Duel of the Fates

"The…piece…is a result of my thinking that something ritualistic and/or pagan and antique might be very effective. I just felt the way that George has staged that, on top of that great stairway, the way it's done is so dramatic and so like a great pagan altar, the whole thing seems like a dance or a ballet, a religious ceremony of some kind, probably ending in the death of one of the combatants&hellip;"

- John Williams

"Duel of the Fates" is a musical theme recurring in the prequel trilogy and the name for a scene in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It was composed by John Williams. It was also featured in Episode II, Episode III, and Star Wars: Clone Wars, though not in its full form.

This symphonic piece is played with both a full orchestra, as well as a choir that chants an archaic Welsh poem Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees) in Sanskrit. In English, the poem reads: "Under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging behind, in the head." Musically, it recalls one of the primary motifs heard in the opening of the third movement of Dvořák's "New World Symphony".

The music is played primarily during a lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul on Naboo. In addition to this scene, it was also played as Anakin Skywalker searched for his kidnapped mother on Tatooine. Variations on the main theme from "Duel of the Fates" are played in Revenge of the Sith during the battle sequence between Yoda and Darth Sidious. George Lucas believed the sense that everything is "in larger hands," as implied in "Duel of the Fates," plays very well into the third movie. Williams himself in an interview, however, said that it wasn't meant to have any particular deeper meaning and was simply meant to sound dramatic.

Conception and development
John Williams wrote the score for the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and the respective soundtrack, as had been the case with the previous three Star Wars films from the original trilogy. "Duel of the Fates" was written as the main theatrical motif for the film and was utilized in various forms throughout the scenes depicting the Second Battle of Theed, mainly used to represent the duel between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gon Jinn. The piece, along with the entire score, was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. The original soundtrack was released by Sony Classical on May 4, 1999, and the Ultimate Edition was released on November 14, 2000.

Summary
The theme commences with the London Voices singing a chant in Sanskrit. The strings then enter with the violins playing a repeating phrase consisting of two eighth notes followed by two sixteenth notes and another eighth note. The low strings play sets of one, two, and five eighth notes with a measure of rest between each set's measure excluding the last, which has a pickup note, making the previous measure only seven eights rest. This continues for twenty measures with slight variations in the low string part. After the phrase has repeated for six measures, the theme's main melody comes in, played by the clarinets. This melody consists of two eighth notes followed by four quarter notes, two more eighth notes, and a final quarter note. It repeats four times, with the first two occurrences being identical and the last two varying. The end quarter note in the last repeat of the melody is tied to two whole notes and decrescendos as the strings continue to play their repeating phrases. After another three measures, the harp plays a rising phrase. In the next bar, the French horns play the melody, and the trombones echo it in the background. Then strings repeat their phrases for a few more bars, this time accompanied by the flutes, and then the London Voices return with their Sanksrit chant. Meanwhile, the trombones play the motif's main melody. This is followed by more repetition of the string phrases intermingled with accented notes and phrases from the tubas and trumpets. Then London Voices then return with the chant, and the horns and trumpets trade out on the primary melody. The trumpets then join the strings as they continue to repeat their phrases, crescendoing into a chorus chant of two eighth notes followed by a rest, which repeats eight times as the trumpets play between every other phrase.

Sanskrit words
Sanskrit                       Translation Khara Matha Khara Rath Amah    Khara=dreadful Khara Rath Amah Yuddha Khara   Matha=head Khara Syada Rath Amah Dai Ya   Rath=speak Khara Ki La Dan Ya             Amah=give Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah     Yuddha=battle Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah    Syada=raging Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah   Dai=purify Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah   Ya=going Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah     Ki=like Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah    La=taking Khara                          Dan=separate Khara Matha Khara Rath Amah    Niha=loss Khara Dan Ya Khara Rath Amah Niha Ki La Khara Rath Amah Syada Ki La Khara Rath Amah Khara

Pronunciation
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah Korah Keelah Daanyah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah

Original fragment of the Cad Goddeu
A chat er dygnawt                      And a battle was contested Dan von y tauawt                       Under the root of the tongue A chat arall yssyd                     And another battle there is Yn y wegilyd                            In his head

In the soundtracks
The theme makes its only pure occurrence in a Star Wars soundtrack in the second track titled "Duel of the Fates" on the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack. This is the only use that is made of the theme in the original soundtrack; however, it is used several times throughout the Ultimate Edition soundtrack. In the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones soundtrack, the motif makes one appearance three minutes and thirty-five seconds into the tenth track titled "Return to Tatooine."

In the movies
"Duel of the Fates" was first played in The Phantom Menace. The "Duel of the Fates" scene (named by the DVD version of the film) is the scene where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan duel Darth Maul in the Theed Generator Complex. It is played in instrumental form as Queen Amidala and her guards are ambushed by Droidekas in the Theed Hangar, and as Darth Maul and the Jedi activate their lightsabers. It is used again as the duel moves from the hangar to the generator complex. The cue comes to an end as the electric shields separate the three combatants for the first time.

"Duel of the Fates" is played when Anakin travels across the surface of Tatooine to search for his mother, Shmi Skywalker Lars and rescue her from her captors, the Tusken Raiders.

"Duel of the Fates" is played for the final time during the middle of Darth Vader's duel against Obi-Wan on Mustafar, as well as Yoda's fight with Darth Sidious in the Senate Chamber and concludes as Yoda falls from a very great height.

In the Expanded Universe
The theme makes an appearance in the main menu of the game Star Wars: Battle for Naboo and during the game's second bonus mission. It also appears in the opening cinematic for Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles and during the game's tenth mission, The Final Battle. The theme is played in Star Wars: Clone Wars Chapters 18 and 19 during the battle between Anakin and Asajj Ventress and concludes with Ventress's defeat. It can also be heard during the climatic battle against Lord Vartonis in Trials of Obi-Wan, the third expansion of the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. The theme is utilized in the sixth level of "Episode I" titled "Darth Maul" in LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, and in the fifth level of the same name in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

According to the roleplaying game sourcebook Coruscant and the Core Worlds, curators of the Coruscant Ice Crypts claim to have heard faint hums of "korah matah" emanating from the halls of the underground tombs. This could indicate that the tune may be of Zhell origin in-universe.

In other merchandise
The theme's sheet music appears in the The Phantom Menace music book from Bantha Music. The book was released for the following instruments and editions: trumpet, piano, easy piano, clarinet, tenor sax, and alto sax.

In popular culture
The composition has been featured in many fan films. It was also featured on an episode of The Simpsons in which Bart Simpson and Principal Skinner battled on top of a bus with sticks that had peanuts and shrimp attached to them. The theme also plays during Soulcalibur IV whenever Starkiller fights within either of the game's two Star Wars-themed stages, as well as during his extended ending.

Appearances

 * Return
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars: Starfighter
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II video game