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Historical and Personal Notes by Fred Steiner
The music presented on this, the second in Varese Sarabande's series of authoritative new recordings from Star Trek comprises, as does that of the first album (704.270) newly recorded selections from the original scores composed for the episodes whose title they bear. Now, with the advent of this new series, those Star Trek devotees who want to learn more about the music itself, who may be curious to know in which episode some of the pieces that have grown so familiar were first heard, and to know who actually composed them, can have the answers to such questions. For instance, in some of the selections on this album are several musical motives which should be familiar to Trekkers. One of them is a theme composed by me to represent Kelinda, the lovely heroine of "By Any Other Name." It was used thereafter for several more of Star Trek's alluring ladies, and can be heard during many tender, romantic moments involving some of those ladies and the ever-susceptible Captain Kirk as well as the seemingly unromantic Dr. McCoy. The second, perhaps even more recognizable example is the macho, militaristic motive from "Mirror, Mirror," which was used in many segments of Star Trek to accompany scenes of threat or danger, or else to underscore the appearance of one or more of the monsters, interplanetary villains, or alien spaceships encountered during the voyages of the Enterprise. This theme is actually based on a motive I composed early in the first season of the series for "Balance of Terror" to herald the appearance of the Romulans, the ancient enemies of the Federation. In "Mirror, Mirror," the theme is developed in imitation and inversion to delineate the Jekyll-and-Hyde aspect of this tale of the officers of the Enterprise struggling against their own hostile counterparts from a parallel universe. Later in the story, by means of thematic transformation, this martial motive becomes a tender melody for the beautiful, tragic anti-heroine Marlena, and it was subsequently used as a theme for other ladies in the series.
This album also contains newly recorded selection from two of my favorite scores among the many written by my composer colleagues on Star Trek. Probably one of the most popular shows in the series is the light-hearted, playfully ironic "The Trouble with Tribbles;" its witty, contemporary score, composed by Jerry Fielding (whose premature death in 1980 robbed the film music world of one of its most gifted and prolific talents), contains two things of special interest (both of which are included in the short suite offered here). In the first place, this is the only Star Trek score with a tune for Scotty, the starship's Chief Engineer; suggestions of his Gaelic extraction can be heard in Fielding's perky, jaunty woodwinds. Secondly, the brilliant, energetic piece of action music which Jerry composed for Scotty's knock-em-down, drag-em-out bar room fight with the Klingons is at the same time (and this is something comparatively rare in television scoring) a complete, rounded musical number that can stand on its own in concert performance--it emerges here as a kinetic, demonic scherzo almost begging to be choreographed.
George Duning's refreshingly original score for "The Empath" is, in my opinion, an outstanding example of the high quality of music that could be but was all too seldom created for TV dramas in the 1960's. His romantic yet quite contemporary-sounding music for this highly-charged story is not only dramatically compelling, but on a deeper, more spiritual level, seems to bespeak the very essence, the inner soul of Star Trek. Duning's nebulous, floating clusters of misty strings, delicately tinged with harp, vibraphone, crotales, and Yamaha organ, paint an ineffable picture of the endless reaches of starry space through which the Enterprise travels (and without resorting to any of the usual artificial sci-fi musical cliches). Incidentally, Duning's use of the Yamaha organ (heard many times throughout the score playing the enchanting theme for the beautiful but mute empath, Gem) was, according to the composer himself, the first time that this electronic instrument, at that time newly arrived from Japan, was featured in a Hollywood dramatic film score. -- Fred Steiner
Mirror, Mirror
(First aired:10/6/67, stardate: unknown)
Caught in a spectacular ion storm during a planetside visit, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Lt. Uhura, and Cmdr. Scott attempt a return to the Enterprise ("Mirror, Mirror"), but the transporter malfunctions. They find themselves aboard a strangely changed Enterprise ("Black Ship Theme"), where Starfleet Command insignia have changed to a dagger-through-a-world symbol, and Mr. Spock has a sinister-looking beard. It is a parallel or "mirror universe" with everything opposite to the one they know; on this Enterprise, crewmen are punished with "The Agonizer," advancement is through assassination and the mirror-Kirk has a mistress who is very ambitious, but loves her Captain ("Meet Marlena"). Uhura distracts the evil mirror-Lt. Sulu ("Black Ship Tension") so Scotty can require the transporter for a return to their own universe. Scotty succeeds, but not before both Marlena and the mirror-Spock try to stop them ("Goodbye Marlena"). Kirk's silver-tongued logic prevails, and the mirror-Spock allows them to leave.
