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John Williams. By: Jeremy Dudar Music 1010. John Williams. Biography. Born February 8, 1932 Was born in New York City Has always had a love for music Married an actress in 1956 and had three children Wife passed away in 1974 In 1980 he remarried. Early Work History.
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John Williams By: Jeremy Dudar Music 1010
Biography • Born February 8, 1932 • Was born in New York City • Has always had a love for music • Married an actress in 1956 and had three children • Wife passed away in 1974 • In 1980 he remarried
Early Work History • 1960’s starting composing music for the film industry • 1975 composed music for Jaws and Sugarland Express • Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
Steven Spielberg • Composed for George Lucas • Has done over 100 movies
Some of his Masterpieces • Star Wars • Minority Report • Indiana Jones • Superman • Catch Me If You Can • Harry Potter • American Journey • Many, many more
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Awards • 5 Academy Awards • 18 Grammies • 4 Golden Globes • Has received several nominations
“So much of what we do is ephermeral and quickly forgotten, even by ourselves, so it’s gratifying to have something you have done linger in people’s memories.” (Film Tracks, 2006).
COMPOSITION HISTORY • “Duel of the Fates” from Episode I: The Phantom Menace • Anakin vs. Obi-Wan” from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith • “The Imperial March” from Episode VI: Return of the Jedi • Lumos! (Harry Potter theme song)
“Duel of the Fates” from Episode I: The Phantom Menace • 1999 • Darth Maul fights OB-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn • London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices.
“Anakin vs. Obi-Wan” Written in 2005 Anakin becomes Darth Vader
“Imperial March” Darth Vader’s theme song
“Lumos!” • Harry Potter Theme song • Also called Hedwig’s theme • Starts the Harry Potter movies
Listening Guide“Duel of the Fates” • 0:00-A chorus starts by singing in homorhythmic the words “KorahMatahKorahRahtahmah”. They stay in homorhythmic the whole song. In English translation is “under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging, behind, in the head.” (Film Tracks, 2006). Williams wanted to give this song an interesting feel and so he had this phrase translated into several different languages. He went with the Sanskrit language because it gave him the feel he was looking for. They start singing in Fortissimo and then get a little bit higher and repeat the phrase. This starts creating a suspenseful feeling in the song. It is very tense song and is the part of the movie everyone has been waiting for. • 0:15-The chorus stops and the strings enter. They just repeat about 5 notes over and over in the song and give it unsettling feeling. The first two notes ascend and then quickly descend giving it an arch contour. • 0:25-The violas and contrabass continue their theme, and quietly the woodwind section enters.
0:40-The strings continue to play getting a little bit louder this time, and the woodwinds stop playing. • 0:42-Violins enter and play with the violas, bass, and contrabass and they repeat the same pattern. • 0:45-The brass section enters louder. This is played four times. The song starts to gain volume and intensity. The brass starts decrescendo. • 1:04-The orchestra is still playing and the chorus starts to sing. The flutes enter and start playing with the strings.The chorus sings “KorahRahtahmahYoodhahKorah” at a Forte(loud) level. The chorus sings while the bass plays a couple random notes. The chorus goes quiet at 1:16 and the orchestra takes over. • 1:21-The chorus and the main theme come in. This time the chorus sings at Fortissimo. They sing “KorahSyahdoRahtahmahDaanyah.” • 1:33-The chorus and orchestra are together and in Forte.
1:40-The chorus has been singing long notes and now switch to staccato. The words are: “NyohahKeelahKorahRahtahmah / SyadhoKeelahKorahRahtahmah.” After this phrase, they go start to hold their notes longer and they sing the words “KorahDaanyahKorahRahtahmah.” The bass instruments join them. • 1:58- The chorus stops, while the strings and woodwinds continue playing. The brass instruments come in to intensity the feeling of this scene. The orchestra plays this and crescendos. • 2:04-Everything goes quiet. • 2:06-The beat picks up and the strings come in. This theme is repeated from the beginning of the song. • 2:11-This is repeated from the beginning of the song and is played faster and they repeat it two times. It is played in crescendo.
2:25- the violins play a trill. The orchestra keeps singing and gets louder in crescendo and starts to get a more tense feeling. • 2:37-The orchestra plays a repetitive piece. • 2:44-The chorus starts to sing “KorahDaanyahKorahRahtahmah,” while the orchestra plays. They start playing and singing louder. The chorus starts singing “NyohahKeelahKorahRahtahmah” the brass section plays a note between each word that they sing. The chorus holds the word “Korah” before becoming silent, the orchestra starts playing the quick notes. • 3:07-Everything stops
3:08-The chorus starts singing without the orchestra, singing “KorahMatahKorahRahtahmah.” This time they are slower than before. The timpani plays a drum roll between Matah and Korah. After they sing this, the orchestra plays the notes that the strings have been playing. • 3:25-The orchestra comes back in. The brass plays a couple measures. • 3:28-The cymbal plays a solo. The theme the strings were playing gets played by the orchestra. • 4:01-The chorus gives its final “Korah.” The rest of the orchestra continues to play. • 4:05-The coda is two percussion solos, the theme that was introduced by the strings is played one last time to finish the song. • 4:14-The orchestra gets cut off and the song ends.
