Howard Shore

Item: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Author: Mark Baker

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

(2001)

Reviewed by Mark Baker

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Label Reprise RecordsThe Rebel Base2002

celtic classical new age

I love Lord of the Rings. I had wanted to read the books for a while, and when I heard that they were making a movie, I finally decided to read the series. When I read the books, I was engulfed by an amazing, intricate fantasy world that seemed to sweep me right out of my chair into Middle Earth. I was there in the Shire when the Hobbits were celebrating Bilbo's birthday; I was there watching Legolas fight heroically in the battle of Helms Deep. I am just awestruck by the creativity of Tolkien's mind, and when I saw the movie, it just made me love the series even more by giving the book some breath-taking scenery and fierce battles that I had never pictured in my mind before.

When I saw the first installment of the trilogy, I remember it being one of the few movies where the music really enhanced the movie viewing. So I went to buy the soundtrack promptly. Some of the scores still give me goose-bumps, and are not dull even with multiple listens. Although I have never heard of the composer, Howard Shore, I will be sure (ha-ha) to check out some of his other work as well.

1. The Prophecy

(translated from elvish) Listen - it speaks to those who were not born to die

The music starts out so low it is barely audible, leaving you to wonder, "did I really press play?" But soon enough, a mellow lull of the chanting of elven language and background music is quite evident. "The Prophecy" starts the CD off in a very melancholy way, but it does its job: It put pictures in my head of the beginning tales of the ring as shown at the start of the movie. Near the end of the piece, moving the 'minor' mood up to more of a lullaby makes a good transition into the next song.

2. Concerning Hobbits

Being much more lighthearted than the opening song, "Concerning Hobbits" puts me frolicking in the lush meadows of the Shire every time. The violin and other strings create a bouncing mood, while the flute slows things down to give it a mythical feel. This number is quite diverse from all of the other 18 tracks, being the only one that has made me want to get up and go dance the night away in the woods.

3. The Shadow of the Past

Gentle strings pull the overall mood to dreary once again. After the intro, a feeling of very inherent evil creeps up on you and will knock you out of your seat with fast paced chase-scene music, moving in and out with loud chants. Don't get me wrong - the mood is dreary enough, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable of a song.

4. The Treason of Isengard

In this portion of the movie, Saruman is first introduced. Naturally, dark music will once again fill this number. But a shadow of hope and heroics flickers through in an excellent brass measure that will send chills down your back. It's not time for heroics yet though - crashing cymbals and more chants bring the troublesome nature back once again. The greatest thing is that even though the mood stays the same, Howard Shore was able to bring enough variety into the mix that as of yet, the CD is not repetitive.

5. The Black Rider

Contrary to what the title may show, "The Black Rider" starts out with a racing, but not dark melody. Just like the movie, Frodo, Sam, and the crew are almost playfully running away so as not to get caught from snatching munchies from Farmer Maggot's garden. Then the mood gets darker as the Hobbits realize that they are in much more drastic danger than being chastised for thievery. The black rider shows his ugly noggin and there is a potential for something really nasty. The music portrays just that.

6. At the Sign of the Prancing Pony

The beginning of this song is much of the same. Insert low-pitched tune here, monk-like chantings there - you get the drift. It is a good "rainy day" piece, which makes sense because this part of the movie was spent in the rain. It just seems like it compliments so nicely with a dark, cloudy rain.

7. A Knife in the Dark

"A Knife in the Dark" is extremely similar to the latter part of "The Black Rider." This was done very much on purpose to bring back the fear and the anxiety created when the Ring Wraith was first introduced. This is probably the biggest flaw in all soundtracks: over the course of the movie, it is good to bring back similar scores of music to tie the movie together. However, listening to a soundtrack straight through makes the same music come up often in a much shorter amount of time.

8. Flight to the Ford

In this chapter of the book, Frodo and Glorfindel (or in the movie, Arwen) are delivered from the Black Riders. A definite and much needed change takes place with higher brass showing one of the first signs of deliverance in a long time. After a crescendo, the music settles down to a calmer state to show that the first of many problems is finally abdicated.

9. Many Meetings

Gentle melodies from the clarinet and violin create the most peaceful setting yet. I can picture the rushing waterfalls of Rivendell, and Frodo asleep peacefully on a soft bed. It makes for wonderful background music to study by, or even to put you gently to sleep.