The Trouble with Tribbles
(First aired: 12/29/67, stardate: 4523.3)
Space Station K-7 is overrun by two menaces: Klingons and tribbles. Small, fuzzy alien creatures that reproduce very rapidly, tribbles threaten to eat all the stored grain destined for a famine-struck planet. Klingon and Enterprise crewmen meet in the Space Station bar, where Scotty takes umbrage when the Klingons taunt the Enterprise engineer about his beloved starship ("A Matter of Pride"). Both sides enthusiastically engage in the "Big Fight" to settle matters, much to the chagrin of Captain Kirk. When the tribbles begin to die of poisoned grain, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock uncover a Klingon plot to take over the starving planet. Scotty cleverly solves the problem of the tribbles by secretly transporting them from the Enterprise into the departing Klingon ship, where they'll be "No Tribble at All."
By Any Other Name
(First aired: 2/23/68, stardate: 4657.5)
Alien agents from the Kelvan Empire of Andromeda plan to take over our galaxy for colonization. They attack the Enterprise landing party with "Neutralizer" weapons; then their leader, Rojan, explains that the aliens have assumed human form to be comfortable in the captured Enterprise for a return trip to their own galaxy ("Kelvan Theme"). Returning with the landing party to the starship, the Kelvans take over ("More Neutralizers"). When Kirk tries to resist, Rojan demonstrates an awesome ability, the power to turn a crewman into a small block, which can be crushed in the hand, killing him ("Broken Blocks"-"Rojan's Revenge"-"Rojan's Blocks"). Realizing that the Kelvans are invincible, Kirk pretends to give in to Rojan ("Rojan's Victory"). Then the Enterprise people play on the Kelvans new-found human sensations. Kirk courts Kelinda, a pretty alien female, arousing jealousy in her mate ("Pretty Words"). Scotty gets a Kelvan drunk, and Dr. McCoy tranquilizes another with an irritant. When their conflicting emotions become evident, Kirk points out how human the Kelvans have become, so they decide to retain their human form and live peacefully in this galaxy ("Finale").
The Empath
(First aired: 12/6/68, stardate: 5121)
A star is about to go nova, so the Enterprise must pick up Starfleet research personnel from a nearby planet. Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy are beamed down, then the starship is threatened by a radiation storm and must leave orbit. The landing party learns that the researchers are dead, and are transported to an underground room where they meet a beautiful mute alien ("Enter Gem") who cares for Kirk's wound with her empathic healing abilities ("Kirk Healed"). Other aliens, the Vians, appear and state that they must test Gem by torturing the Enterprise people, who are taken to the "Vian Lab" to become "The Subjects." Spock and McCoy attempt an escape ("Cave Exit") but find that they cannot contact the Enterprise ("Star Trek Chase"). Kirk, badly tortured, is saved by Gem, though it costs her great pain ("Help Him"). When Spock is to be tortured, McCoy anesthetizes the Vulcan and takes Spock's place in the lab ("Spock's Stuck"), where McCoy is almost killed ("McCoy Tortured"). The danger signs of the impending nova ("Time Grows Short") convince the Vians to release the landing party ("Vians' Farewell"). The aliens explain that Gem was being tested for compassion and self-sacrifice to see if her race was worth saving from the coming catastrophe. The Enterprise can now return to pick up Kirk, Spock, and McCoy ("Empath Finale"). -- Bjo Trimble, author of Star Trek Concordance
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