Music of ''The Hobbit'' film series

The music of The Hobbit film series is composed and produced by Howard Shore, who scored all three The Lord of the Rings films. While not as critically successful his Lord of the Rings compositions, Shore's score remained a financial success, peaking in the top ten album charts in multiple countries, and garnered various award nominations. The score has since been performed as a Symphony and has even earned a dedicated book by musicologist Doug Adams, set to be completed in late 2017.^[1]

With these three scores, Howard Shore has composed over 170 leitmotifs for the Middle Earth films, creating by far the largest collection of themes in the history of cinema (by comparison, John Williams' Star Wars, at a comparable length, has about 70) and one of the biggest collections for any cycle of musical compositions.

Principal leitmotifs

Howard Shore continued his approach from the music of The Lord of the Rings films, and wrote 60-70 identified leitmotifs (not including ten or more newly reprised themes from the Lord of the Rings) that are used throughout the eight hours^{[note 1]} of the three scores.^{[2] [3] [4]} Combined with recurring themes from the Lord of the Rings, there are about 70 leitmotifs used through each of the three scores, about as much as used in each of the Lord of the Rings scores, although those scores were longer.

First appearance in An Unexpected Journey

Themes for Bilbo

• Bilbo's Adventure: Related to the Shire theme, this melody appears as early as the opening credits and is the main melodic identification of Bilbo and one of the main themes of the trilogy, and the first episode in particular. Some identify a heroic variant that appears in the film as a separate theme.^[5]
• Bilbo's Theme: Another main theme for Bilbo. This theme was underplayed in the finished film and following soundtrack installments.^[5]
  • Bilbo's Theme (Tookish Side): This theme starts as part of Bilbo's theme but begins to appear separately through the score, usually on horn or recorder.^[5][6]
• Fussy Bilbo (Bilbo's Antics): Appears as Bilbo struggles with the Dwarves' lifestyle and lives out of his comfort zone.^[5]

Themes for the Dwarves

• Erebor theme: A rising motif using three-horn calls.^[6]
• Arkenstone theme.^[6]
• Thorin's theme: Thorin's theme is related to Erebor but more stepwise like the Shire theme, hinting at Thorin's connection to Bilbo.^[6]
  • Thorin's Pride: In the closing tracks of the soundtrack, Howard Shore sets the harmonies of Thorin's theme for chorus, first when he speaks ill of Bilbo and later when he foolishly assaults Azog. In the finished film, this later appearance was replaced by the Servants of Sauron theme, focusing on Azog rather than Thorin.
• Dwarves in-Exile: A weary and grim gradually rising and falling motif revolves around the exile and subsequent degradation of the fortunes of the Durin’s folk of Erebor and more generally relates to the dwarvish suffering and fate.^[6]
• The House of Durin:^[6] This theme is usually set to male chorus and related both to Thorin and to the Dwarrowdelf theme from Lord of the Rings. It is the main theme of the third film, and one of the main themes of the trilogy along with the Shire theme. Its first full statements are reserved to the second film, where it appears in the scene when Bard recalls the prophecy about the return of the King under the Mountain, and is featured in tracks such as "My Armour is Iron" and "The Hunters". In The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is played in "Beyond Sorrow and Grief" and "Mithril" and is featured prominently at the beginning of "Sons of Durin." Some observers also noted a related musical figure, often called "The Dignity of the Dwarves." ^[7]
  • An unnamed theme appears in the opening logos to the film, and again in the closing of the soundtrack and again in the Battle of the Five Armies. It is a major-key hybrid theme, created by combining the History of the One Ring theme, with the House of Durin theme.^[8][9][10]
• An Unexpected Party: After Bilbo meets Gandalf and as the Dwarves gradually arrive at Bilbo's House, the opening notes of the Dwarrowdelf theme are played repeatedly.^[11]
• Ancient Enemies: an aggressive variation on the Dwarvish open fifths chorus. It represents the animosity of Dwarves and Orcs, especially between Thorin and Azog, and the war waged between the races.^[6]
• The Company theme: Represents the Dwarven Company, their Quest to reclaim Erebor, and their crossing of the iconic Misty Mountains and is the main theme of the first film, having appeared as early as the announcement trailer. It is Howard Shore's rendition of Plan 9's melody that is used in the film, however, it is curiously absent from The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. Shore and the filmmakers opted to reinforce the sequels' darker tone by removing the more heroic Company themes, creating a sense of absence in the listener.^[6]
  • The melody of the company theme has two variants, not written by Shore, that may be considered as separate motifs: Plan 9's original "Misty Mountains" composition (in which the melodic line is not informed by Thorin's theme like the Company theme proper) and "Song of the Lonely Mountain" by Neil Finn.
• A Secondary theme for the Dwarf company and the quest is used throughout the first score. It is a "Dwarvish" variant on Bilbo's adventure theme, which was an early composition of Howard Shore. It appears in full in the Bonus Track, "Erebor", accompanied by Uilleann pipes.^[6][10]
• Moon runes theme: a hybrid of the Erebor theme (in the high, "Elvish" registers) and the Rivendell Arpeggios (in the low, "Dwarvish" registers) is used for the reveal of the moon runes and again for the reveal of the hidden door itself.^[12]
• The Dwarf Lords: This early thematic idea for the Dwarves was largely unused in the final film, but made appearances in all three films: once when Dwalin tells Gandalf that Thorin is delayed because of a meeting in the Blue Mountains; again at the sight of the Hidden Door, and as an elegy in "The Darkest Hour" in the third film.^[6]

