Star Wars belongs to our cultural heritage. The music is truly phenomenal! Written by John Williams, the man that plays in his own league. He is one of my biggest examples and a never ending inspiration source. How great it is then to attend a live performance of the International Symphony Orchestra of Lviv and the National Choir of Ukraine ‘Dumka’ playing his music (and from Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Mykola Lysenko, Ramin Djawadi and Vangelis). It was mindblowing!
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What’s the video about?
In this video I’ll do a short analysis of what is happening on the stage during the Imperial March, Darth Vader’s Theme. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it! And that it inspires you to write (more) orchestral music for film. Cause maybe on one day … your work might be performed on stage by a symphony orchestra and choir like this 😉
Theoretical perspective on Imperial March from Star Wars
From a theoretical point of view this composition of Star Wars music is also quite fascinating! I can talk about it for many hours. Did you know:
- During the march all of the pitched instruments playing (strings, horns, and timpani) are at or near the very bottom of their range. The result is a very dark color to the sound.
- Harmonically, it focuses on the dark sound of minor chords and presents distorted versions of what would otherwise be normal progressions (i–#iv–#v–i in G minor)
- Melodically, the theme is constantly moving in the downward direction
Fascinating!
