Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"

"The Lord of the Rings", by Johan de Meij

Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings" is the first symphony for concert band written by Johan de Meij. It premiered in 1988 with the Groot Harmonieorkest van de Belgische Gidsen (nl) conducted by Norbert Nozy. The symphony is based on literary themes from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Structure

The symphony consists of five movements,^[1] each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book:

1. Gandalf (The Wizard)
2. Lothlórien (The Elvenwood)
3. Gollum (Sméagol)
4. Journey in the Dark

   a. The Mines of Moria

   b. The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm

5. Hobbits

Reception

The CD by the military band Koninklijke Militaire Kapel (nl) helped give the symphony world-wide acclaim. In 1989 the symphony was awarded the Sudler Composition Award.^[2] An orchestral version of the piece, orchestrated by Henk de Vlieger, was premiered and recorded in 2001 to coincide with the release of the 2001 film, The Fellowship of the Ring.

In Celebration of the Symphony's 25th anniversary, De Meij will be conducting the Performance of the piece by the bands of Valparaiso University.

Recordings

• Dutch Royal Military Band conducted by Pierre Kuijpers (Ottavo, 1989) *The composer served as music advisor for this recording
• Blaeserphilharmonie Regensburg conducted by Joerg Seggelke ^[3]

See also

• Music of The Lord of the Rings film series#Symphony (symphony based on music from the Peter Jackson films)

References