Lord Of The Rings - Original Soundtrack

...Tolkien. It seems that the Lord of the Rings was written as an attempted replacement for the old English myths that had been lost with the Norman invasion. It’s a little out of place then, to find the music supplied to this ‘English myth’ to be very Celtic.

Still, let’s be positive: close your eyes, and there are times you can almost see the sweeping scenery that was such a major player in the film. Even disconnected ...
...contained in this soundtrack.

I’m very fond of film scores in general precisely because of the mood and emotion they can convey. My absolute favourite is the Gladiator soundtrack, which this doesn’t quite match. Still, The Fellowship of the Ring score is very good, and one I thoroughly enjoy listening to.


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The film of the decade – a sweeping, majestic epic – or so some said. Even if you didn’t get into the genre, there was no denying that it looked pretty fantastic. The score would have to be something special to meet the visuals, and this didn’t disappoint – in fact, it won the Best Soundtrack Oscar at the Academy Awards!

I bought this CD right after seeing The Fellowship of the Ring, and I have to say, my opinion of it wasn’t as high as it is now. At first I found myself comparing a lot of the soundtrack to other pieces of music, rather than being reminded of the film. However, after my second viewing of the movie, I found that the CD was far more evocative of the actual film – pieces of the music would conjure up strong images of the scene in question. So, cast your mind back, and let me take you on a journey through Middle Earth…

¤•¤ A NOTE ABOUT THE COMPOSER ¤•¤

Howard Shore, who composed, orchestrated and conducted this soundtrack, has worked on numerous film scores. As this turned into such a long opinion, instead of listing some of his work, you can check out his credits for yourself at http://uk.imdb.com/

¤•¤ INTERACTIVE CONTENT ¤•¤

The ‘enhanced CD’ is supposed to contain a web link, but I’m afraid I’ve never been able to get it to work. As it’s just a link, I’m not too bothered.

¤•¤ THE TRACKS ¤•¤

(1) The Prophecy
This is the beginning of the film, where Galadriel tells us of the history of the One Ring, and we see the huge battle between Sauron’s evil horde and the joined forces of elves and men.

Quite a dark start, both the film and CD. The string section is joined by a choir singing in elvish (adding atmosphere without distracting the listener with the words), then the brass and drums come in as the quiet menace builds to a crescendo. This changes to a rather subtle ending, as the track covers several themes, and is more an amalgam of scenes. An excellent start to the score, I feel.

(2) Concerning Hobbits
A swift change in mood, as the film takes us to the Shire, home of the hobbits. The hobbits seem to be represented in the score by quite a jaunty violin (or it could be viola, my apologies – it’s been a while since I was up on these matters!), and that is melded here with more of a classic swelling strings backing, which I think is really good at conjuring the memory of the vast, rolling hills of the peaceful Shire.

Also on this track is a Celtic-sounded flute, adding a touch of sadness, perhaps, to an otherwise peaceful track. A lot of the recurring themes of the whole score are introduced in these opening tracks.

(3) The Shadow of the Past
Another change in mood, this time a slowly unsettling, darker piece. Again, it’s the string section that seems to add most of the atmosphere. The darkness swells to a discordant, menacing clash of the brass section. Then the choir comes in – bit of a Phantom Menace moment, I first thought!

This track doesn’t fit strongly with any memory of one scene in the film, and perhaps that’s why it seems less ‘directed’ than some of the other tracks – more of a ‘joining’ piece. The frequent changes in dynamics still work very well, though.

(4) The Treason of Isengard
This starts so quietly you’ll miss it if the volume is turned down too low. Thematically, although not so much in actuality, it flows on from the previous track. To begin with, there’s more of a note of sadness, of glory – played by the strongest ‘theme’ in the score – that has faded. A chill note soon strikes, though, and the deep drum beats start, joined by a very strident brass section and a background discord. The choir takes a moment to stop being so ‘Phantom Menace’-y again, though.

This track ends a bit too suddenly, in my opinion, and feels more like a precursor to a better track with similar emotion later on.

