{"id":32784,"date":"2015-12-24T09:25:42","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T14:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=32784"},"modified":"2015-12-24T09:25:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-24T14:25:42","slug":"the-music-of-the-force-awakens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2015\/12\/the-music-of-the-force-awakens.html","title":{"rendered":"The Music of Star Wars: The Force Awakens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m not sure whether it has always been true that the music in Star Wars is something that I notice only on a second viewing, or after hearing the soundtrack separately, or whether J. J. Abrams has the music feature less prominently than George Lucas did at key moments. But there is some truly wonderful music in the new film. Here are some of my favorites:<\/p>\n

Rey\u2019s Theme:<\/p>\n<\/iframe>\n<p>Maz\u2019s Counsel:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - Maz's Counsel (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/khq2TtKwH0s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The Starkiller:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - The Starkiller (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P1a_0lAGpLA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NRRPCjr1Ito?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The Abduction:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - The Abduction (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IUs88IY1A00?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The theme for Snoke is striking in its simplicity \u2013 it is deep choral voices staying on one note for long periods of time. It conveys the same menace as the themes used for the Emperor in the original trilogy,\u00a0as well as in Duel of the Fates, but also gives the impression of something even older and more sinister, but at the same time more tired and weary. It is very intriguing, as we speculate about where and how Snoke may have been waiting in the shadows while the events of episodes I-VI played out. And indeed, it seems that <a href=\"http:\/\/ikwiz.com\/watch.asp?id=19896&name=Snoke+IS+Darth+Plagueis+confirmed%3F+Star+Wars+Episode+VII+%5BDash+Star%5D\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">someone has spotted an important fact \u2013 that the very same music is used in Episode III when Palpatine tells the story of Darth Plagueis<\/a>!<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j66qVexOrU0\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j66qVexOrU0<\/a>\n<p>If you have listened to all the above and still want more, here are \u201cOn the Inside\u201d and \u201cThe Ways of the Force,\u201d which illustrate the use of old themes, new music, and music which is new but still has the feel of the\u00a0previous films:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - On the Inside (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9LXKzapRXic?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - The Ways of the Force (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ACVE5nYGJxI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Music from the film is already starting to make it into live performances. This track is a tongue-in-cheek echo of an earlier piece by Williams, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2h3zTvJ3tzk\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cScherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra\u201d from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Scherzo for X-Wings | Performed LIVE by the U.S. Army Field Band\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qnk9ldULfuE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>And finally, let me bid you Farewell (and the Trip):<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"John Williams - Farewell and The Trip (Audio Only)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Itzm8-kcOAg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m not sure whether it has always been true that the music in Star Wars is something that I notice only on a second viewing, or after hearing the soundtrack separately, or whether J. J. Abrams has the music feature less prominently than George Lucas did at key moments. But there is some truly wonderful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":32136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,91],"tags":[923,3521,3901,5473,5884,7803,10909,11615,11822],"class_list":["post-32784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-star-wars-science-fiction","tag-awakens","tag-force","tag-george-lucas","tag-j-j-abrams","tag-john-williams","tag-music","tag-score","tag-soundtrack","tag-star-wars"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The Music of Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm not sure whether it has always been true that the music in Star Wars is something that I notice only on a second viewing, or after hearing the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2015\/12\/the-music-of-the-force-awakens.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Music of Star Wars: The Force Awakens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I'm not sure whether it has always been true that the music in Star Wars is something that I notice only on a second viewing, or after hearing the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2015\/12\/the-music-of-the-force-awakens.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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