Complete Catalogue of the Themes of A Guide to John Williams's Musical Universe Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF THE MUSICAL THEMES OF STAR WARS CONTENTS I. Leitmotifs (Distinctive recurring musical ideas prone to development, creating meaning, & absorbing symbolism) A. Original Trilogy A New Hope (1977) | The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | The Return of the Jedi (1983) B. Prequel Trilogy The Phantom Menace (1999) | Attack of the Clones (2002) | Revenge of the Sith (2005) C. Sequel Trilogy The Force Awakens (2015) | The Last Jedi (2017) | The Rise of Skywalker (2019) D. Anthology Films & Misc. Rogue One (2016) | Solo (2018) | Galaxy's Edge (2018) II. Non-Leitmotivic Themes A. Incidental Motifs (Musical ideas that occur in multiple cues but lack substantial development or symbolism) B. Set-Piece Themes (Distinctive musical ideas restricted to a single cue) III. Thematic Relationships (Connections and similarities between separate themes and theme families) A. Associative Progressions B. Thematic Interconnections C. Thematic Transformations IV. Diegetic and Extra-Diegetic Music (Music that comes from completely within the film world, or completely outside it) A. Source Music B. Concert Arrangements C. End Credits V. Appendix A. Background Criteria & Conventions | Cue Lists | Census |Citations B. Acknowledgements This catalogue is adapted from a more thorough and detailed investigation published in JOHN WILLIAMS: MUSIC FOR FILMS, TELEVISION, AND CONCERT STAGE (edited by Emilio Audissino, Brepols, 2018) Materials herein are based on research and transcriptions of the author, Frank Lehman ([email protected]) Associate Professor of Music, Tufts University. This catalogue is continually revised and updated. Stable link here: franklehman.com/starwars Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (1) EPISODE IV: A N EW HOPE (1977) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement I II III MAIN IV V VI IV [0:00:28] 1a THEME1 "Main Title" (A Section) VII VIII IX (R1P2) R S I Main Theme IV V VI IV [1:28:41] 1b "Main Title" (B Section) IX (R1P2) (I) (II) III IV [0:02:06] REBEL IV V VI "Imperial Attack 1 2 2 FANFARE VII VIII IX [The War]" (R1P3) R S I II III IV [0:04:53] IV V VI "Imperial Attack 1 3 FORCE3 VII VIII IX [The War]" (R1P3) R M III IV [0:05:07] IV V VI "Imperial Attack 1 4 LEIA VII VIII IX [The War]" (R1P3) R (S) IV [0:08:48] IV VI "Imperial Attack 2 5 Death Star4 (VII) VIII [Escape Hatch]" (R1P4-R2P1) R S Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (2) EPISODE IV: A N EW HOPE (1977) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement IV [0:06:40] Imperials IV "Imperial Attack 2 6a (Motif) [Escape Hatch]" (R1P4) R S IV [0:05:32] Imperials IV "Imperial Attack 1 6b (Ostinato) IX [The War]" (R1P3) R IV IV [0:12:58] 7 Jawas "The Little People" (R2P3) TIE Fighter IV VI IV [1:34:34] 8 5 "TIE Fighter Attack" Attack VIII (R10P2) S (III) Throne IV VI IV [1:59:24] 9 "Throne Room" Room (IX) (R12P2) Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (3) EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement I II III IMPERIAL V VI V [0:01:55] 10a MARCH "Imperial Probe" (Theme)6 VII VIII IX (1m2) R S Imperial V VI VI [0:02:40] 10b March "Approaching the (Bridge)7 IX Death Star" (1m3) R 5 HAN & LEIA V VI V [0:03:32] 11a 8 "Imperial Probe" (A Section) VII VIII IX (1m2) V [0:51:30] Han & Leia V "Solo and the 11b (B Section) Princess" (5m4) I II III V [0:49:43] YODA V VI 12a "Yoda Appears" (A Section) VIII IX (5m2) M Yoda V V [0:56:10] 12b "Yoda's Entrance" (B Section) IX (5m3) Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (4) EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement V V [0:06:44] 13 Droids9 "Imperial Probe" (1m2) S V V [1:06:13] 14 Boba Fett "Attack Position" (7m2) Cloud City 1 V V [1:21:31] 15a (Lando's "Lando's Palace" Palace) (8m3) Cloud City 2 V V [1:18:45] 15b (Trouble in "City in the Clouds" Bespin)10 (8m2) III V [0:54:12] Dark Side V "Solo and the 16a 11 (Motif) Princess" (6m1) V [0:15:20] 16b Dark Side (IV) V (VI) [Tracked from + (Ostinato & "To Hyperspace" 16c Melody) IX (12m2)] R Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (5) EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement I II III VI VI [0:38:17] 17 EMPEROR "The Emperor" VII IX (4m5) I