The British Invasion: The Anglophile Influence in “The Imperial March”

John Williams’s “Imperial March” is one of the most iconic film themes ever written. Despite its popularity, however, little scholarship exists on the origins of the theme and the musical references that influenced it, beyond brief citations of Russian composers or Wagner. Like all composers, Williams takes inspiration from his predecessors and contemporaries, resulting in an amalgam of multiple composers and styles that Williams seamlessly blends into a unique and distinctive composition in “The Imperial March.” By performing a genealogy of the march and analyzing pieces already suggested as its origins, I argue for the special significance of one previously missing subtextual source: British imperialist music. While arguing for a musical connection between the two empires, this article also briefly considers how the British imperialist connection reveals parallels between the British and Galactic Empires.