10. The Council of Elrond Featuring "Aniron (Theme For Aragorn and Arwen)"

Look! A star rises out of the darkness / The song of the star enchants my heart.

Ahh the debut of Enya on this CD. When they were hyping the soundtrack, she got lots of ink, trying to draw Enya fans into buying the score as well as LOTR fans. I haven't heard many of her songs, as I am not a fan of new age music. Here she sings beautifully in a slow manner in another strange language (I got the translation for all these foreign songs from the CD insert). It blends well with the love story that is shown in the movie. Although that scene wasn't true to the books it worked well for the film, and for the soundtrack, as this is one of the best songs in all.

11. The Ring Goes South

Just as true darkness came alive in the first half, so bravery is depicted so well through the second half. Music is a wonderful gift that can be used to create feelings that nothing else can. It is used to its fullest here.

12. A Journey in the Dark

One of the Fellowship's first problems when they ban together to take the ring to Mordor was passing through Moria. That whole scene is my favorite part in the movie. Could the soundtrack inspire the same feelings that I got in watching the movie in these parts? What about the fight with the cave troll? How intimidating would that be without visual images? Those were some of my questions about the soundtrack. To be honest, although the music adds a lot, it's just not the same without the imagery there on the big screen. Still, it gives a good "creepy" feeling all the same. I wouldn't want to be listening to it if I were ever alone in the crawl-space underneath my house without a flashlight.

13. The Bridge of Khazad Dum

Continuing in the Dwarvish caves of Moria, this number brings back memories of Gandalf commanding the Balrog, "You shall not pass!" Familiar heroic tunes pop up again and again, leaving you to know that the Fellowship has won yet another victory.

14. Lothlorien

Mithrandir, Mithrandir O Pilgrim Grey / No more will you wander the green fields of this earth.

In the middle of "Lothlorien" is a song performed by Elizabeth Fraser called "Lament for Gandalf." I like this one better than any of Enya's songs, although this too, is in a different language. A more moody, lamenting mood comes now, almost like a mythical funeral (I wonder why?)

15. The Great River

"The Great River" is a kind of a mix of all the other scores combined. In it there are traces of first darkness, then heroics. Chanting and sullen moods end off the piece to prove as a transition to:

16. Amon Hen

This piece always makes me think of the evils of Sauron. That's one thing that Lord of the Rings illustrates well -- things that are really evil. It's amazing how much an instrumental score can change the mood of things. For a change of pace, "Amon Hen" adds chanting, fast paced low-brass, then higher, enthusiastic tunes. Okay, you're right. It's not a change of pace.

17. The Breaking of the Fellowship

But in dreams / I still hear your name / And in dreams / We will meet again.

Another song-in-a-song is here, with "In Dreams," performed by Edward Ross. This time, it is actually in English. There's a sad tone, yet overall there is still a conquering feel. That's sort of how the movie ends too. It's sad because everyone is going their separate ways, but it leaves you with peace in your heart because of what has been done already, and hope of what is going to happen. This is the most moving song on the album, for sure.

18. May It Be

A promise lives within you now

Enya's voice comes on strong in comparison with the high pitched (I guess Edward Ross is a girl) and soft song of "In Dreams." The song may be soothing and comforting enough, but I do not agree with the new age thought, "your hope lives within you and everyone." It's sad that director Peter Jackson chose this kind of song for the end, but I guess I'll have to live with it.

As I said before, Lord of the Rings was one of the few movies that I noticed the music enough to care to buy the sound track right away. It is worth it, for sure. Being able to take part of an experience like the Middle Earth story home with you in the sound track is quite a treasure. It's packed full of goodies to fully immerse you in more of Tolkien's world.

The enhanced CD also has gobs of extra stuff. After popping it in my computer, some loading time, and a flash intro, the main menu came up. It's got goodies that you can download such as Instant Messenger buddy icons, desktop patterns, and e-mail stationery. Plus, for all the Enya fans out there, you can find an interview of Enya about the project, information on the Enya LOTR trading card, and an exclusive Enya E-Card. Also for your viewing pleasure, you can download each and every one of the trailers for the movie.

For a Lord of the Rings fan, fanatic or mild, the soundtrack is an enjoyable listen. I find soundtracks the best music to listen to when I am studying or doing homework, although this one can get distracting with all the heavy chanting. This CD is not only for studiers or fans of the movie, but anyone who enjoys instrumental albums will find something they like about the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.