Music of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

The music of the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore. Shore wrote many hours of music for The Lord of the Rings, 10 hours of which have been released in The Complete Recordings CD/DVD boxed sets. Additional music, including alternate and unused compositions, was released with the book The Music of the Lord of the Rings films in 2010. Shore composed the music in an emotional, operatic way, threading through the scores over 80 specific leitmotifs, which are categorized by the Middle-earth cultures to which they relate. Shore began his work on the music for The Fellowship of the Ring in late 2000 and recorded the first pieces of music (the Moria sequence) in spring of 2001. Additional music for the extended DVD version was recorded in March 2002. A similar pattern was followed for The Two Towers and The Return of the King, with the final sessions taking place in Watford on March 20, 2004.

The music was performed primarily by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Voices, with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra contributing some of the early Moria music. A wide variety of instrumental and vocal soloists contributed to the scores as well.

The scores for The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King won Academy Awards in 2002 and 2004. The latter film also won an Oscar statuette for Best Song, as well as the Golden Globes for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Shore's music for The Lord of the Rings has become the most successful composition of his career, and one of the most popular motion picture scores in history.

Contents

Principal leitmotifs

First appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring

First appearance in The Two Towers

First appearance in The Return of the King

Instrumentation

Howard Shore made use of a large orchestra using the following instruments:

Songs

Deleted tracks

There exist several pieces of music written by Howard Shore that never made it into the final cut of the film trilogy or any existing soundtrack. Among these are various pieces written for battles throughout the film. There was also a special musical arrangement written for the trailer for The Return of the King, which primarily consisted of principal leitmotifs along with movie trailer-like music. Additionally, there was a song entitled "Use Well the Days" sung by Annie Lennox. The song can be found on a supplementary DVD included with the Return of the King soundtrack in some packages released in 2003.

Soloists

For the three films Shore worked with many vocal as well as instrumental soloists.

Vocal

Cast performers

Instrumental

Original soundtracks

Recordings of the score were originally issued on single-disc albums, that closely followed the theatrical release dates of the films. All soundtrack albums of the trilogy have been released through Reprise Records, Enya's label at that time of the first soundtrack's release.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released November 20, 2001
Length 71:29
Label Reprise
Producer Howard Shore, Suzana Peric

The original soundtrack for The Fellowship of the Ring was released on November 20, 2001. Unlike the subsequent single-disc albums, its opening track does not contain the "History of the Ring" motif. This was because the filmmakers intended to film a shorter prologue sequence (which the track "The Prophecy" accompanied) but the idea was eventually dropped in favor of a more detailed and engaging sequence. The front cover for this CD was available in various designs.

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "The Prophecy"   3:55
2. "Concerning Hobbits"   2:55
3. "The Shadow of the Past"   3:32
4. "The Treason of Isengard"   4:00
5. "The Black Rider"   2:48
6. "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony"   3:14
7. "A Knife in the Dark"   3:34
8. "Flight to the Ford"   4:14
9. "Many Meetings"   3:05
10. "The Council of Elrond" (feat. "Aníron (Theme for Aragorn and Arwen)", composed and performed by Enya) 3:49
11. "The Ring Goes South"   2:03
12. "A Journey in the Dark"   4:20
13. "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"   5:57
14. "Lothlórien"   4:33
15. "The Great River"   2:42
16. "Amon Hen"   5:02
17. "The Breaking of the Fellowship" (feat. "In Dreams", composed by Howard Shore, performed by Edward Ross) 7:20
18. "May It Be" (composed and performed by Enya) 4:19


The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released December 10, 2002
Length 72:46
77:09 (limited edition)
Label Reprise

The original soundtrack for The Two Towers was released on December 10, 2002. It comes in a regular and a limited edition, the latter containing the additional track "Farewell to Lórien".

