Music of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

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The music for the 1991 science fiction film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country directed by Nicholas Meyer, based on Star Trek: The Original Series and the sixth film in the Star Trek franchise, features an original score composed by Cliff Eidelman. He produced a darker score that accentuates the film's theme in contrast to the epic themes in previous Star Trek films. The score was well received by critics and led Eidelman to being a prominent composer at that time.

Contents

Development

Meyer initially planned to adapt Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets in place of a traditional score which proved to be unfeasibly expensive. Later, he turned to Star Trek composers Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, who declined to score the film. As a result, Meyer began listening to demo tapes submitted by composers and found most of them being generic film scores. [1] However, he was intrigued by one of the tape submitted by a young composer named Cliff Eidelman, who scored for ballets, television and film. [2] : 8  Eidelman submitted a tape for the studio and Meyer, while his agent submitted pieces for three of his tapes. [3] In conversations with Eidelman, Meyer insisted him not to compose a bombastic opening that competed the main titles for the Star Trek films and since The Undiscovered Country being darker than its predecessors, it demanded something different musically as similar to Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird which had a foreboding and darker tone. Two days later, Eidelman produced a tape of his idea for the main theme, played on a synthesizer which Meyer was impressed by. [1] He then approached producer Steven Charles-Jaffe with Eidelman's CD which the latter reminded him of Bernard Herrmann; Eidelman was subsequently given the task of composing the score. [4]

"The film demanded it. It’s very possible to have written a score that sounded like one of the earlier films, but it would not have worked. This film had a darker and mysterious tone, plus all of the Shakespearean references [...] Combine that with my meeting with Nick, who said you can be darker and mysterious and that I did not have to go to the previous scores. He was asking me to go someplace new, which really felt comfortable being able to go off in my own direction. Looking back, I think that was a good choice."

— Cliff Eidelman [3]

Eidelman began the project by compiling music from the predecessors and consciously avoided taking inspiration from those scores. As he was hired early on in production, he had an unusually long time to develop his ideas, and he was able to visit the sets during filming. While the film was in production, he worked on electronic drafts of the final score, to placate executives who were unsure about using a relatively unknown composer. [2] : 9  He found science fiction the most interesting and exciting genre to compose for, and that Meyer told him to treat the film as a fresh start, rather than drawing on old Star Trek themes. [4]

Eidelman wanted the music to aid the visuals; for Rura Penthe, he wanted to create an atmosphere that reflected the alien setting and used exotic instruments for color. Besides using percussions, he treated the choir as a percussion, with the Klingon language translation for "to be, or not to be" ("taH pagh, taHbe") played repetitively in the background. Spock's theme was designed to be an ethereal counterpart to the motif for Kirk and the Enterprise. [2] : 10  Kirk's internal dilemma about what the future holds was echoed in the main theme. [5] : 46  For the climactic battle, Eidelman produced a quite music in the beginning, which builds the intensity as the battle progresses. [4]

Unlike the previous Star Trek scores, which was recorded at the Paramount Stage M in Record Plant, Los Angeles, the score for The Undiscovered Country was recorded in 20th Century Fox's Newman Scoring Stage. [3] Eidelman conducted the 91-piece orchestra which performed an hour of the film's music while Mark McKenzie and William Kidd handled the orchestrations. [3] The score was recorded for a week at the studio with Eidelman taking 10 hours per day to compose the film score. [3]

Release

Original release

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Film score by
Cliff Eidelman
Released1991
StudioNewman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Film score
Length45:18
Label MCA
Producer Cliff Eidelman
Star Trek soundtracks chronology
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
(1989)		Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(1991)		 Star Trek Generations
(1994)
Cliff Eidelman chronology
Delirious
(1991)		Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(1991)		 Tales from the Crypt
(1992)

The soundtrack was released on December 10, 1991, through MCA Records and features thirteen tracks of score with a running time of forty-five minutes. [6] Eidelman arranged much of the score in order, combining the cues and editing its length to build an effective listening environment as heard in a standalone album. [3] In 2005, a bootleg copy of the soundtrack surfaced with thirty-six tracks of score and a running time of nearly seventy minutes. [7]

No.TitleLength
1."Overture"2:57
2."An Incident"0:53
3."Clear All Moorings"1:39
4."Assassination"4:45
5."Surrender For Peace"2:46
6."Death Of Gorkon"1:10
7."Rura Penthe"4:22
8."Revealed"2:38
9."Escape From Rura Penthe"5:34
10."Dining On Ashes"1:00
11."The Battle For Peace"8:03
12."Sign Off"3:13
13."Star Trek IV Suite"6:18
Total length:45:18