Themes for the Elves

• The Woodland Realm theme: a choral motif which accompanies Thranduil and the elves as they greet Thror during the prologue.^[13]
  • White Gems of Lasgalen: a subtle slurred, truncated variant of the theme for the Woodland Realm.^[13]
• The Valley of Imladris: Howard Shore wrote a serene diegetic piece of music for Rivendell, which he also utilizes in the underscore in a martial setting when Elrond's riders arrive.^[14]

Themes for Smaug

• Dragon Breath: An accompaniment to Smaug's themes, echoing his breath.^[13]
• Smaug's theme: A menacing and discordant theme representing Smaug the Terrible. This is also the main theme of the second film.^[13]
  • Smaug's Malice: an ascending, inverted rendition of Smaug's theme. It is played when Bilbo hears Smaug's name and again throughout the following soundtrack.^[13]

Themes for Nature

• The Eagles: The eagle rescue at the end of the film passed through two different compositions, with three distinct melodic ideas associated with the Eagles throughout. The version used in the finished film was reused in the Battle of the Five Armies, creating a new theme for the eagles.^[12]
  • Alternate Eagle theme.^[12]
• Stone Giants.^[13]

Themes for the Wizards

• Gandalf's theme: In The Lord of the Rings, Shore saw Gandalf the Grey as a mediator figure, and intentionally wrote no theme for him. The Hobbit saw the character of Gandalf explored much more, providing Shore with reason to write a new, five-note theme for the wizard.^[6]
• The Istari: The order of the Wizards, the Istari, is also depicted by a theme of its own. The theme is mostly associated with Gandalf, who is featured much more prominently than the other wizards.^[6]
• Radagast theme: Radagast is represented by nervous table percussion and fiddle, complementing both his perpetual movement, his association with nature and his eastern-European inspired design. This theme was left out of the finished film.^[6]
  • Radagast’s 2nd Theme: Perhaps to illustrate the Wizard's home or his sleigh, Shore composed a longer melodic line for fiddle and boy choir. In the film, the theme appears in the orchestra, without the solo fiddle or voices.^[8]
• Shadow Over Greenwood: an eerie call sung by the boy choir as Radagast discovers the sickness of Mirkwood forest. The theme is reprised when Gandalf reveals the Morgul blade to the White Council.^[6]

Themes for the Necromancer

• The Necromancer: Shore applies a variant of the "Evil of the Ring" motif to the Necromancer, often with an oboe mimicking the signature rhaita.^[13]
• Dol Guldur: A Descending Thirds figure based on a similar figure used as an accompaniment motif in the Lord of the Rings.^[13]
• The Threat of Dol Guldur: A more frenetic, "danger" motif for Dol Guldur, based on the Mordor Skip-Beat motif.^[13]
• Azog's theme: Another, more aggressive, variation on the "Descending Thirds", hinting at the connection of Azog and Sauron. Here, the pattern ends with a musical "barb". By the battle of the Five Armies, the barb evolves into a long trumpet call, perhaps representing the army marshalled by Azog.^[13]
• Goblin-town theme: When the Dwarves get captured by the Goblins, Shore introduces a theme on percussion and shrill brass that contains hint of his 5/4-time Orc theme. As the Goblin King is revealed, the theme appears more melodically on brass, and as the Dwarves make their escape, it is echoed by a deep male choir.^[13]

• Warg Scouts' Theme: In the Lord of the Rings, the Warg's brief appearance was scored with "the cruelty of the Orcs" motif. For the Gundabad Wargs of the Hobbit, Shore created a new theme, related to the cruelty of the Orcs, that represents the beasts.^[13]

Themes for the Monsters of Middle Earth

• Trolls motif: A loud, Waltz-time theme that plays in the track "Roast Mutton".^[13]
  • Troll-Hoard: The Troll theme mingles with the Weakness motif, quite possibly to denote the Troll Hoard. The music is first hinted as Bilbo stalls the Trolls and later during the Troll-hoard sequence.^[15]
• Spiders of Mirkwood: An eight-note figure that stands for the spiders that attack Radagast's house. Their musical soundscape is expanded in the Desolation of Smaug, with two-note ideas being also related to them and their hive.^[13]

Themes for the Quest of Erebor

• Pine Glades of the Misty Mountains: Used in the finale of the first film.^[16]
• Falling motif: both the Dwarves' falling into the trap of the Goblins and them falling after the death of the Goblin King, features the same musical idea.^[17]
• The High Fells: Since the High-Fells were originally supposed to appear in An Unexpected Journey, one of the bonus tracks, "Edge of the Wild", has the same musical idea that would later be used in conjunction with them in the following film.^[8]
• Elvish Blades: When Thorin picks up Orcrist, a short lyrical line in the celli, violins and oboe. That line is perhaps recalled both as Bilbo draws out Sting in Gollum's cave,^{[note 2]} and again in the film when Orcrist is revealed to the Goblins.