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Foundations of Stone"   3:51
2. "The Taming of Sméagol"   2:48
3. "The Riders of Rohan"   4:05
4. "The Passage of the Marshes"   2:46
5. "The Uruk-hai"   2:58
6. "The King of the Golden Hall"   3:49
7. "The Black Gate Is Closed"   3:17
8. "Evenstar" (feat. Isabel Bayrakdarian) 3:15
9. "The White Rider"   2:28
10. "Treebeard"   2:43
11. "The Leave Taking"   3:41
12. "Helm's Deep"   3:53
13. "The Forbidden Pool"   5:27
14. "Breath of Life" (feat. Sheila Chandra) 5:07
15. "The Hornburg"   4:36
16. "Forth Eorlingas" (feat. Ben Del Maestro) 3:15
17. "Isengard Unleashed" (feat. Elizabeth Fraser and Ben Del Maestro) 5:01
18. "Samwise the Brave"   3:46
19. "Gollum's Song" (performed by Emilíana Torrini) 5:51
20. "Farewell to Lórien" (feat. Hilary Summers, limited edition only) 4:37


The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released November 25, 2003
Length 72:05
75:15 (limited edition)
Label Reprise

The original soundtrack for The Return of the King was released on November 25, 2003. Its closing track "Into the West" was performed by Annie Lennox and won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "A Storm Is Coming"   2:52
2. "Hope and Memory"   1:45
3. "Minas Tirith" (feat. Ben Del Maestro) 3:37
4. "The White Tree"   3:25
5. "The Steward of Gondor" (feat. Billy Boyd) 3:53
6. "Minas Morgul"   1:58
7. "The Ride of the Rohirrim"   2:08
8. "Twilight and Shadow" (feat. Renée Fleming) 3:30
9. "Cirith Ungol"   1:44
10. "Andúril"   2:35
11. "Shelob's Lair"   4:07
12. "Ash and Smoke"   3:25
13. "The Fields of the Pelennor"   3:26
14. "Hope Fails"   2:20
15. "The Black Gate Opens" (feat. Sir James Galway) 4:01
16. "The End of All Things" (feat. Renée Fleming) 5:12
17. "The Return of the King" (feat. Sir James Galway, Viggo Mortensen and Renée Fleming) 10:14
18. "The Grey Havens" (feat. Sir James Galway) 5:59
19. "Into the West" (performed by Annie Lennox) 5:49
20. "Use Well the Days" (performed by Annie Lennox, limited edition only) 3:10


The Complete Recordings

Starting in 2005, a year after the extended release of The Return of the King, Reprise Records began to release one multi-disc set for each part of the trilogy. These annually published collections, titled The Complete Recordings, contain the entire score for the extended versions of the films on CD, along with an additional DVD-Audio disc that offers 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround mixes of the soundtrack. Each album also comes with extensive liner notes by music journalist Doug Adams which reviews all of the tracks and provides information about the process of composing and recording the score, as well as a detailed list of all musical instruments, people and organizations involved. These Annotated Scores have been made freely available by New Line on the promotional website for the soundtracks (see below).

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring:
The Complete Recordings
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released December 13, 2005
Length 180:35
Label Reprise

The Complete Recordings for The Fellowship of the Ring span just over three hours of music on three CDs. The set was released on December 13, 2005.

Track listing


The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers:
The Complete Recordings
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released November 7, 2006
Length 188:13
Label Reprise

The Complete Recordings for The Two Towers span over three hours of music on three CDs. The set was released on November 7, 2006.

Track listing


The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King:
The Complete Recordings
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released November 20, 2007
Length 229:17
Label Reprise

The Complete Recordings for The Return of the King span almost three hours and fifty minutes on four CDs. The set was released on November 20, 2007 and is currently the only of the three to be available for digital download via the iTunes Store.

Track listing


The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films

The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films (ISBN 978-0-7390-7157-1) is a book which was written by Doug Adams and released on October 5, 2010. The book contains a detailed look at the themes and leitmotifs in the films' music.[1] It also contains snippets of sheet music and illustrations. The book was released with a companion CD, The Rarities Archive. The CD has 21 tracks of previously unreleased music created for the films, as well as an audio interview with Howard Shore.

