ANH 8: Royal Oboe to Rebel Orchestra (Minutes 36-40)

This episode is about music and sound heard in minutes 36-40 of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Obi-Wan finally hears Princess Leia's message, Luke isn't ready to go to Alderaan, and Vader finds Admiral Motti's lack of faith disturbing. Today, Elizabeth Lain joins me in a discussion about oboes, Death Star sound design, sonic screen wipes, and more!

Highlights:

• 00:00 - Hello there!
• 01:53 - How sonically lean A New Hope is.
• 06:18 - Start of chronological breakdown.
• 07:45 - Leia's theme on oboe. Oboe vs. English horn vs. flute.
• 15:45 - Grassroots Leia theme?
• 17:41 - Luke and Obi-Wan reaction shots while the music fades out.
• 20:23 - Is Obi-Wan trying to "Jedi mind trick" Luke?
• 23:04 - Hero's call to action and refusal of the call (a la Joseph Campbell).
• 24:49 - This cue of music is so...! Where else have we heard it? For one, it sounds a lot like Jyn's theme in Rogue One. But both of those could also be interpreted as plays on Dies Irae.
• 27:43 - Hologram as a metaphor.
• 28:53 - "How am I every going to explain this?" "Learn about the Force, Luke" Cue Force theme.
• 32:18 - "I can take you as far as Anchorhead."
• 33:11 - Death Star motif accompanying the exterior shot of space/Star Destroyer. But before that, we hear what Elizabeth calls a "sonic screen wipe."
• 35:27 - The silent Death Star conference room.
• 37:33 - Jk, it's totally not silent. This is Ben Burtt's time to shine.
• 39:49 - How Ben Burtt designed the Death Star sounds.
• 44:35 - How Ben Burtt designed the ambient electronic, telemetry sounds.
• 46:43 - "Until this battle station is fully operational, we are vulnerable."
• 48:09 - What if there were music in this part? What makes the Death Star feel scary.
• 49:27 - Power dynamics between Vader and Tarkin.
• 56:04 - What keeps Xanthe up at night with regard to Vader.
• 1:01:40 - Back on Tatooine as Luke, Ben, and the droids discover the remains of an attack.
• 1:01:58 - Solo trumpet leads us into the next cue, and it builds gradually. The worldbuilding that occurs in this scene.
• 1:08:44 - Tempo picks up as Luke rushes to his landspeeder.
• 1:13:11 - A pretty bad pun, sorry.
• 1:13:33 - Interesting sound design thing Elizabeth noticed with the speeder on screen.
• 1:15:38 - SWMM Questionnaire
• 1:19:06 - Rundown of musical themes and soundtrack stuff from these minutes.
• 1:19:49 - Where to find Elizabeth, upcoming stuff, goodbyes.

Musical Themes:

• 4. Leia
• 3. Force
• 5. Death Star
• Note: For consistency, I use the theme names and numbers established in Frank Lehman's Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars. You can download it free at his website: https://franklehman.com/starwars/.

Where we are in the soundtrack album:

• "Tales Of A Jedi Knight/Learn About The Force" by John Williams
• "Burning Homestead"
• "The Return Home"

References:

• telemetry: the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring.
• pedal (tone, point): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_point
• Opening trumpet part of "Pictures at an Exhibition (Promenade Part 1)" by Modest Mussorgsky - https://youtu.be/_5r8sa863Ts
• Rogue One/A New Hope music: https://youtu.be/DKheYfOl7hQ
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

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

• John Fucking Williams.

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

• A super detailed deep dive on C-3PO's voice; like, the very, very specifics of specifics, including which effects units they put on it, what the raw recordings sound like, what microphones they use, etc.

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

• Chernobyl (miniseries) composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir

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Follow Elizabeth Lain!

• Bandcamp: https://elizabethlain.bandcamp.com/
• Website: https://elizabethlain.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizardeatsflies

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Xanthe:

• Twitter: @chrysanthetan
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