First appearance in The Desolation of Smaug

Themes for Bilbo

• Bilbo Suspense Music (Bilbo the Burglar): This motif is a sneaky driving ostinato figure that follows Bilbo when he takes charge of the situation at a pivotal moment. It comes to replace his fussy theme.^[6]

Themes for the Dwarves

• Thrain's Theme: In the Extended Edition of the Desolation of Smaug, Thrain is introduced with a theme. His is a slow variation of the Erebor theme with a string arpeggio, referencing the Weakness motif.^[6]
• Thorin's Triumph: an ascending variation on the Erebor theme, heralds the reconquest of Erebor. It is ultimately played (diegetically) as a dirge on a blowing horn in the Battle of the Five Armies.^[15]

Themes for the Elves

• Thranduil's theme: Thranduil's theme bears the mark of the Weakness motif, hinting at the Elvenking's Weaknesses.^[13]
• Silvan Warriors: The Woodland Realm is associated with a martial idea, related to the Elves tense relationship with the Dwarves. It is used when the Dwarves are thrown into the dungeons, and again when they are besieged by the Elves in the third installment.^[18]
• Legolas' theme: A fast-paced, flamenco-like theme based on the first line of The Woodland Realm theme but differentiating in tempo and played over major harmonies.^[13]
• Tauriel's theme: A powerful and melodic string rhythm appears as a theme several times. Later on, the theme is varied based on the scenario, including a more reflective variant for woodwinds. Both variants are sung in "Beyond the Forest."^[13]
• Tauriel and Kili: A love theme that represents the relationship between the two characters. It appears in "Feast of Starlight", "Kingsfoil", and "Beyond the Forest". In "Feast of Starlight" and the end credits version of "Beyond the Forest" the theme is preceded by a more Dwarvish introduction figure on brass and low voices. Some identify this figure as a theme for Kili's Runestone. In The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack, it is played at the beginning of "Shores of the Long Lake" and is played near the end of "Ravenhill."^[13]

Themes for Smaug

• Smaug's Fate: A choral combination of Smaug's various themes was used for when he is toppled by the statue of molten gold. It was then reprised for his eventual demise in the following installment.^[13]

Themes for Nature

• Beorn's theme: A deep and brassy theme played several times in the opening tracks. The harmony, based on the Nature theme, appears by itself as well, potentially as a motif for the Wilderland itself.^[12]

Themes for Laketown

• Bard's theme: The theme reflects his ambiguity as a character. It becomes more heroic as Bard defies Smaug.^[12]
• Esgaroth Theme: A 10-note theme that represents Lake-Town. It appears prominently in the tracks "Protector of the Common Folk" and "Thrice Welcome".^[12]
• The Master of Lake-Town's Theme: The theme, played by woodwinds, strings and a clavichord, reflects his high position and his greedy nature. It is played in retrogrades when associated with his guards. A figure hinting at the opening pitches is used in the Forest River sequence.^[12]
• Alfrid's theme: The end-cap of the Master's theme is used as a motif for Alfird, his councilor. It appears briefly in "Protector of the Common Folk" and several times in the film version of "The Battle of the Five Armies."^[12]
• Girion's theme (The Black Arrow/Bard's Heroism): A motif to represent the Last Lord of Dale who injured Smaug. It goes on to represent the Black Arrow and the heroism of both Bard and Bain, Girion's descendents.^[12]

Themes for the Necromancer

• Bolg's Theme: Bolg is represented by another variation on the descending thirds, which Doug Adams seems to identify as a distinct motif, in spite of the similarity to Azog's theme. It appears at the end of the extended version of "The Forest River" and appears in "The Hunters."^[13]
• The Nine: A solo piece, related to the Istari theme, marks Gandalf's discovery of the resurrection of the Ringwraiths.^[13]

Themes for the Quest of Erebor

• Mirkwood: The theme is built around slow succession. Different variations are played when the Company wanders in the forest. As the company becomes lost in the forest, the motif is swallowed by the dissonant musical texture of Mirkwood.^[12] It's possible to classify the melodic line as a motif for the "Elven road" and label the musical texture itself as the Mirkwood theme proper.
• The Forest River: Swirling string figures playing underneath the entire "Forest River" sequence.
• The Death Theme: the Death theme (based on the Evil Times motif) becomes a prominent musical motif in the third film and it appears frequently throughout the final part of the story to signal loss and sorrow. It skirts the Woodland Realm theme as it actively revolves around Thranduil and the elves, the concept of mortality strongly present both in the war that rages in the last film of the trilogy and in the relationship between Kili and Tauriel (this short motif is embedded in their love music as a reminder of its tragic nature) and informs the theme of Dwarvish Suffering as well.^[12]

First appearance in The Battle of the Five Armies

Themes for Smaug

• Dragon Sickness: The dragon-breath motif and Smaug's Malice theme are shifted from the dragon to Thorin and play in tandem during scenes that illustrate his dragon sickness. The dragon breath motif is inlaid with a rhythmic, dissonant string pattern.^{[note 3]}

Themes for the Dwarves

• Dain II "Ironfoot"'s theme: A heroic theme played by woodwinds, trumpets, and bagpipes. It appears in "Ironfoot" and "Battle for the Mountain", and it is played in the movie during Dain's arrival to the Lonely Mountain and the beginning of the battle. It is backed up by a march figure, perhaps its own motif for the Dwarven army.^[6]
• Thorin's Fate: Thorin has yet another thematic idea, sung by a solo Soprano (one of the only instances of female voices incorporated into Shore's Dwarvish music) that speaks of his ultimate fate. It is played after he breaks out of the Dragon Sickness and opts to assault the Orc Armies, and again before his demise.^[13]
• War Preparations (Dwarven Warriors): A harsh motif that is played with drums and horns in the tracks "The Ruins of Dale" and "Mithril", representing the militarization of Thorin's company.^[6]

Themes for Laketown

• Bard's family's theme: A gently rising and falling theme which, after being hinted at in the second movie, is first played in full during "Fire and Water". A heroic rendition of the theme appears during the end of "Battle for the Mountain". It also appears in the extended version of "Ironfoot".^[12]
• Bard's Leadership Theme: A short motif that appears in "Shores of the Long Lakes", "Ironfoot", and "Dragon-Sickness". In the film, it is played when Percy recounts Bard's shooting the dragon.^[12]
• "Bard and the People of Laketown": A combination of the Laketown theme and the ending of Bard's theme, which is played either as action music or as an elegy.

