The Jedi As I've Never Heard Before

On a number of occasions, I've written about concerts by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in which they perform a film score live to a screening of that film. In two particular cases, it was Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. This past weekend, they completed the original Star Wars trilogy with performances of Return of the Jedi.

Return of the Jedi is to me the least powerful of John Williams' scores for those first three Star Wars movies. Yet this is only by comparison, to two of the finest scores he ever composed (one an Oscar winner). Return of the Jedi is still music from John Williams in his prime. It features several memorable new themes, from the bass chorus for the Emperor, to the slovenly tuba melody for Jabba the Hutt, to the anthem for the Ewoks, to the mature and stately theme for "Luke and Leia."

Watching the Colorado Symphony Orchestra perform the score live made me appreciate it even more. It's incredibly detailed, with many supporting lines that fade into the background in the original recording (and vanish altogether under the sound effects of the actual film). It's a quite inventive score, even in its treatment of themes from the first two Star Wars films. Existing melodies are often handed to new instruments, shading them in clever ways that comment on the action.

There's also a lot of music. Not only is Return of the Jedi the longest of the original Star Wars trilogy films, most of it is scored. As conductor Brett Mitchell pointed out to the audience before Act II of the performance, the orchestra does not stop for the final 58 minutes of the movie. (If you're a hardcore Star Wars fan: every moment is scored after C-3PO says "Wonderful. We are now part of the tribe.") In the context of a special performance like this, that means there's more to listen and watch for.

John Williams uses french horns enthusiastically in most of his scores, but Return of the Jedi struck me as pushing the section even harder. More rare among Star Wars scores is the percussion he employs to represent the Ewoks. And I always find it fun to see how piano is used in a Star Wars score; it's not always easy to hear in the mix, but piano is Williams' instrument from his early days as a performer, and he often writes some sparkling moments for it.

As usual when I mention these Colorado Symphony Orchestra concerts, it's too late now for you to attend this particular show. And also as usual, I'll enthusiastically recommend you find a score-to-film performance that's up your alley -- either at the CSO, or at your local symphony, if you live in another city. But on this occasion, I can give you a year's advance warning to next year's Star Wars performance: the CSO has just revealed their calendar for the 2020/21 season, and The Force Awakens is on the way. That's a score I was quite down on at the time, but it has grown on me as I've heard Williams develop material from it in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. I might just have to give it a chance live. And perhaps you'll want to too.