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About STAR
WARS: Symphony for a Saga
"The Inspiration..."
The idea struck me in early April 2005. I had just heard the REVENGE OF
THE SITH soundtrack for the first time. At the end of that album, the
themes for the Skywalker twins, Luke and Leia, were revisited. Likewise,
Obi-Wan Kenobi's theme, also referred to as the Force theme, closed out
soundtrack by reprising the victory march from the original STAR WARS.
My mind went to a journal entry found on
www.starwars.com that recounts the day
the London Symphony Orchestra scored this section of music. The musicians
were overwhelmed, some having played in the orchestra during the original
scoring sessions back in 1977. Listening to this recording, I was
instantly struck by the emotions this music conjured within me. I was
filled a great amount of joy...and a great amount of sadness, for this was
the final STAR WARS film ever to be made. The last STAR WARS film ever to
be enjoyed for the first time. The last STAR WARS soundtrack I would
listen to...for the first time.
From within this melancholy feeling came the urge to revisit all of the
saga's soundtracks, and even more...to revisit those feelings of my youth.
I am sure we all had similar reactions of varying depth and impact. For
me, they brought me to action.
In revisiting the many versions of STAR WARS soundtracks I have purchased,
I found myself looking at the 1993 Box Set Anthology, my first set. Disc 4
on this collection contains a compilation of various themes from STAR
WARS, EMPIRE, and JEDI not available on the original soundtracks. The
tracks are out of order, but with this disc I was able to journey through
the original films. I then wondered at what the experience might be
listening to a compilation of all six films.
However, the solution is not as easy as creating a mix tape of selected
tracks. As I continued my musical journey back through STAR WARS, I first
thought of beginning by quoting the different themes from each film, much
like the end credit medleys of every STAR WARS film revisit new themes. My
original goal was to create a single disc of these various themes.
Unfortunately, I found many of my favorite musical moments came from
pieces of cues, rather than the entire track. This quickly developed into
the idea of seamlessly combining these moments with the various themes
from all six films into one collected work; almost like a symphony of
sorts. The journey would not be chronological, but still be total.
I did have a second motive. STAR WARS has been influential to my life in
nearly every way possible. First, it fueled my love for movies, as THE
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was the first movie I saw in a theatre, and it remains
my favorite to date. Above toys and collecting, STAR WARS read-along books
helped me learn read at an early age. I became interested in art and
drawing, often recreating scenes on my notebook throughout school. The
films' scores helped create an appreciation for classical music. The list
goes on.
Since STAR WARS has been so influential in my life I wanted to create
something to share with other fans and, hopefully, impact them in some
small way. It seemed that this project was one way I could give back to
the saga that gave so much to me.
"Version 1.0"
I put myself to work. Soon after I found it impossible to keep each film's
segment down to the necessary time needed to make a single disc (around 12
minutes). The Phantom Menace was scaled to a mere fifteen minutes,
while Attack of the Clones stretched past twenty-two. With thirty
minutes allotted to Revenge of the Sith, I realized this was
ultimately a two disc album.
I was very pleased with my initial work of seventy-one edits over a two
day period. I immediately put the work online at various STAR WARS related
messages boards and forums. Initially, no one cared to listen to a "fan
work," and scoffed at it. Slowly, reviews came in and more people gave
Symphony for a Saga: Disc One a listen. As I released it to other
boards, its reputation grew. Within no time, nearly five hundred people
had download the first disc, and loved every minute of it. Every
compliment was followed by asking for disc two, which had not yet been
created.
I began the Original Trilogy disc with the same intent, but found it to be
a much greater challenge. The music from the first trilogy was more
familiar, and difficult to edit. Secondly, I noticed that John Williams
scored the two films differently. Whereas the prequel trilogy was scored
with quite a few clean endings and easily edited sections, the original
films were not. Most likely this was because the films were more
complete by the time Williams began scoring and he could create cues that
were more static. The prequels were more fluid, allowing for the many
changes George Lucas would make as he directed from the editing room.
This resulted in a much more stilted second disc for SYMPHONY FOR A SAGA.
In addition, it was much more difficult to edit cues out of chronological
order the second time. The end product feels more like an abbreviated
version of the trilogy than a musical journey. Regardless, the final
project was completed within a week including a total of seventy-nine
edits and running just over seventy-five minutes...far longer than the
prequel disc.
Since its completion, STAR WARS: Symphony for a Saga has been
downloaded by at least 4,200 people! Others may have hear the Symphony
when it briefly appeared on an internet radio station. Response has been
overwhelmingly positive.