Themes for Dol Guldur

• Gundabad theme: A driving, offbeat theme for Mount Gundabad and its forces. It is first played out in "Bred for War", and features prominently in "Ravenhill".^[13] Some identify the underlying Rhythm as a separate musical idea.
• Ogres theme.^[13]

Returning from The Lord of the Rings

New themes

Amongst the returning melodies from the Lord of the Rings, some only appeared once and were reprised in The Hobbit as themes. This approach allowed Shore to have the scores of The Hobbit inform the scores to Lord of the Rings without having to rescore the previous trilogy, and to keep the Lord of the Rings as thematically dense as The Hobbit. Depending on the context, these themes can be counted along with the themes of The Lord of the Rings (bringing the count of those scores to at least 100 themes) or with The Hobbit scores (bring their count to 83 themes), or both as part of the overaching music of Middle Earth.

• "The Map of the Lonely Mountain" theme: This piece of music, written during Lord of the Rings as a fleeting "portent of adventure", was reused in An Unexpected Journey and also served as the basis of Thorin's theme.
• "Gandalf's Fireworks": This is an orchestral crescendo based off of the Hobbit accompaniments, used when Merry and Pippin blow one of Gandalf's fireworks. It was reused in An Unexpected Journey to form Bilbo's fond memories of Gandalf.
  • The Dragon Firework: A variation on Gandalf's Fireworks in a different rhythm was played menacingly under the opening logos of the Desolation of Smaug. It ties the dragon-shaped firework blown by Merry and Pippin to the titular dragon.
• "Durin's Folk": The droning male choir of Moria also sung several pieces in the Hobbit and formed the basis for several variant themes like "An Old Enemy".
• "Sauron Revealed": A variation on Sauron's theme, used in his reveal in the Desolation of Smaug and again in the Battle of the Five Armies.
• "Legolas' Heroic Feats": A heroic piece of music for strings which debuted when Legolas took down the Mumakil. It returns in the Desolation of Smaug as he takes down the Orcs in Bard's house.
• "Elvish Medicine": A relative of Arwen's theme, used as she pray's for Frodo's life. It was used for Tauriel healing Kili.
• "Mithril theme": An oboe line used when Bilbo gave Frodo the Mithril vest was reused when Thorin gave it to Bilbo.
• "Smoke Rings": a variation of the Hobbit theme used as Bilbo and Gandalf blew Smoke Rings. In the Hobbit, it is in a higher key and forms a hint of the History of the Ring theme.
• "Minas Morgul motif": This is a rising setting of the Ringwraith harmonies used when Frodo approaches Minas Morgul. It was also used when Gandalf approaches the Ringwraiths abode at the High Fells, both in "The High Fells" and "Into the Wild."
• "Birthday Preparations": A cadence that closed the Rural Shire theme as heard when the "Happy Birthday" sign is posted in Fellowship of the Ring. A variation of it is used when Bilbo receives replies to the party invitations.
• "Eagles": Shore's original composition of the flight to the Carrock features a piece that alludes to the melody of "The Eagles" from the Return of the King, creating in the process a new theme out of that passage.

Some of these motifs are only brief, singular quotes so identifing them as themes is potentially tenuous:

• "Flaming Red Hair" - film (Extended Edition) only. This is not by Howard Shore and so arguably does not count as a theme.
• "Bree motif": This is a variation on the Hobbit Skip-Beat and so arguably cannot be differentiated from that theme.
• "Drums in the Deep" - was reused when Azog captures Fili. It is a sound effect rather than outright score, so its definition as a motif is arguable.

Existing themes

• The Shire theme
  • The "Rural" variant (Hobbiton theme).
  • The "Playful" variant
  • The "Hymn" variant (Frodo's theme) - film only.
• The Shire accompaniments:
  • The Hobbit Outline
  • The Hobbit Two Step
  • The Hobbit Skip-Beat
  • The Hobbit End-Cap
  • The Hobbit Antics
• "Gandalf's Farewells" - film only. This was used in the first scene, creating a "book-end" with its use in the Grey Havens. Its use is consistent with the use of Gandalf's Farewells in the Lord of the Rings.
• "The Journey Back" - film only. This was used over the shot of the map, reinforcing the thematic "book-end" with Return of the King.
• "Dwarrowdelf theme"
• "A Hobbit's Understanding"
• "Galadriel's theme". One martial statement was applied to Elrond's riders, a call-back to the statement used in Helm's Deep.
• Rivendell theme
  • Rivendell Arpeggios.
• "Weakness motif"
• "Saruman's theme" ("Isengard theme")
• "The History of the One Ring"
• "Sauron's theme" ("The Evil of the Ring")
• The Mordor Accompaniment motifs:
  • "The Descending Thirds motif"
  • "The Mordor Skip-Beat"
  • "The Threat of Mordor"
• "The Pity of Smeagol"
• "Gollum's Menace"
• "The Orc theme" - this theme was hinted at in the Goblin theme, but used diegetically over the marching Gundabad army.
• "The Footsteps of Doom"
• "The Servants of Sauron" - film only. This replaced a choral rendition of Thorin's theme as he charges Azog in the first film. The filmmakers opted to score the scene from the perspective of Azog. The theme (set to new Khuzdul lyrics) echos its use in conjunction with the Armies of Mordor in the prologue to Fellowship of the Ring and is consistent with the use of the Descending Thirds for Azog and the secundal harmonies of the Ringwraith theme for the Goblins and Wargs.
• "Nature's Reclamation"
• "Gondor Reborn - film only". According to Doug Adams, the theme was used for its emotional impact to provide enough weight to the finale of the first film. It was used in its more general "good triumphs over evil" meaning rather than its Gondor-related, specific meaning.
• "The Witch King of Angmar theme"
• "Evil Times motif"
• "The Fellowship theme"
• "Battlefield Heroism motif" - here applied to the people of Laketown and the world of men in general, rather than strictly to Gondor.