IV [0:52:44] JABBA IV VI "The Big Thaw" 18a (A-Section) (Tracked from ROTJ, 3m2) IV [0:53:35] Jabba IV VI "Jabba’s Prisoners" 18b (B-Section) (Tracked from ROTJ, 2m5) Ewok Parade VI VI [1:03:50] 19a "Enter the Ewok" (A Section) (7m2) Ewok Parade VI VI [1:28:54] 19b "Heroic Ewok" (B Section) (10m1) Ewok Horn VI VI [1:05:50] 20 "Enter the Ewok" Call (7m2) Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (6) EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Initial Motif Melodic Reduction Uses Statement VI VI [1:20:24] 21 Luke & Leia "Brother and Sister" VIII IX (9m2) It's A Trap!12 (IV) VI VI [0:56:20] 22a "Faking the Code" (A Motif) (R6P3) It's A Trap! VI VI [1:34:19] 22b "Into the Trap" (B Motif) (R10P3a) R S Victory VI VI [0:35:39] 23 13 "Jabba’s End” Fanfare (R4P4) VI [0:02:30] VI "Approaching the 24 Revelations Death Star" (R1P3) Compiled by Frank Lehman, [email protected]. Updated March 12, 2021 LEITMOTIFS ORIGINAL T RILOGY (7) NOTES 1. The Main Theme doubles as a character theme for Luke Skywalker. The characteristic fVIIV half-cadence at the conclusion of each phrase is a potential source of the Rebel Fanfare. While not an independent leitmotif, the MT's B-Section is occasionally heard in isolation & detached from the first phrase. 2. The Rebel Fanfare is a good case-study in the kinds of semantic migration to which leitmotifs are prone. It begins firmly as a motif for the Rebellion in ANH, but by TFA and especially Solo, it can behave an all-purpose heroic motif, and sometimes as a theme specifically for the Millennium Falcon. It is heard only in the End Titles in TPM and AOTC, and hinted in an unused portion of 7M1 in TPM. 3. The Force Theme is the most common & flexible leitmotif in this series. It can also be considered a theme for Obi Wan, Fate/Destiny, or an All-Purpose s3 leitmotif. An alternative harmonization w/ fII instead of IV is introduced and used fitfully in ESB & ROTJ, but utilized extensively thereafter, esp. ROTS. 4. The Death Star also serves as a generic motif for Imperial Ships. An alternate form of the motif arpeggiates Cm in its first measure rather than Am. A major version also occurs in ROTJ's Sail Barge Assault. A handful of extremely close variant appear in a pair of unused cue in TFA, 2m16 and 4m30. 5. TIE Fighter Attack was originally a set-piece theme for a memorable action set-piece from ANH, with a syncopated main theme and interstitial material based on the Rebel Fanfare and Death Star motifs. Reuse in ROTJ, TLJ, and Solo leads to its retroactive leitmotivic designation, namely as another theme for the Millennium Falcon in action scenes. 6. From ESB onward, the Imperial March supplants the Imperial Motif, and doubles as a theme for Darth Vader. It contains a clear example of harmonic associativity. Beyond the iconic melody, the leitmotif is undergirded by a characteristic ifvi triadic progression (e.g. GmEfm) which, starting in ROTJ and through all the prequels & sequels, can be detached from the melodic content of the theme, & signify/develop independently. Similarly, the Imperial March Vamp associated with the theme is itself detachable, and treated as an Incidental Motif (#24). 7. The nervous motif established during the Bridge Section of the Imperial March t is rarely actually used in ESB. It is developed to an appreciable in ROTJ, both independently and as a source for It’s a Trap. The Bridge Section is faintly related to Kylo Ren 1 and more closely to the Knights of Ren, though direct derivation is questionable given the prevalence of chromatic double neighbor motifs in Williams's output. 8. Han and Leia has been mistakenly put forward as a theme specifically for Han Solo himself (see Bird 1997), but evidence overwhelmingly indicates Williams intended it as a love theme between those two characters (see, for ex., Arnold 1980). The B-section interestingly resembles Kylo Ren's Redeemed motif. 9. The Droid Motif, seemingly abandoned for good after ESB, was covertly referenced as an ostinato in Solo, and one near-rendition in ROTJ R10P5. 10. The Cloud City in ESB introduces a cluster of new themes. Of them, the stately Lando's Palace is the most obvious. A more subtle repeated-note motif, Trouble in Bespin, occurs prominently within the R8P2, and returns at various later junctures, notably R9P6 and R12P1.