"The Meld/A Good Start" by Jerry Goldsmith
One of the items on the very long list of things I love about Jerry Goldsmith's score to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE is the sheer size of the orchestra that he assembled. In addition to the usual symphony, the score includes unusual percussion elements like log drums, mixing bowls, and waterphones; multiple synthesizers, pianos, and organ; and of course the famous blaster beam.
All of these instruments are brought to the fore in the climax of the film as V'Ger, Decker, and the Ilia probe meld together into a single being. With this high-concept, 2001-like ending, Goldsmith matches the visuals on screen with glittery passages from the woodwinds and synthesizers while strings perform a sort of dance (more accurately a "passacaglia"). As the meld effects builds and builds, the orchestra swells to multiple statements of the V'Ger theme with accompanying hits on the blaster beam. The V'Ger cloud erupts and dissipates leaving Enterprise behind with the main theme playing with a sense of relief.
The cue and the film conclude with a Fred Steiner-arranged cue featuring the main theme on solo French horn that then gives way to the Starfleet "vamp" introduced in Goldsmith's cue "The Enterprise." Not only is it a great way to round out the movie, it also features what is still my favorite shot of any Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise (not to mention one of my favorite warp effects too).
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