(5) The Black Rider
Story update: Frodo has by now discovered that the tortured Gollum has given away his name and location to the forces of evil. The Ring must be taken to the elves at Rivendell, and so Frodo and Sam – soon met up by Merry and Pippin – head off to Bree to meet up with Gandalf again.

Starts of back at the chirpy Hobbit refrain, but the strings start to speed up in the background and a hint of discord creeps in. A lull then arrives, broken gradually by much darker sounds. The choir then comes in again, a bit of a screech on the brass section, and there’s a real air of menace and danger.

(6) At The Sign of The Prancing Pony
The inn at Bree is quite an important event place for the hobbits. They discover than Gandalf is missing; Frodo has a slight ‘accident’ with the Ring; and the group meet Strider.

The music is quietly dark, building to a crescendo. Again the choir comes in, adding, I suppose, a focal point to the orchestral score. This is another track that changes direction a few times, although never with a jarring effect.

(7) A Knife In The Dark
Continues readily from the previous track. This is a very tense and dark period in the film, as the hobbits find themselves faced by the Nazgul in the ruins.

A brief lull in the music, then a strident percussion and brass solo that reminds me strongly of the music from ‘Total Recall’, of all things! This is intersected by a very ‘elvish’ moment, sung by a young male voice (impossible not to think Aled Jones, I’m afraid!).

(8) Flight To The Ford
After so many listens, this is quite obviously an ‘elf’ moment – and indeed, we have the appearance of Arwen in the film. The music really fits the image of the elf rather well, at the same time mystical and quite stately. There is a slow sadness here, in reference to the plight of Frodo, seriously ill from the Nazgul blade; or perhaps it relates to the sadness of the elves – a species whose time is past.

Little time to ponder, however, as the music echoes the fearful flight from the Black Riders. Ooh, shivers – can’t you just see Arwen’s white stallion racing away from the horde of black mounts? A trumpet fanfare picks up the entrance to elvish lands, and the triumph thanks to the river’s own horses, before sliding back to that sad refrain: is it just a moment too late for poor Frodo?

(9) Many Meetings
Actually puts me more in mind of a sci-fi film at points – it’s got that “just meeting the glowing aliens” feel to it: sweeping strings and wordless vocals, light and soaring. The main musical theme makes a reappearance, quite aptly, as in Rivendell the four hobbits are reunited with Gandalf and Bilbo, and for a while it looks as though their adventure is over. Perhaps it’s already knowing this, but the feelings are all there in the score.

(10) The Council Of Elrond
Featuring “Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)”, composed and performed by Enya

The track first picks up from the previous piece, but Enya’s sweeping Celtic tones soon appear, bringing with it a rather peaceful – not to mention romantic – moment from the film. Enya’s vocal is actually fairly restrained here, and the track works very well – the words are in Elvish, and both they and a translation are given in the sleevenotes.

Quickly, the track then turns to a very hopeful note, tinged with the ‘promise of glory’ as the Fellowship is formed in Rivendell, and the nine pledge to their quest.

(11) The Ring Goes South
This is a great piece of music, one that will probably be quite familiar from the film. It really captures some of the best moments of sweeping scenery from the film – think of the shot swinging up around the Fellowship as the stand on the snow covered mountain. A very short track, too.

(12) A Journey In The Dark
A very quiet, cautious start. In the story, the group has been forced to journey through the mines of Moria – no longer the home of the dwarves, as some terrible event has obviously occurred here.

By now, the atmosphere of the film is coming through strongly in the score: from the quiet creeping, hoping to pass unnoticed through the cursed mines; to the sadness of discovering the tomb of the dwarf lord, Balin, and the dwarves’ last glorious stand to defend their home; to the attack by the overwhelming number of goblins. All in one 4+ minute track!

(13) The Bridge Of Khazad Dum
A very triumphant beginning, drawing on that main theme again. Once more, darkness and discord creeps quickly in, bringing a sense of urgency. The dark menace of the Balrog is captured *much* more effectively in this music than with the computer generated image from the film. The flight and fight are both conjured up here; the main theme reappearing to represent Gandalf’s victory, before that last shock and a moment of heartbreaking sadness. I find the end of this track is rather sudden, though, which spoils an otherwise excellent piece.

