Page 14 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)

JOHN WILLIAMS
interrupted by C-3PO, however,
and then musically destroyed
altogether as we cut to the
Imperial fleet.” In this sequence,
Williams again opts to build the
melody by starting with a solo
French horn.
In the wake of Han’s capture,
the love theme follows Leia and
her friends as they try to stop
Boba Fett’s escape on Cloud City’s
east platform and then, having
failed, as they make their way to
the Millennium Falcon. Finally,
the theme crescendos at the film’s
conclusion, as Leia, Luke, and the
droids watch the Falcon depart,
with Lando and Chewbacca now
at the ship’s controls. With Han
Solo imprisoned, the theme takes
on a new meaning, representing
Leia’s longing for her lost love. “It
is a bittersweet ending,” Kendall
writes, “hopeful but unresolved.”
Return of the Jedi:
“Luke and Leia”
Return of the Jedi introduces
a third motif for Leia, this time
underscoring her shared lineage
with Luke. This “Brother and
Sister” cue makes its first
appearance when Luke, against
07
14 / STAR WARS INSIDER
the backdrop of the Ewok village,
reveals their true bond.
As with Leia’s original theme,
Williams chose to highlight
this new music with a concert
arrangement for the album
release. Titled “Luke and Leia,”
this arrangement once again
introduces the melody with
a solo French horn. In the cue
from the film, the melody is
instead given to the strings on
its first instance, then the oboe
when it is repeated.
However, Collins notes, unlike
Leia’s earlier themes, “‘Luke and
Leia’ is in a flatted key, which
gives it a mellow, muted, even
sorrowful sound. There’s no
opening major-sixth interval,
which had been so identifiable
with Leia. Instead, it’s a totally
different melodic shape.
“It’s actually an offshoot of
Luke’s theme. The first five notes
are the same.” Given that this
theme is introduced as Leia
learns that she is a Skywalker,
he adds, “It’s important that the
theme be a Skywalker theme, and
that a Skywalker theme becomes
Leia’s, as well.”
Collins argues that this change
stays true to the character of Leia
we have already come to know,
saying: “Williams takes the main
title and turns it into a more
lyrical theme. Then he takes it on
a rollercoaster ride through
all kinds of dark emotions by
putting his dramatic emphasis
on the softest part of the main
title’s melody.
“In the main title, the big
notes that are accented are
perfect intervals—neither major
nor minor—and the passing
tones that tell us the theme is in
major happen very quickly. With
‘Luke and Leia’, Williams pulls
07 The mellow those tones out, transforming it
tone of “Luke
and Leia” into something that mixes
hints at the tragedy and hope together,
complex
without ever quite giving you
nature of
siblings’ resolution. We hear it in the part
relationship. of the movie where they’re
facing their biggest obstacles and
08 A shaken Han
and Chewie, everything seems desperate.”
following In his analysis for Jedi’s Special
Solo’s brutal
interrogation. Edition soundtrack, Matessino
writes, “Unlike the innocent
09 Reunited for
‘Princess Leia’s Theme’ from
the final
time. Leia A New Hope and the wildly
and Han’s fanciful ‘Han Solo and the
embrace
Princess’ from Empire, ‘Luke and
later takes on
a tragic air. Leia’ is infused with a maturity