Yet the more I listened to it, the more I remembered that it was meant to
be a work in progress, hence it was labeled "Version 1.0." The original
took only less than two weeks to create, and by the end of the project my
skill level had increased noticeably. I began to notice some of the edits
were not as clean as I had originally thought and needed reworking. There
was also an audio quality issue, as the Revenge of the Sith section
was made using a 256kbps leak of the soundtrack and some sections of
Attack of the Clones could have suffered from a bit of mastering and
filtering. A reissue made with wave quality audio would be a vast
improvement. Sure enough, this was suggested. At this time, I began to
think of editing another version.
"Version 2.0"
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The second release of STAR WARS: Symphony for a Saga allowed me to
address many issues. First, I could fix some of the edits I disliked.
Second, I could increase the audio quality. Third, I could expand upon
themes and sections of the prequel disc I had previously edited down
fearing length.
I also wanted to address how it would be released. Originally, I had cut
each suite into individual tracks (for example, The Phantom Menace
was released as seven tracks). The thought behind it was it could be
burned to compact disc with a 0 second buffer for seamless listening. I
learned most people don't have this capability. If listened to in a
play-list, some computers would have a skip between tracks. The whole
point of this work was to be seamless from start to finish, and many
people were not hearing this way. In the second version, I could release
it as tracked and have each film suite play as one single track.
Another idea also began to grow. After viewing the DVD, STAR WARS: A
MUSICAL JOURNEY, that was enclosed in the REVENGE OF THE SITH soundtrack,
I felt it was incomplete. This DVD contained the thematic tracks only, and
the editing seemed more confusing that narrative. Perhaps video could be
added to Symphony for a Saga, creating the ultimate music video.
Some dialogue and sound effects could be added for narration and
punctuation.
Unfortunately, this phase of the project fell through rather quickly. The
video editor that had agreed to the work suddenly and unexpectedly backed
out. The project still stands without an editor.
"Something to look forward to..."
[UPDATED! 02.28.09]
With the theatrical films behind us, many STAR WARS fans feel like their
road is at an end. True, fans do have a live action series to look forward
to, but that is still in the distance. In the meantime, we have been able
to enjoy the CLONE WARS Animated series. STAR WARS: Symphony for a Saga v2
gives fans something to new and exciting to anticipate.
Since this is a project that is taking a long time to complete, fans'
appetites will be whetted along the way. The singles for the prequel
trilogy have all been released. These two tracks mark the first of the
single releases that will continue for the Original Trilogy.
I still am dying to see the Music Video potion of the Symphony for a Saga.
I will not be
undertaking this project myself, I have too much on my plate including
family, career, and
graduate school. If anyone is interested, please contact me! I am happy to
work through that aspect of the project with any collaborators.
In addition, I look forward to any artists who wish to join the project to
bring their interpretations of Symphony for a Saga. I am looking for cover
artists to submit work. So far, Mike Malone has been the creative force
behind the first two the single covers; I completed the third and fourth,
in addition to the first three suite covers. If anyone is interested in
submitting cover art concepts please do so!
The ideal would be to have another artist interpret ideas for the Prequel
and Original Trilogy CDs. Lastly, a final cover art will be created to
embrace the operatic nature of Symphony for a Saga, and be used on the 2
CD and and hopefully DVD cover and booklet!
Thank you to all who have expressed their gratitude and support of this
project. It is the only reason any of us donate our time and talents to
it!
Expected release for ANHv2 is spring 2009. I have little fo fix on that
track and have already begun shaping ideas for TESB single.
"Other projects to come..."
STAR WARS: Symphony for a Saga has lead me into the world of music
editing. I will be working on other film related projects as well. Of
note, so far I have released an edit of Don Davis' THE MATRIX CONCERT
SUITES, based off a rough recording of the original music. I have also
completed Howard Shore's LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY, again based on a very
rough recording of its performance. I need to get around to releasing
those on my website, too.
I will be doing a few other suites for stand alone films. The first to
announce is a MEET JOE BLACK SUITE I have already begun work on, but like
every other project stalled.
Other projects will come in time.
Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer:
STAR WARS: Symphony for a
Saga is not intended as a replacement for the above mentioned retail
albums. This collection is fan made work of art, and a personal
interpretation of the STAR WARS Saga told through the
wonderful music created by John Williams. Thank you to his original vision
and interpretation of
STAR WARS, for which the world is eternally grateful.
Please support composer John Williams and purchase the Original Motion
Picture Soundtracks at your local retailer.
Thank you to George Lucas, creator and visionary of the STAR WARS
Universe. Thank you for having the courage to follow your dream and
complete your tale. You have inspired many imaginations and given others
the motivation to develop their talents and pursue their own goals. Thanks
to you, the world will always have a home in a "Galaxy Far, Far Away..."
This album is dedicated to the millions of STAR WARS fans around
the world. If this series, its stories and characters mean as much to your
life as they do to mine...my sincerest wish is that this record touches
and impacts your heart and stimulates your imagination.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
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