Soloists

As with The Lord of the Rings, many soloists performed music for the three films. To support the more Dwarf-centric story, the singers of the end-credit songs were all men, including Neil Finn, who performed "Song of the Lonely Mountain" in An Unexpected Journey,^[19][20] and Ed Sheeran and Billy Boyd for following installments. Richard Armitage appears as a cast performer. James Nesbitt also performs a song (of his own composition) in the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey. Within the score, Howard Shore also utilized soprano voices, featuring Clara Sanabras and Grace Davidson.

Songs

As with The Lord of the Rings, the scores from The Hobbit were also largely vocal works, including choirs and soloists, as well as diegetic music and songs for the end-credits of each film.

Diegetic music

• "Blunt the Knives": composed by Stephen Gallaghar. Performed by the Dwarf cast and Plan 9.
• "Misty Mountains": composed by Plan 9 and David Longe. It is transformed into a theme that appears in Shore's underscore.
• "The man in the Moon": Composed and performed by James Nesbitt.
• "Down in Goblin Town": Composed by Stephen Gallaghar, Plan 9 and David Longe.
• "The Torture Song": Composed by Stepehen Gallaghar, Plan 9, David Longe and Fran Walsh.

The diegetic music also includes a "The Valley of Imladris", composed by Howard Shore, and the Horn-call of Erebor. Both these pieces, as well as Misty Mountains, are a series of transitions of melodies from diegetic and source music (and musical sound design^{[note 4]}) to the underscore, with the Erebor theme starting in the underscore and ending up in a diegetic horn call, the misty mountains starting as source music and migrating into the underscore and back again to the end-credit song, and the Valley of Imladris being presented in the score before appearing in the film.

End-credits songs

• Song of the Lonely Mountain: Composed by Stephen Gallaghar and Neil Finn. Orchestrated and arranged by Victoria Kelly under the supervision of Howard Shore and performed by Neil Finn and sons and the London Metropolitan Orchestra. It is another setting of the "Misty Mountains" melody.
• "I See Fire": Composed and performed by Ed Sheeran.
• "The Last Goodbye": Composed by Billy Boyd. Orchestrated and arranged by Victoria Kelly under Shore's supervision. Performed by Billy Boyd and the London Metropolitan Orchestra.

Instrumentation

As with The Lord of the Rings, Shore used an immense ensemble, including a large symphony orchestra (ranging, depending on the section of the film, from 94 to 103 players) as well as 200 singers in the various choirs and several vocal soloists. The orchestra is augmented with 50 or more instruments arranged in various stage bands, with as many as sixteen of which may play simultaneously to the full orchestra and choir. There are additional instruments used in trailers, behind the-scenes music and diegetic music. The ensembles consist of:

• Woodwind: 3 flutes (all doubling on alto flutes, piccolos and recorders), 3 oboes (2nd doubling on English horn, third doubling on English horn and bass oboe), 3-4 clarinets in B-flat and E-flat (3rd doubling on bass clarinet in B-flat and contrabass clarinet in B-flat), 3 bassoons (2nd and 3rd doubling on contrabassoon)
• Brass: 5-7 horns in F, 4 trumpets in B-flat (piston and rotary valve), 3 trombones, bass trombone, tuba (doubling on euphonium)
• Percussion: 6-7 timpani; one percussionist on bass drum, one on 2 snare drums and a side (or field) drum, one on 3 taiko drums (large, medium and small), one on 2-4 tam-tams (medium and large); The percussion players double on various instruments, both pitched and unpitched:
  • Pitched: two Bodhrain drums, tubular bells, triangle, xylophone, glockenspiel, woodblocks, five tibetan hanging gongs and transceleste,^{[note 5]}, five singing bowls,^[21] tuned artillery shells.
  • Non-Pitched: thunder sheet, drum kit, jingles, floor tom, a bowed saw, shakers, clappers, slit drum, cymbals (suspended, antique, crash, clash, china and spiral trash), anvil, clapsticks, tambourines, frame drums, shekeres, cabasas, caxixi, egg shakers and sistrums^[22] dunun drum, two waterphones, small gong.
• Keyboards: piano (doubling on celesta and an upright piano), one pipe organ.
• Voices: SATB choir of up to 85-piece, with additional female and male roles (overall, sixty male singers are required), ten "grunters", up to 55 boys, tibetan throat singers; and soprano soloist, mezzo-soprano soloist, tenor soloist, baritone soloist, bass-baritone soloist (diegetic).
• Strings: 2 harps, 17 first and 14 second violins, 12 violas, 10 violoncellos, 8 double basses.
• Celtic band: Fiddle (optional), 1-2 tin whistles (one doubling on low whistle and - optionally- on flute and piccolo), 1 musette, 1 concertina, hammered dulcimer (doubling on cimbalom and yangqin^[23]), 3 classical guitars (1-2 doubling on acoustic guitar, third doubling on acoustic bass guitar, as well as a lute, banjo and liuqin^[23]), mandolin, Celtic harp, Uilleann Pipes, 2 highland bagpipes. The score also requires a bowed banjo and calls for the players to clap hands in "Song of the Lonely Mountain."
• Baroque band: clavichord (or harpsichord).^{[note 6]}, serpent, alphorn and straight trumpet^[24] and possibly cornetts.
• Eastern band: sarangi, monochord (doubling on celempung or guzheng^[23]), rhaita, wood flute (doubling on shakuhachi), lyre, a "chorus"^[25] of yadiki, one blowing horn, one dizi flute (doubling on suling), spike fiddle (Rebab and/or Erhu^[26]), tanpuras, tabla drums, tingsha and possibly one kouxian.^{[note 7]}
• Gamelan orchestra: one player on kendhang (3 drums), one player on kempul (10 gongs, doubling on two gong ageng, three kempur and one klentong), five players on saron and pekin (ten instruments, one doubling on ceng-ceng and possibly anklung), three on slenthem (doubling on gendèr and gangsa), one player on kenong (doubling on kempyang and kethuk), two players on bonang (six instruments, one doubling on kajar), one player on gambangs and one on finger cymbals.
• Trailer music: Audiomachine wrote additional trailer music (in the vein of Shore's music^{[note 8]}) for the films, with double brass (12 horns, 10 trombones and 2 tubas) and two added cello parts, besides featuring trash-cans, octobans, tenor drums, mountain dulcimers, tanbur and sitars.
• Diegetic music: If "Flaming Red Hair" is to be reprised at an onstage event, it would also require the use of a hurdy gurdy, castanets, rommelpot, harmonium and goblet drum.

