TROS 22: Good Boy Ben Theme (Minutes 106-110 with Samantha Tripp)

In minutes 106-110 of The Rise of Skywalker, Ben Solo arrives on the scene, bringing with him a new, redeemed musical theme! As J.J. Abrams puts it, we "make the trip from Ren to Ben." I'm pleased to be joined by Samantha Tripp for an in-depth discussion about this huge moment in the score. 

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Hello there!
• 6:59 - "Approaching the Throne"
• 14:23 - Sith Wayfinder motif with and without Kylo Ren's Hesitant theme in the background.
• 18:22 - Two main set pieces happening at once. Battle sounds from ground and space.
• 25:30 - Quintessential Williams action scoring. "Finn and Jannah at War" set piece theme.
• 36:29 - Why John Williams loves concert arrangements.
• 43:25 - March of the Resistance sounds less "march-y" here; it's melodically and rhythmically stretched out.
• 51:11 - Don Williams (JW's timpanist brother).
• 57:15 - LA Master Chorale in the Sith Auditorium.
• 1:08:08 - Is Palpatine's voice more echoey here? Rey's?
• 1:11:07 - Is Psalm of the Sith subtly woven into this part?
• 1:21:17 - This part reminds us of "The Immolation Scene" (Revenge of the Sith) and Barber's Adagio for Strings.
• 1:34:19 - Kylo Ren Redeemed theme!
• 1:40:37 - J.J. Abrams asking John Williams to "make the trip from Ren to Ben."
• 1:51:29 - Visualizing Kylo Ren/Ben Solo themes with a cool intervals + emotions tool (Sentisonics).
• 1:59:57 - Ben's good boy theme getting faster, more hopeful.
• 2:08:49 - Emperor's Theme (extremely hard to hear in the film, but it's on the FYC soundtrack).
• 2:16:32 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

• Don Williams interview dropping hints for TROS... Unfortunately, the video seems to have been taken down! If anyone has an alternate link for it, please send it along!
• "Adagio for Strings" (Samuel Barber) - https://youtu.be/izQsgE0L450?si=r1oP8AM2tQpYBYEH
• "The Immolation Scene" (from Revenge of the Sith by John Williams) - https://youtu.be/HUpipZMNGhA?si=PqGT3KWhXi83EBlt
• Cellist Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick on "The Kiss" - https://youtu.be/nHrblao5iWk?si=zJQB-x8gI32lJ8Ih&t=2193
• Interval test from Dennis Hamm's ESB episode - https://youtu.be/J13zvJCEyyg?si=j2DS_V1cDE_SjgY6&t=5677
• Sentisonics: https://sentisonics.com/
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

• Approaching The Throne
• Sith Artifacts (Wayfinder)
• March of the Resistance (A Section)
• Kylo Ren 1.5 (Redeemed)
• Sith Whispers
• Emperor
• Psalm of the Sith (A Section)
• SPM - Finn and Jannah At War

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

• OST 14. "Approaching the Throne"
• FYC 17. "Approaching the Throne"
• FYC 18. "Parents"
• FYC 19. "Coming Together"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

• New answer: Dramatic. Colorful. Home.
• ESB season: Texture. Motion. Thematic.
• SOLO season: Powerful, evocative, grandiose
• ANH season: Powerful, evocative, grandiose

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

• New answer: Would love more of the personal stories behind the music teams of Star Wars. Relatedly, Sam is working on a database of Star Wars music personnel.
• ESB season: More about the behind-the-scenes people: recording engineers, music editors, orchestra librarians, contractors, etc.
• SOLO season: Musician stories from recording the sequel films, particularly The Rise of Skywalker.
• ANH season: What was it like for the musicians recording the original trilogy, particularly the first film? Did they realize that they were playing something so iconic?

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?

• New answer: Outlander (TV series composed by Bear McCreary). Indiana Jones 5 (composed by John Williams)
• ESB season: The Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
• SOLO season: The Shape of Water (composed by Alexandre Desplat)
• ANH season: Spider-Man: No Way Home (composed by Michael Giacchino)

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Guest: Samantha Tripp

• YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@samanthatripp8622
• John Williams conference videos: https://mediaserveur.univ-evry.fr/channels/#john-williams
• Recursive References and In-Universe Instances of the Imperial March (presentation with Frank Lehman at MaMI conference) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYV7O3uSZn0 
• "Marion's Theme" (Flute and Piano Arrangement performed by Samantha Tripp and Frank Lehman) - https://youtu.be/If8YWYJPb28?si=FztVp_gFl4yBmXe9

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