Expanded edition release

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Expanded Edition)
Film score by
Cliff Eidelman
ReleasedFebruary 27, 2012
Genre Film score
Length112:30
Label Intrada
Producer Cliff Eidelman

Intrada Records released a two-disc set in 2012. The first disc is made up of the complete score and four extra cues which Eidelman had in its digital audio tape. The second disc contains the material from the original MCA release. [8] Some of the alternate cues that composed were also for the promotional trailer. That cue, was considered to be a recording of a special session of how the main title being played with the orchestra and had a mix of three to four themes. [3]

Disc 1
No.TitleLength
1."Overture"3:02
2."The Incident"1:09
3."Spacedock/Clear All Moorings" (Contains theme from Star Trek composed by Alexander Courage)1:59
4."Spock's Wisdom"3:13
5."Guess Who's Coming"0:49
6."Assassination"2:16
7."Surrender for Peace"2:48
8."The Death of Gorkon"2:07
9."The Trial/Morally Unjust Evidence"1:13
10."Sentencing"1:02
11."Rura Penthe/First Sight of Rura Penthe"4:09
12."Alien Fight"1:05
13."First Evidence/The Search"1:33
14."Escape From Rura Penthe"5:35
15."The Mirror"1:17
16."Revealed"2:48
17."Mind Meld"2:06
18."Dining on Ashes"1:01
19."The Battle for Peace/The Final Chance for Peace/The Final Count"8:15
20."The Undiscovered Country"1:07
21."Sign Off" (Contains theme from Star Trek)3:16
22."Star Trek VI End Credits Suite"6:17
23."Trailer" (Contains theme from Star Trek) (take 10)2:23
24."Guess Who's Coming" (alternate)0:51
25."Sign Off" (Contains theme from Star Trek) (alternate)3:31
26."Trailer" (Contains theme from Star Trek) (take 2)2:20
Total length:67:12
Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Overture"2:57
2."An Incident"0:53
3."Clear All Moorings" (Contains theme from Star Trek)1:39
4."Assassination"4:45
5."Surrender for Peace"2:46
6."Death of Gorkon"1:10
7."Rura Penthe"4:22
8."Revealed"2:38
9."Escape From Rura Penthe"5:34
10."Dining on Ashes"1:00
11."The Battle for Peace"8:03
12."Sign Off" (Contains theme from Star Trek)3:13
13."Star Trek VI Suite"6:18
Total length:45:18

Reception

According to Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com , "while Jerry Goldsmith has been immortalized as having brought the most, musically speaking, to the Star Trek franchise, Eidelman's score for Star Trek VI remains a unique powerhouse." [7] Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles wrote "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is rightly called the best non Horner / Goldsmith score for a Star Trek motion picture." [9] Craig Lysy of Movie Music UK wrote "Eidelman correctly interprets the film’s dark narrative, perfectly attenuates his music to the film’s imagery and demonstrates compelling mastery of his craft. His expert interplay between seven themes, use of instruments and tonal coloring all join in a wondrous synergy to yield a magnificent musical journey that will echo through time." [10] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic wrote "the climactic "The Battle for Peace" nevertheless recaptures the power and glory one expects from a Star Trek score, perfectly capping off the series' most fully rounded entry to date." [11] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly wrote "Cliff Eidelman’s score is minor-key, insinuating, infesting. It puts you on edge." [12]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes [13]

Album credits
Performer credits

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References

  1. 1 2 Meyer, Nicholas (1991). "Director's notes". Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Media notes). Famous Music Corporation. pp. 2–3.
  2. 1 2 3 Schweiger, Daniel (December 1991). "Cliff Eidelman performs the Enterprise's swan song for Star Trek". Soundtrack!. 10 (40).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Staff, TrekMovie com (December 7, 2016). "INTERVIEW: Composer Cliff Eidelman Looks Back at Star Trek VI 25 Years Later". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Star Trek cast and crew (January 27, 2004). Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Special Collectors Edition: Special Features; "Six Stories from Star Trek VI" (DVD; Disc 2/2). Paramount Pictures.
  5. ↑ Altman, Mark (April 1992). "Star Trek VI; the making of 'The Undiscovered Country'". Cinefantastique . 22 (5): 24–55.
  6. ↑ "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Soundtrack (1991)". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Filmtracks: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Cliff Eidelman)". filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2CD)". intrada.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ Glorieux, Thomas. "Cliff Eidelman: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Maintitles.net. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  10. ↑ Lysy, Craig (May 5, 2012). "STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY – Cliff Eidelman". MOVIE MUSIC UK. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  11. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Review". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  12. ↑ Franich, Darren (October 7, 2016). "'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' is a masterpiece until it's a franchise movie". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  13. ↑ Cliff Eidelman. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). MCA Records.
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