An Unexpected Journey was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with Howard Shore orchestrating and conducting. The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies, however, were recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in the Wellington Town Hall, as was the case of the early parts of The Fellowship of the Ring. The orchestra was conducted by Conrad Pope who, along with James Sizemore, did the orchestrations based off of mock-ups and detailed sketches handed over from Shore. The London Voices provided the choir and soloist parts for all films. Several of the end credits songs were orchestrated by Victoria Kelly (under Shore's supervision) and performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler. The London Voices and Metropolitan Orchestra were recorded at Abbey Road.

Concert Suites

In The Lord of the Rings original soundtrack releases, several pieces of music have been edited out of their film order so as to create a concert-like program, with concert suites of various themes. With The Hobbit, the original release has been expanded and features most of the music from the film in its chronological order. However, several pieces of music were edited or even conceived as concert suites:

• "Dreaming of Bag End" (Bilbo's Baggins/Took themes)
• "A Very Respectable Hobbit" (Bilbo's Adventure, Baggins and Fussy themes)
• "Erebor" (The secondary company theme)
• "The Dwarf Lords"
• "Smaug"
• "Beyond the Forest" (The various Woodland Realm themes)
• "Ironfoot" (Dain's theme and the new Laketown material)

"The Hobbit in Four Movements" is a symphony program constructed from "A Very Respectable Hobbit", "Beyond the Forest", "Smaug" and "Ironfoot".

An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released	11 December 2012
Recorded	2012
Length	1:48:49 (Standard Edition) 2:07:03 (Special Edition)
Label	WaterTower Music, Decca Records
Producer	Howard Shore, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
Special Edition cover

Soundtracks for The Hobbit have been released in an extended, two-disc form, offering over two hours of music each and liner notes by Doug Adams. The music is, for the most part, presented as it is in the film and by the film order, but some pieces were re-edited to augment the listening experience into something more akin of a concert program. The recording is nevertheless incomplete, especially given alternate music used in some of the film scenes, although fans have since unearthed much of it and a rarities CD may be attached to the upcoming book.

The soundtrack album for An Unexpected Journey was released on 11 December 2012.^[27] It has been released in both Standard Edition and Special Edition, with both coming in a 2-disc format.^[28] The Geeks of Doom commented that Shore, who recorded the soundtrack at Abbey Road Studios in London,^[29] re-used some of the "magisterial musical motifs" from his music for The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, but that he "uses his established themes to launch into a completely original sonic adventure with turns both optimistic and dark, true to the mutual visions of Jackson and Tolkien".^[30]

Track listing

Standard edition

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Dear Frodo"	8:04
2.	"Old Friends"	4:29
3.	"An Unexpected Party"	3:57
4.	"Axe or Sword?"	5:59
5.	"Misty Mountains" (Music by David Donaldson, David Long, Steve Roche and Janet Roddick;[31] performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast)	1:42
6.	"The Adventure Begins"	2:06
7.	"The World is Ahead"	2:18
8.	"An Ancient Enemy"	4:58
9.	"Radagast the Brown"	4:54
10.	"Roast Mutton" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[31])	4:03
11.	"A Troll-Hoard"	2:39
12.	"The Hill of Sorcery"	3:51
13.	"Warg-Scouts"	3:05

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Hidden Valley"	3:50
2.	"Moon Runes"	3:20
3.	"The Defiler"	1:15
4.	"The White Council"	7:20
5.	"Over Hill" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[31])	3:43
6.	"A Thunder Battle"	3:55
7.	"Under Hill"	1:54
8.	"Riddles in the Dark"	5:22
9.	"Brass Buttons"	7:38
10.	"Out of the Frying-Pan"	5:54
11.	"A Good Omen"	5:46
12.	"Song of the Lonely Mountain" (Lyrics and Performance by Neil Finn,[32] music by Finn, Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[31])	4:10
13.	"Dreaming of Bag End"	1:49

Special edition

The two-disc special edition contains six bonus tracks and six extended tracks.