(14) Lothlorien
Features “Lament For Gandalf”, performed by Elizabeth Fraser

Again, this captures the scenes from the film just perfectly. Lothlorien’s alien magic, strange and marvellous and a little dangerous all sweep through this piece of music. The ‘Lament’ has quite an Eastern feel to it, I think, and flows on well from the preceding piece of the track. The change at the end is a little jarring, though.

(15) The Great River
There is a sense of sadness as the Fellowship must continue on the quest without Gandalf, but again that main theme echoes through with a sense of purpose. There is a feeling of majesty, which I associate with the two giant stone guardians, but also a sense of loss and a hint of threat. Again, however, the ending seems very sudden.

(16) Amon Hen
Threat builds here, a sense of danger. The march of the Uruk Hai (that Total Recall thing again!). This track keeps building, leaving you waiting for the final clash of good against evil, each with their own driven purpose, but instead of a definite peak, it instead stops, and a very gentle, sad refrain comes in.

(17) The Breaking Of The Fellowship
Features “In Dreams”, performed by Edward Ross

Don’t worry – almost finished!

Phew – here we are, then. So much danger faced, so much sorrow resulting, but we’ve only reached the end of the first part of the trilogy – the quest must continue! This is a quiet piece, bringing a more balanced note to the end. A sense of purpose, of hope, creeps in, tinged with just a little melancholy. It does rather well at managing to be both an ending and a promise of more to come.

Unfortunately (in my opinion), rather than ending where it should, the young male soloist has an over-long moment. The words are a little saccharine, and in all, I just found this spoiled much of the sense of atmosphere so carefully built up over the rest of the soundtrack. This then segues straight into…

(18) May It Be
Enya’s usual sweeping Celtic tones take over, and on screen the credits continue to roll.

This was nominated for Best Song at this years Academy Awards, but lost out to Randy Newman’s effort from Monster’s Inc. I’m quite glad actually, as this isn’t my favourite track on the album. I’m not opposed to Enya in general, and this doesn’t fit too badly with the whole thing, but… Really, I’m just not found of finding a ‘song’ on my soundtracks – the mood is never as strong as just the raw musical score. Plus, this is more ‘Enya’ than ‘Lord of the Rings’, if you know what I mean.

Oh dear: I can’t half waffle on about this stuff when I get started! Lol ;) My apologies if the above was overblown, but it’s so difficult to get the feeling of a piece of music across in words.

¤•¤ VERDICT ¤•¤

I do like this soundtrack a lot. It’s incredibly atmospheric, and very evocative of a film I liked a lot. In fact, it’s much nicer sometimes to sit and briefly immerse myself in the Fellowship of the Ring through the music, than to contemplate another buttock-numbing three-hour session! :)

However, it’s not a score without some flaws. While the individual tracks are excellent, shifting between scenes and moods effortlessly, they don’t flow into each other as well as they could – rather than a smooth ride through the film, it’s very much ‘okay, that scene’s finished, here’s the next one’.

Another slight complaint is more to do with the ethos of the book than the film or it’s score. As LotR fever started to grip the country, a few documentaries were shown on TV about author, JRR Tolkien. It seems that the Lord of the Rings was written as an attempted replacement for the old English myths that had been lost with the Norman invasion. It’s a little out of place then, to find the music supplied to this ‘English myth’ to be very Celtic.

Still, let’s be positive: close your eyes, and there are times you can almost see the sweeping scenery that was such a major player in the film. Even disconnected from the film, there is a wonderful sense of emotion contained in this soundtrack.

I’m very fond of film scores in general precisely because of the mood and emotion they can convey. My absolute favourite is the Gladiator soundtrack, which this doesn’t quite match. Still, The Fellowship of the Ring score is very good, and one I thoroughly enjoy listening to.

 

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