The theme also gets a considerable fleshing out in a later track entitled Rey’s Theme, where the woodwinds reappear in conjunction with light percussion instruments and similarly upbeat strings for a full three minutes of pure thematic performance. Thematically it’s much more complex than Kylo Ren’s five-note motif, and is quite a lot richer compositionally-speaking. The music then slowly starts to build up, adding strings and low brass until Rey’s theme is then played in full for the first time. The track opens softly, with light strings establishing a rather hopeful mood before woodwinds arrive at about the one minute mark. Next up we have The Scavenger, and it’s here that the composer debuts another of his new motifs – Rey’s theme. Overall, it’s a decidedly unhopeful opening to a Star Wars score, but a curious and well-crafted one nonetheless. Here it’s established with a dark and particularly villainous-sounding atmosphere, which is then only added to by the arrival of intense brass and strings seconds later which do a pretty excellent job of hammering the rather bleak mood home before the track then closes out. Rapid percussion then takes the forefront in combination with now rather frantic-sounding brass to make for some rather tonally desperate Williams action score, and it’s at this point that we are then introduced to the first of Williams’ new themes for the sequel trilogy Kylo Ren’s theme. After the theme finishes up, rather mysterious-sounding strings then start the score proper, with loud and menacing brass joining the fray after a few seconds to deliver a cold and rather oppressive tone. It’s one of the most iconic pieces of film music around for good reason (as its absolutely fantastic) and this particular version only adds to that. Grandiose brass opens Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village, and we are treated to the seventh main title rendition of the Star Wars theme (or Luke’s theme, arguably). So without further ado, let’s dive into the first sequel soundtrack The Force Awakens. While the movies themselves have been somewhat…controversial, one thing that has remained pretty consistent throughout all three films is the high musical quality that Williams always brings to his scores (particularly that of Star Wars). With the final act of the latest Star Wars trilogy fast approaching, I felt it was high time that John Williams’ compositional work for the sequel series got featured on this site. John Williams returns to the Star Wars franchise in glorious form with The Force Awakens an excellent tapestry of exciting new and iconic old themes woven together to create what is quite frankly one of Williams’ best Star Wars scores to date.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |