Shmi's motif
"Shmi's motif" is a concise musical motif employed to symbolize Shmi Skywalker. It is featured in both Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. John Williams composed the piece, which was then performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in February of 1999. In the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Ultimate Edition soundtrack, it appears only twice, and it also appears twice in the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones soundtrack. The oboe typically performs the motif as a solo. Musically, it is homophonic, non-metrical, and presented in a minor mode.
Conception and development
John Williams, the composer, was selected to create the musical score for the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, a role he previously held for all three installments of the original trilogy. He specifically crafted Shmi's motif to musically represent Shmi Skywalker, the mother of young Anakin Skywalker and a slave under Watto's ownership on Tatooine. Williams enlisted the London Symphony Orchestra and the [London Voices] to execute the score. The score was composed from October 1998 to February 1999 and recorded in England during February 1999. However, Shmi's motif only used the orchestra. The CD version of the motif was launched on November 14, 2000 by Sony Classical on the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Ultimate Edition soundtrack. "IAmShark" also released the album on vinyl in 2013. Sony Classical released the Attack of the Clones soundtrack on CD on April 23, 2002, and as an MP3 download on May 16, 2002. On September 25, 2015, Sony Classical made the announcement that the soundtracks for The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, along with the other five film soundtracks, would be available in three new sets: Star Wars: The Ultimate Vinyl Collection, Star Wars: The Ultimate Soundtrack Edition, and Star Wars: The Ultimate Digital Collection on January 8, 2016.
Summary
The complete motif is primarily characterized by a solitary oboe solo throughout its limited appearances. The oboe player uses vibrato throughout the solo. The somber scenes are emphasized by the slow tempo and minor mode. The solo is accompanied by soft violin chords, and it is both homophonic and non-metrical.
Use
In the soundtracks
In the Ultimate Edition soundtrack for The Phantom Menace, the motif appears briefly on only two occasions: once at three minutes and fifty-four seconds into the track titled "Anakin Is Free," and again, with notable alterations, at four minutes and twenty-eight seconds within the same track. The Attack of the Clones soundtrack features the motif once, at one minute and twenty-six seconds into the track called "The Tusken Camp and the Homestead."
In the movies
The motif is present in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace solely during the scene in which Anakin Skywalker bids his final farewell to his mother, Shmi Skywalker, before departing from his life as a slave on Tatooine. In Attack of the Clones, it is heard when Skywalker mentions his mother to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Coruscant, and once more when Anakin cradles his dying mother in his arms at the Tusken Raider camp.
Sources
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones soundtrack
- Sony Classical to Release Ultimate Editions of Original Star Wars Soundtracks on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references
External links
- Star Wars music on Wikipedia