ESB 11: Free-Floating Motivic Particles (Minutes 51-55 with Frank Lehman)

In The Empire Strikes Back minutes 51-55, Han and Leia share their first kiss and we meet the Emperor for the first time. Joining me (for the 4th time!) is music theorist/film musicologist Frank Lehman. We discuss the lineage of musical love themes, John Williams's distinctive Lydian signature, the strange proto-Emperor cue, and he gives us a sneak peek of the major updates he's making to the Star Wars Thematic Catalogue. This episode is also on YouTube (with visuals): https://youtu.be/N_jXuEWiaLY  Timestamps: 0:00 - Hello there! 3:20 - Teasing the Emperor scene. 8:17 - Augmented hexatonic collection of pitches (characteristic chord type in ESB, 4-20). 11:26 - Yanked out portion of the cue, R5P3 "End Fix" (orchestrated by Angela Morley). 15:05 - Instrumental introduction to Han & Leia's theme. A distinctive treatment of Lydian mode (descending pentachords -- the 5th down to the tonic). 18:50 - The descending Lydian figure is a Williams hallmark of his 80s-ish scores. Examples from E.T. (1993) and ALWAYS (1989). 25:05 - On Han being a "scoundrel." 29:01 - What do you think of the comparisons to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto? 38:35 - Listening to other love themes: El Cid (Miklós Rózsa), Adagio from Spartacus (Khachaturian) 51:48 - First truly functional chord in a while. Enharmonicism. 57:27 - Throwing down the gauntlet. 58:23 - John Williams holding back on the low bass note until a beat or two after the onset of a theme. 1:00:11 - Proud lineage of musical love scenes that are interrupted. 1:08:50 - Han Solo and the Princess concert arrangements (there are at least 3!) 1:14:56 - Sneak peek of changes to the thematic catalogue. 1:29:36 - Dom shoutout 1. 1:38:21 - Brittle, rocky xylophone. 1:45:39 - 90's Emperor/Energizer Bunny commercial. 1:46:26 - Fascinating musical sequence during the Emperor's first appearance. 1:55:44 - Dom shoutout 2. 1:58:09 - ESB editor Paul Hirsch on temp tracking this scene with Bartók. 2:06:28 - Comparing Ian McDiarmid to the original emperor's voice from 1980 (Clive Revell) 2:13:19 - Dark Side motif. 2:25:00 - SWMM Questionnaire Things to Check Out: Dominic Sewell's analysis of cue 5M4/6M1 "Solo and the Princess" - https://youtu.be/Nxe_rd2GVPY Pitch Class Set Calculator: https://www.mta.ca/pc-set/calculator/pc_calculate.html E.T. excerpt (queued up to the descending Lydian line)- https://youtube.com/watch?v=P7CyzH6R7f4&t=721 "Pete in Heaven" from Always (John Williams) - https://youtu.be/z8v1OEIkp3U Predatory Romance in Harrison Ford Movies (Pop Culture Detective on YouTube) - https://youtu.be/wWoP8VpbpYI Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto - https://youtu.be/QCKL95HAdQ8 Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet - https://youtu.be/finYYXkdYmA "Fossils" from Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saens) - https://youtu.be/bcAJpsWWuIY Béla Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta - https://youtu.be/ymqRNY4K4NA?t=1016 Andrew Norman "Play" - Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru https://youtu.be/Dc9rYygfwNI?t=1316 Love Scene from El Cid (by Miklós Rózsa)- https://youtu.be/91SunNLBDoI?t=303 Emperor Palpatine Energizer Bunny commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxafIhYFOr0 Adagio from Spartacus (by Khachaturian) - https://youtu.be/LZLMKkEGFRo?t=133 The Red Violin OST (by John Corigliano) - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6Oa6vj9pJz7IPAC5yVw666aU-OReTM1K The Empire Strikes Back - the original Emperor scene from 1980 - https://youtu.be/rKtciRCVpFE Cues: Tail end of 5M3 "Yoda's Entrance" 5M4/6M1 "Solo And The Princess" Musical Themes: 11a. Han & Leia (A Section) 11b. Han & Leia (B Section) 10a. Imperial March (Theme) 24) Imperial March Vamp 16a. Dark Side (Motif) Where are we in the soundtrack?: "Luke's Nocturnal Visitor" "Han Solo and the Princess" --------------- STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE: 1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like? New answer: My lifelong obsession. Solo season: Vaguely remembered music. ANH season: Dissonant pedal notes. Minor planing