SONY CLASSICAL HONORS THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR WARS
WITH A ‘GREATEST HITS’ COLLECTION OF COMPOSER/CONDUCTOR JOHN WILLIAMS’ BEST THEMES ON ONE RECORDING

STAR WARS: THE CORELLIAN EDITION FEATURES
SPECIAL COVER PORTRAIT OF DARTH VADER, PLUS
EXCLUSIVE NEW FOLD-OUT POSTER

To mark the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie, Sony Classical has brought together the most popular themes from all six episodes of George Lucas’s spectacular outer-space saga. The new recording, to be released on Tuesday, October 2, is titled Star Wars: The Corellian Edition.

For three decades, the Star Wars film series has been a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. Star Wars: The Corellian Edition is the first single-disc “greatest hits” collection of music from all six Star Wars soundtrack recordings. (“Corellian” refers to the Corellian System, a group of planets at the heart of the Star Wars fictional galaxy.)

The cover of the new Sony Classical disc features an exclusive portrait of iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader. As the official Lucas Online fan site explains, Vader “began life as Anakin Skywalker” but was “seduced by the dark side of the Force.” For the long, climactic laser sword fight that precedes Anakin’s ultimate transformation into Darth Vader, Academy Award-winning composer/conductor John Williams wrote a special piece – “The Clash of Lightsabers” – that is included on the new recording.

Williams said “The Clash of Lightsabers” in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith underscores “precisely that moment representing the final great confrontation between the forces of bright and dark, evil and good.” On the soundtrack, the piece is “sung somewhat chorally to give [the scene] a sense of religiosity that the other laser fights, though similar in action, don’t have.”

Star Wars: The Corellian Edition contains 12 other tracks:

• “Star Wars Main Title and The Arrival at Naboo”
• “The Flag Parade”
• “Qui-Gon’s Noble End”
• “Jango’s Escape”
• “Yoda and the Younglings”
• “General Grievous”
• “Anakin’s Dark Deeds”
• “Imperial Attack”
• “Ben Kenobi’s Death / Tie Fighter Attack (Medley)”
• “Yoda and the Force”
• “Sail Barge Assault”
• “End Title” from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

The track lists and credits are printed on a six-panel, fold-out mini-poster designed exclusively for Star Wars: The Corellian Edition.