“Anakin vs. Obi-Wan” • 0:00-This song is at the climax of the movie and starts with a simple beat by the low strings. • 0:03- There are different themes throughout the song. Theme I has the brass section with a cymbal crash at the end. This sets the tone for the whole song. • 0:09-The harp joins, and Theme II is introduced into the song. The brass plays it and this is one of the main songs we hear repeat in different parts of the movie. It goes Theme II to Theme I back to Theme II. • 0:21-The flutes come in and do a scale. • 0:36-The lower bass comes in to do Theme II, but the strings get added. • 0:42-Theme I is played. • 0:47-Theme II is played. • 0:56- The song adds “The Imperial March” into this song. It also is played at 1:13.
1:25-The “Imperial March” section ends and the strings still are playing. • 1:37-The trumpets play and then the strings come in and play. The music starts to get faster. • 2:19- Theme I is played. • 2:34- The woodwinds and triangles are added. • 2:37-The composer adds a new theme we haven’t been hearing. It is Theme III. This is sung by a choir accompanied by the strings. • 3:10- Theme I is played in a higher octave. Then Theme II is played. • 3:18-Everything stops except the brass where they hold their note. • 3:21-The choir starts. • 3:34-Theme II returns. This is in a minor mode and the song starts to end. The orchestra plays a chord and • 3:57-the strings play until the song ends.
“The Imperial March” • 0:00-A snare drum plays and the lower strings play. Theme I is repeated four times. I would say this song is played in minor mode. • 0:09-The next theme comes in being played by the brass. Percussion plays. This is Theme II. The first few seconds of this theme are Darth Vader’s “theme song.” This is played for Darth Vader when he enters the screen. Theme II sounds similar to his theme song, but then it has a little variation. Theme I and II are played. Theme I is just more quiet. • 0:38-Theme I is played three times while theme II stops. The brass gets added when Theme I is played the third time. • 0:47-The flutes and triangles play. This gives it a major mode feeling. • 0:57-The lower strings repeat what the flutes had played. This is played in a minor mode feeling since the strings play lower than the flutes. • 1:06-Darth Vader’s theme song is played. It sounds like it is in a higher octave that the first time this song introduced it to us. The flutes and strings play.
1:38-Theme II gets played followed by Theme I. • 1:47-Theme II plays but in an octave higher and Theme I plays in unison with Theme II. • 2:25-Theme I plays and then Theme II. • 2:39-Theme II is played in variation which is indicating it is close to being the end. The tension starts to increase. • 2:43-Theme I stops from the bass and they join in Theme I. They are on the same rhythm. • 2:52- The coda plays a variation of Theme I. They play the same rhythm but the notes are different. • 3:03-They play the timpani a few times before the song ends.
Lumos! (Hedwig’s Theme) • 0:00-the music starts playing in a very minor mode. It is played with a very eerie and quiet tone. It is playing in ¾ time. The song starts with the organ playing a solo in a sustained note and very pianissimo. This is Theme I. • 0:11-Theme I is repeated in the same mysterious feeling for eight more measures. • 0:20-Theme I is played again with a little more strength on certain notes. This helps the song start to introduce power and grab the listener into the music. It starts to give a tense feeling.
0:21- They introduce the strings (violins, cello, and viola) with one note to bring in a soft mellow background. It sounds similar to the soft wind in the distance. • 0:32- A strong crescendo begins by all of the instruments. • 0:41-An ascending then descending appegio scale is played. This gives the feelings of wind, ghosts, and an eerie feeling. This continues with a crescendo and a stronger forte. • 0:49-While the appegio scale is still played in the background Theme I is repeated. • 0:58-Appegio scale is still continuing and continues getting forte while Theme I is repeated again. They are stressing the first beat of every measure with more intensity as the song progresses.
1:06-The chimes and cymbals get added while still repeating Theme I and crescendo keeps increasing and still in forte. The appegio scale has now been changed to playing chords. It continues to play to fortissimo until 1:23. • 1:23-For the coda, Everything stops except the base while they hold one note and then the organ plays Theme I’s last stanza gently and softly to finish the song, like an echo fading away in the distance. • 1:35-Everything quietly stops and the song ends.
Works Cited • Befan, R. (2009). Filmography; Concert Works; and TV Works. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from John Williams Fan Network website: http://www.jwfan.com • Biography. (2006, June 5). Retrieved February 17, 2012 from The John Williams Web Pages website: www.johnwilliams.org • Davies, R. (2012, January 10). Digital Spy. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a359163/steven-spielberg-john-williams-makes-me-look-good.html • Film Tracks. (2006, September 24). Retrieved February 23, 2012, from http://www.filmtracks.com/composers/williams.shtml • Hable, M. (2001). Biography. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from The John Williams Collection website: http://mahawa.jw-music.net • John Williams Fan Network. (1997, February). Retrieved February 17, 2012, from http://www.jwfan.com/?page_id=132 • Wheeler, J. (2010). Biography for John Williams. Retrieved February 17, 2012, from The Internet Movie Database website: www.imdb.com