Excerpt+19

=﻿ Track 19: John Williams – Star Wars theme (1:30) =

DeDescribe ways in which texture, tone colour and rhythm are used to create a sense of drama in this excerpt.

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Texture and tone colour: Texture and tone colour work together in this fast moving excerpt to introduce a variety of moods and rapid transitions between different sections. This creates a feeling of energy and drama; moods quickly change and transition to new sections, creating an unpredictable effect. Opens with relatively thin texture: violins high in register playing swirling quaver figures which accompany celli who play a deep, rich melody using longer note values. The contrast in registers creates an overall sparse texture. At the ends of the cello phrases, the flutes enter with short ‘calling’ motifs. Overall effect is a thin, delicate texture. Changes in tone colour are used to vary the interpretations of the main theme, and create different atmospheres. The rapid transition from one tone colour to the next creates an atmosphere of constant motion and drama. As the music continues the texture builds and more layers are added, building thickness, tension and drama. The celli move into a higher register, and the violins into a lower one; seeming to merge together to create a thicker more blended sound. The violins take over the melody and trombones double the violin melody to reinforce it and add emphasis. Accompaniment increases in thickness and complexity. The trumpets and trombones take over the melody, providing a strong crisp articulation and a military, emphatic sound. Tis ensures that this main theme sits well in the foreground and the doubling of the trumpets and trombones an octave apart creates a bright, brittle tone colour. The texture here is thick and full, with percussion reinforcing the strong rhythmic melody, adding a crisp dimension to the texture and overall sound. Violins accompany in a higher register with a semiquaver countermelody. To release tension and transition into a calmer mood, the melody passes over to violins in a lower register playing well in the foreground, with simple harp accompaniment sitting behind the melodic line. The music then builds up again, the melody being passed back to brass for a more strident and powerful rendition of the main theme.

Rhythm Rhythm is used in a variety of ways to create the different moods and sections in the music. The opening shows contrast between the rippling quaver movement of the violin accompaniment and the longer steady flow of crotchets, minims and dotted minims in the cello melody. The lower part projects the pulse of Simple Common time more clearly, while the faster flowing quavers produce a more rubato, ‘shimmering’ effect. Overall the pulse is not a particularly strong feature in this opening section. Fast swirling ascending semiquaver, together with an increase in the tempo are used in the violins and flutes to build tension and introduce the main theme. The strong rhythmic nature of the main theme makes it easily identifiable when it enters on the brass instruments; it consists of a number of triplet figures alternating with minims, and creates a very strong march-like effect with clear, crisp articulation. Also the melody is constructed so that the highest note at the peak of the phrase is held for two beats with a strong accent; giving it emphasis and reinforcing the dramatic and majestic nature of this theme. The violin melody which follows this is more flowing with quavers and the absence of the triplet figure which identifies the brass theme. This creates a calmer and less march-like atmosphere.

**Leighton H. Triplow ** The excerpt commences with more of a mysterious and magical feel than a sense of drama. Here, the string instruments and woodwinds play flowing passages using techniques such as vibrato and always with legato articulations. The dramatic feeling hovers in the background with a running quaver motive in the accompaniment lines and the woodwinds occasionally playing the “dotted quaver – semiquaver” (notate) motive subtly underneath. The tone colour gradually becomes more energetic and forceful as brass instruments are added incrementally. The heavier sound is exaggerated through the use of choppy articulations. The texture grows with this increase of instruments and more layers of sound are included for a thicker wall of sound overall. The use of the powerful brass and percussion instruments adds to a thicker texture and more exciting quality. A climax is reached with a swell in dynamic levels and a forceful cymbal crash. From here, the dramatic element is sustained in the tone colour with a comparison drawn between the choppy brass section and legato strings and woodwinds at the one time. The rhythmic element does likewise with polyrhythm’s included for a feeling of rhythmic displacement and an unsettled quality. The rhythms in the accompaniment are very quick and they sustain the lush melodic line in the strings. The “dotted quaver – semiquaver” (notate) rhythms scattered across the ensemble give the overall sound more bite and energy. **//Response by Leighton H. Triplow, 2010 ﻿ //** **//CLAIRE DI LALLO //** **An immediate sense of excitement and drama is created through an opening at soft dynamics with layered texture. The combination of high strings and woodwind interjections, along with a deep, mellow, lower string sound, rich in vibrato, is enticing through its combination of the use of lush strings and piercing upper register sounds. Rhythm at this point is steady and constant, however has the impression of some rhythmic freedom due to the 'largo' expansive melody, alongside the quaver upper string pattern. Sudden crescendi result in rises in volume and texture, and therefore tone colour. After the first crescendo, horns (brass) play in unison with the violin melody, producing an even richer and fuller sound. These sudden rises in volume, alongside the sudden instrumental interjections (flute/piccolo), contribute to the overall excitement and drama of the piece. ** **With the entry of the second theme, better known as the 'Star Wars Theme', excitement and drama is brought to a new level, reaching a climax with a cymbal crash. The snare drum provides a strict, military style sense of pulse. Horns feature as instruments in the foreground, playing very idiomatically and making use of sudden swells, also contributing to the military, march-like drama. During this, the flute interjections continue and a full body of strings to provide a deeper, dense-sounding texture. Overall, the two themes/sections are highly contrasting and in themselves create a sense of drama and excitement by moving between the two. **