Star Wars - The Corellian Edition (Featuring Music From All Six Episodes) - London Symphony Orchestra

Advantages: John Williams' score, great performance by the LSO
Disadvantages: Tracks don't follow the film's action

...rendition of Revenge of the Sith's Battle of the Heroes kicks in, featuring a spirited vocal performance by the London Voices. Fittingly, Williams ends the Credits cue with the concert arrangement of The Throne Room music from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which features a glorious brass fanfare, a rendition of The Force/Ben's Theme in march tempo, the bridge from Luke's Theme, and a "land of hope and glory" motif. These motifs are reprised, then Luke's Theme makes one last bow, giving way to a bright blast of the Rebel Fanfare and a brass-and-percussion coda that brings the piece to a satisfying conclusion. Bonus DVD: Star Wars: A Musical Journey In addition to the music CD, Sony Classical includes Star Wars: A Musical Journey, a magnificent collection of 16 music videos that span the entire six-Episode saga. The Prequels' four major... Read review

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Advantages: John Williams still knows his Star Wars
Disadvantages: Not as original as you'd hope and the last film cue

.... This makes the transition sound sudden and incredibly annoying. The score, like always, was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with the London Voices, offering a good 74 minutes of score on album. There is an incredible amount of tracks that are mixed together from two different cues on this album, more than is usual with Williams. This however makes for a more listenable album and the sheer amount of material should make fans happy. However in a time when the complete Star Wars music has become almost an axiom, it was only a matter of time when an expanded 2-CD set of The Phantom Menace was made available. Sure enough Sony released something they called "The Ultimate Edition" that was to include all the music written for the film. However, the release wasn't exactly what everyone was expecting. Instead of compiling this album from... Read review

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Advantages: Heroic fifth. Mysrterious sixth.
Disadvantages: None

...in D minor is in contrast to the fifth light and sparkling. Written in four movements has an overwhelming sense of nature at rest. The first movement is full of elusive movement. The second opens softly with quivering strings and chirping birdsong. The third movement, poco vivace, is lively and bright as a harp shimmers empirically above the music. The finale, Allegro molto, weaves together all the threads from the previous movements. It is gentle and somewhat melancholic with an obsessive bass line that trails off into nothingness. The music is a live recording by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is flawless with every note sounding clearly creating a wonderful rich orchestral texture. Sir Colin Davis keeps together the ebb and flow of the musical maintaining the tension. A lifelong champion of Sibelius, Davies takes his symphonies... Read review

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