symphony (first chord) - https://youtu.be/vCHREyE5GzQ
• György Ligeti - "Atmospheres" - https://youtu.be/RCNzwdLwA8g
• The Empire Strikes Back sound design explained by Ben Burtt (INDEPTH Sound Design) - https://youtu.be/VUeWJKwQwsE
• Spectral music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_music
• Film-as-Concert-Music And the Formal Implications of 'Cinematic Listening' - https://franklehman.com/film-as-concert-music/
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/.

Cues:

• Very end of 1M3/2M1 "Luke's Escape"
• 2M2 "Ben's Instructions"

Musical Themes:

• 3. Force
• Possible hint of 1a. Main Theme (A Section)

Where are we in the soundtrack(s)?:

• "The Wampa's Lair/Vision of Obi-Wan/Snowspeeders Take Flight"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

• Unproblematic intergalactic Wagner.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

• The foley work.

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

• Lord of the Rings trilogy (composed by Howard Shore)

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Guest: Jacob Jahiel

• You can find Jake's writing on Early Music America (EMA): https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/?s=jacob+jahiel

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