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Dear Frodo"	8:03
2.	"Old Friends" (Extended Version)	5:00
3.	"An Unexpected Party" (Extended Version)	4:08
4.	"Blunt the Knives" (Lyrics by J. R. R. Tolkien, music by Stephen Gallagher; performed by The Dwarf Cast,[31] exclusive bonus track)	1:01
5.	"Axe or Sword?"	5:59
6.	"Misty Mountains" (Performed by Richard Armitage and The Dwarf Cast)	1:42
7.	"The Adventure Begins"	2:04
8.	"The World is Ahead" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[31])	2:19
9.	"An Ancient Enemy"	4:56
10.	"Radagast the Brown" (Extended Version)	6:37
11.	"The Trollshaws"	2:08
12.	"Roast Mutton" (Extended Version)	4:56
13.	"A Troll-Hoard"	2:38
14.	"The Hill of Sorcery"	3:50
15.	"Warg-Scouts"	3:02

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Hidden Valley"	3:50
2.	"Moon Runes" (Extended Version)	3:39
3.	"The Defiler"	1:14
4.	"The White Council" (Extended Version)	9:40
5.	"Over Hill" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick[31])	3:42
6.	"A Thunder Battle"	3:54
7.	"Under Hill"	1:54
8.	"Riddles in the Dark"	5:21
9.	"Brass Buttons"	7:37
10.	"Out of the Frying-Pan"	5:55
11.	"A Good Omen"	5:45
12.	"Song of the Lonely Mountain" (Lyrics and Performance by Neil Finn,[32] Extended Version)	6:00
13.	"Dreaming of Bag End"	1:56
14.	"A Very Respectable Hobbit" (Exclusive Bonus Track)	1:20
15.	"Erebor" (Exclusive Bonus Track)	1:19
16.	"The Dwarf Lords" (Exclusive Bonus Track)	2:01
17.	"The Edge of the Wild" (Contains excerpts of "Misty Mountains" by Donaldson, Long, Roche and Roddick;[31] Exclusive Bonus Track)	3:34

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[33]
Examiner.com	A+[34]
Filmtracks.com	[35]
Movie Music UK	[36]
Music Muse	[37]
MovieCues	[38]
Tracksounds	[39]
Movie Wave	[40]

The full score was nominated at the 11th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards,^[41] and "Song of the Lonely Mountain" received a nomination for the Houston Film Critics Society Awards.^[42] Allmusic's reviewer wrote favourably about the album, but noted that the soundtrack was not as "sweeping and epic as that for [Jackson's] The Lord of the Rings", attributing this to the smaller scale of Bilbo's adventure as compared to the events of The Lord of the Rings.^[33] Examiner.com, however, was very positive and observed that The Hobbit soundtrack fitted the style and tone of The Lord of the Rings, writing that the opening for An Unexpected Journey was much better than that of The Fellowship of the Ring.^[34] In 2013, the score for An Unexpected Journey ranked ninth out of one hundred by Classic FM'S top film scores.

The album charted in several countries, reaching the top ten album charts in Korea and the United States. It was also awarded a golden record certification in Canada.

Chart positions

Chart (2012–13)	Peak position
scope="row"	Australian Albums (ARIA)[43]	45
scope="row"	Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[44]	16
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[45]	25
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[46]	54
scope="row"	French Albums (SNEP)[47]	70
scope="row"	German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[48]	14
scope="row"	Irish Albums (IRMA)[49]	79
scope="row"	Korean International Albums (Gaon)[50]	8
scope="row"	Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[51]	40
scope="row"	New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[52]	32
scope="row"	Polish Albums (ZPAV)[53]	28
scope="row"	Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[54]	28
scope="row"	Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[55]	52
scope="row"	Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[56]	40
scope="row"	UK Albums (OCC)[57]	61
US Billboard 200[58]	30
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[59]	3
US Top Independent Albums (Billboard)[60]	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[61]	Gold	40,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released	10 December 2013
Recorded	2013
Length	1:56:27 (Standard Edition) 2:09:17 (Special Edition)
Label	WaterTower Music, Decca Records
Producer	Howard Shore, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
Special Edition Cover

The soundtrack album for The Desolation of Smaug was released on 10 December 2013 in both Standard Edition and Special Edition. The cover of the Special Edition features the design used for the special edition of the soundtrack for An Unexpected Journey on a purple background.

Track listing

Standard edition

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Quest for Erebor"	3:23
2.	"Wilderland"	4:56
3.	"The House of Beorn"	3:42
4.	"Mirkwood"	4:27
5.	"Flies and Spiders"	7:51
6.	"The Woodland Realm"	4:26
7.	"Feast of Starlight"	2:49
8.	"Barrels Out of Bond"	1:50
9.	"The Forest River"	4:54
10.	"Bard, a Man of Lake-Town"	2:30
11.	"The High Fells"	2:37
12.	"The Nature of Evil"	3:20
13.	"Protector of the Common Folk"	3:36

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Thrice Welcome"	3:33
2.	"Girion, Lord of Dale"	3:33
3.	"Durin's Folk"	2:28
4.	"In the Shadow of the Mountain"	2:15
5.	"A Spell of Concealment"	2:51
6.	"On the Doorstep"	7:46
7.	"The Courage of Hobbits"	3:00
8.	"Inside Information"	3:48
9.	"Kingsfoil"	2:25
10.	"A Liar and a Thief"	3:40
11.	"The Hunters"	9:04
12.	"Smaug"	5:24
13.	"My Armor is Iron"	5:16
14.	"I See Fire" (Written and Performed by Ed Sheeran)	5:00
15.	"Beyond the Forest"	5:25

Special edition

The special edition contains one bonus track and twelve extended tracks.

