Duel of the Fates

"Duel of the Fates" is a musical theme composed by John Williams between October 1998 and February 1999 for the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and its respective score. It was written to represent the duel in Theed between the Sith Darth Maul and the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn with his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi in the "Duel of the Fates" scene at the end of the movie. The composition was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and the London Voices choir in February 1999 in EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, England. The piece was used in all three of the prequel trilogy movies and included on the soundtracks of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, likewise also briefly appearing in the Anthology film Solo: A Star Wars Story and its accompanying soundtrack's deluxe edition. The motif is used many times throughout video games, trailers, and numerous other pieces of Star Wars Legends media, as well as in the music video trailer for The Phantom Menace, which includes footage of the theme's recording sessions.

The theme is mainly polyphonic, is in the keys of E and G minor, and has a minor mode, a tempo of 152 bpm, and a duple meter with a time signature of 4/4. The composition, which lasts four minutes and fourteen seconds, contains lyrical Sanskrit chants translated from the Celtic epic Cad Goddeu. The composition was made available for purchase on May 4, 1999, with the release of the soundtrack for The Phantom Menace, and the sheet music was released in the music books Music From Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones: Selections from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Star Wars: A Musical Journey: Episodes I-VI, Selections from Star Wars, Star Wars Episodes I, II & III Instrumental Solos, and Star Wars for Beginning Piano Solo.

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