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There is a particular piece of music from Star Trek that I'd like to be able to identify by name. The one example I could find quickly is from The Mark Of Gideon. It's when Kirk and Odona are on the bridge and Kirk is asking her to explain why her people want to be alone. On the BD version I have, the music starts at 23:30 into the video. It's at that same time on the video on Daily motion. It starts after Kirk asks, "What makes it so impossible to be alone?" and when Odona answers.

This piece is used on a number of episodes and even though I have some of the soundtrack CDs from the original series, I have not been able to find this piece on any of them. Does it have a title and is it part of any collection that can be purchased or downloaded? And is there any extra information or any trivia points about this short piece?

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    Yes, it's used in other places. Off the top of my head it's also used in Who Mourns for Adonais, and several other places where they wanted to evoke some sort of wistful historical grandeur. Most of those clips had little names, but it will be a trick to find this one's name. I don't think it's on any soundtrack CDs because it's too short.
    – Kurt Fitzner
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 17:16
  • @KurtFitzner: "wistful historical grandeur" is about right. I've called it "ancient grand civilization lost," so the intended feel certainly comes across. I was hoping it might be part of a longer piece. I hope it does show up somewhere, since I'd like a clean version of it.
    – Tango
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 17:37
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    It is also used in the episode "The Cloud Minders" when the cloud city first appears on screen. I think your "ancient grand civilization lost" is a decent description of the feelings evoked… grandeur at the very least.
    – Lexible
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 22:30
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    @Lexible It's used in a number of episodes and the answer has a link to a good video about the episode it was written for. I'm surprised it was only used from S02 on, since it always seemed to be in so many episodes. Thanks for your comment on my description. I think combining the words Kurt and I used, like wistful, grandeur, ancient, and lost evoke the same kind of emotional response that the theme does.
    – Tango
    Commented Apr 8, 2023 at 3:16
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    I get the sense that the piece may also have inspired the notes of ST:Discovery's theme that kick off (after the first 4 notes of the 'space… the final frontier' motif).
    – Lexible
    Commented Apr 9, 2023 at 0:30

1 Answer 1

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Shazam says it is "Apollo Motif" from "Who Mourns for Adonais?", by Fred Steiner

YouTube: Scoring Star Trek Part 10: Fred Steiner - "Who Mourns For Adonais"

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Tune in question: enter image description here

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    I had not checked with Shazam, since I didn't think it would sort out the music from the spoken word. Thank you! One point that really interests me is that this theme first appeared in a S02 episode. I've heard it in enough episodes I would have thought it was done much earlier. I'm a beginning piano student and the video you link to is so incredibly useful and informative for me. Do you mind adding more detail about it or would you mind if I did? Sometimes videos and external resources disappear for one reason or another, and it would help to have more info right here in case that happened.
    – Tango
    Commented Apr 8, 2023 at 3:18
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    Thank you for the link to that fascinating YouTube channel
    – lucasbachmann
    Commented Apr 8, 2023 at 15:05
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    Oh, cool! Thanks for adding the screen shots. As I mentioned, in the past there have been problems when a link disappears so something like that helps keep things clear if that happens. Thank you!
    – Tango
    Commented Apr 8, 2023 at 16:47
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    You're welcome! If you want to add something else, please do)
    – Yaroslav Kornachevskyi
    Commented Apr 8, 2023 at 17:56
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    @Tango Please don't forget to upvote this answer!
    – Sovereign Inquiry
    Commented Apr 11, 2023 at 4:17

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