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Quest for Erebor"	3:22
2.	"Wilderland"	4:56
3.	"A Necromancer" (Bonus Track)	2:54
4.	"The House of Beorn" (Extended Version)	4:52
5.	"Mirkwood" (Extended Version)	5:31
6.	"Flies and Spiders" (Extended Version)	9:35
7.	"The Woodland Realm" (Extended Version)	5:14
8.	"Feast of Starlight"	2:48
9.	"Barrels Out of Bond"	1:50
10.	"The Forest River" (Extended Version)	5:10
11.	"Bard, a Man of Lake-Town" (Extended Version)	3:18
12.	"The High Fells" (Extended Version)	3:38
13.	"The Nature of Evil"	3:20
14.	"Protector of the Common Folk"	3:35

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Thrice Welcome"	3:33
2.	"Girion, Lord of Dale" (Extended Version)	4:15
3.	"Durin's Folk" (Extended Version)	3:04
4.	"In the Shadow of the Mountain"	2:15
5.	"A Spell of Concealment" (Extended Version)	3:22
6.	"On the Doorstep"	7:46
7.	"The Courage of Hobbits"	3:00
8.	"Inside Information"	3:48
9.	"Kingsfoil"	2:25
10.	"A Liar and a Thief"	3:41
11.	"The Hunters" (Extended Version)	9:55
12.	"Smaug" (Extended Version)	6:29
13.	"My Armor is Iron"	5:16
14.	"I See Fire" (Written and Performed by Ed Sheeran)	5:00
15.	"Beyond the Forest"	5:25

Chart positions

Chart (2013–14)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[62]	60
Australian Classical/Crossover Albums (ARIA)[62]	2
scope="row"	Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[63]	29
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[64]	44
scope="row"	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[65]	97
scope="row"	Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[66]	51
scope="row"	French Albums (SNEP)[67]	103
scope="row"	German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[68]	25
Irish Classical Albums (IRMA)[69]	7
scope="row"	Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[70]	40
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[71]	84
scope="row"	Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[72]	39
scope="row"	Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[73]	51
UK Albums (OCC)[74]	69
US Billboard 200[75]	39
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[75]	4
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[76]	34
US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[75]	6

The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Soundtrack album by Howard Shore
Released	8 December 2014
Recorded	2014
Length	1:34:01 (Standard Edition) 1:48:12 (Special Edition)
Label	WaterTower Music, Decca Records
Producer	Howard Shore, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
Special Edition Cover

The soundtrack album for The Battle of the Five Armies was released on 8 December 2014.^[77] Both a Standard Edition and a Special Edition were released. The score was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as it was for The Desolation of Smaug. For the soundtrack, Billy Boyd, who played Peregrin Took in The Lord of the Rings, wrote and recorded the song "The Last Goodbye".^[78]

Track listing

Standard edition

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fire and Water"	5:57
2.	"Shores of the Long Lake"	4:01
3.	"Beyond Sorrow and Grief"	2:50
4.	"Guardians of the Three"	5:14
5.	"The Ruins of Dale"	3:39
6.	"The Gathering of the Clouds"	4:07
7.	"Mithril"	3:08
8.	"Bred for War"	3:19
9.	"A Thief in the Night"	4:14
10.	"The Clouds Burst"	4:12
11.	"Battle for the Mountain"	4:38

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Darkest Hour"	5:31
2.	"Sons of Durin"	4:23
3.	"The Fallen"	4:56
4.	"Ravenhill"	5:47
5.	"To the Death"	5:13
6.	"Courage and Wisdom"	5:09
7.	"The Return Journey"	4:16
8.	"There and Back Again"	4:19
9.	"The Last Goodbye" (Written and Performed by Billy Boyd)	4:05
10.	"Ironfoot"	5:03

Special edition

The two-disc special edition contains two bonus tracks and five extended tracks.

Disc 1
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fire and Water"	5:57
2.	"Shores of the Long Lake"	4:01
3.	"Beyond Sorrow and Grief" (Extended Version)	4:11
4.	"Guardians of the Three" (Extended Version)	5:47
5.	"The Ruins of Dale"	3:39
6.	"The Gathering of the Clouds" (Extended Version)	5:52
7.	"Mithril"	3:08
8.	"Bred for War"	3:19
9.	"A Thief in the Night"	4:14
10.	"The Clouds Burst"	4:12
11.	"Battle for the Mountain"	4:38

Disc 2
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Darkest Hour"	5:31
2.	"Sons of Durin"	4:23
3.	"The Fallen"	4:56
4.	"Ravenhill"	5:47
5.	"To the Death" (Extended Version)	7:22
6.	"Courage and Wisdom"	5:09
7.	"The Return Journey"	4:16
8.	"There and Back Again"	4:19
9.	"The Last Goodbye" (Written and Performed by Billy Boyd)	4:05
10.	"Ironfoot" (Extended Version)	6:11
11.	"Dragon-sickness" (Bonus Track)	3:51
12.	"Thrain" (Bonus Track)	3:24

Chart positions

Chart (2014–15)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[79]	74
Australian Classical/Crossover Albums (ARIA)[80]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[81]	35
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[82]	38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[83]	83
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[84]	43
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[85]	25
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[86]	45
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[87]	37

Notes

See also

• Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
• Music of Star Wars

References

External links

• Official website of Howard Shore
• Doug Adams's blog on the scores and his book, The Music of the Hobbit Films