The Rarities Archive

The Lord of the Rings: The Rarities Archive
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released European Union on September 28 and in the U.S. and worldwide on October 5, 2010
Length 1:19:25
Label Howe Records
Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All (Alternate)"   5:56
2. "The Shire/The Hobbits (Mock-up)"   2:00
3. "Out From Bree (Theatrical Version & Alternate)"   4:04
4. "Flight to the Ford (Alternate)"   4:04
5. "Moria (Mock-up)"   1:44
6. "The Fighting Uruk-hai (Alternate)"   1:47
7. "The Argonath (Alternate)"   2:18
8. "Gwenwin in în (“Arwen’s Song” Alternate/Mock-up)"   2:02
9. "Arwen’s Song (Complete)"   2:11
10. "Emyn Muil (Alternate)"   3:23
11. "The Rohan Fanfare (Mock-up)"   3:09
12. "The Eaves of Fangorn (Alternate)"   5:28
13. "The Ent Theme (Mock-up)"   2:00
14. "The Return of the King Trailer"   2:34
15. "The Gondor Theme (Mock-up)"   2:18
16. "The Muster of Rohan (Alternate)"   6:43
17. "The Siege of Gondor (Alternate)"   3:13
18. "Shieldmaiden of Rohan (Theatrical Version)"   2:00
19. "Sammath Naur (Alternate)"   8:53
20. "Frodo’s Song (“Into the West” Alternate/Mock-up)"   2:23
21. "Elanor (Alternate)"   1:30
22. "In Conversation (Audio Interview Part 1)"   5:05
23. "In Conversation (Audio Interview Part 2)"   4:28

Awards

The scores and soundtrack albums of the film trilogy have won several awards:

The Fellowship of the Ring
Preceded by
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Academy Award for Best Original Score
2001
Succeeded by
Frida
Preceded by
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album
2001
Succeeded by
The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers
Preceded by
Amélie
World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Soundtrack
2002
Succeeded by
Frida
The Two Towers
Preceded by
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album
2002
Succeeded by
The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King
The Return of the King
Preceded by
Frida
Academy Award for Best Original Score
2003
Succeeded by
Finding Neverland
Preceded by
"Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile
Academy Award for Best Original Song
2003
with "Into the West" by Annie Lennox
Succeeded by
"Al Otro Lado del Río" from The Motorcycle Diaries
Preceded by
The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album
2003
Succeeded by
Ray

Symphony

The Lord of the Rings Symphony
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released September 13, 2011
Recorded Lucerne, Switzerland
Length 1:55:15
Label Howe Records

Following the theatrical release of all three films, Howard Shore reworked the film scores of the trilogy into The Lord of the Rings Symphony, a more structured six-movement work for orchestra and choir. This has been performed in various concert halls around the world, accompanied by a light and visual art show by Alan Lee and John Howe. A DVD titled "Howard Shore: Creating the Lord of the Rings Symphony - a composer's journey through Middle Earth" has been released. The 50-minute long DVD features extensive excerpts of the concert given by Shore and the Montreal Orchestra and Grand Choir at the "Montreal en Lumiere" Festival, interspersed with spoken commentary by Shore, who recounts his approach in composing the music for the three films and then reworking it into the LOTR symphony.

On September 13, 2011, Shore released "The Lord Of The Rings Symphony" on CD and MP3 format. The double-album was recorded in Lucerne, Switzerland and performed by the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus under the direction of Ludwig Wicki.

Track listing
  1. "Movement 1" - 11:25
  2. "Movement 2" - 34:04
  3. "Movement 3" - 18:15
  4. "Movement 4" - 10:28
  5. "Movement 5" - 15:26
  6. "Movement 6" - 26:13

Live to Projection

Live to Projection is a series where The Lord of the Rings films are projected while the music is performed live. It is conducted by Ludwig Wicki and Erik Eino Ochsner[2] and has been performed around the world, including Switzerland and the United States.[3]

See also

References

External links