pacing) and in terms of how it contributes to the identity of the leitmotivs.7 The timbre of the Star Wars musical galaxy, however, is less explored — despite it being, like “The Force,” the “mysterious energy field” that binds it all together. Orchestration is usually relegated to a footnote or used simply as a leitmotiv’s instrumental identification badge.8
“Terra Cognita”: Historical Background of the Star Wars Soundworld It was timbre — specifically, orchestral timbre — that helped the Star Wars score make its indelible impression on the cinematic landscape of the 1970s. Orchestral scores had fallen out of fashion for many reasons, not least of which were the dissolution of studio orchestras and the sheer cost of hiring musicians; as a result, orchestras were used primarily in large-budget films. Pecuniary concerns, in fact, abounded. Filmmakers and composers began to experiment with pop and rock elements, and production companies loved the hit records that resulted. Electronic instruments had become more affordable and more adept at replacing studio musicians, especially for television scores. Aesthetically, electronics could create futuristic sounds, so their use exploded in the sci-fi genre, which already had a rich history of electronic experimentation. Lucas—whose American Graffiti
Williams himself says that success of film music “almost always comes down to rhythm.” From “The Mythology of ‘Star Wars’ with George Lucas,” BillMoyers.Com (blog), accessed July 6, 2021, https://billmoyers.com/content/mythology-of-star-wars-george-lucas/. 7
Two very recent outliers are Nicholas Kmet, “Orchestration Transformation: Examining Differences in the Instrumental and Thematic Colour Palettes of the Star Wars Trilogies” and Ian Sapiro, “Star Scores: Orchestration and the Sound of John Williams’s Film Music,” both in Audissino, John Williams : Music for Films, Television, and the Concert Stage. Kmet’s excellent article explores the evolution of Williams’ orchestrational practice from 1977 to 2017, over the span of seven Star Wars franchise films. Sapiro’s informative article interviews several of Williams’s orchestrator collaborators and deals with provides technical details of Williams’s orchestration, not just in Star Wars but throughout his entire output. My current chapter differs in that it deals primarily only with the 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope and analyzes its timbral and textural aspects more generally through an electroacoustic lens. 8
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