Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore

Movie : The Lord of the Rings, Part 1, The Fellowship of the Ring

Year : 2001

Composer : Howard Shore

Label : Warner Bros

Lord of The Rings, The Fellowship... must go down as one of the best movies of all times along with one of the most anticipated one. The fans of the book must have nearly gone crazy waiting for the movie. Apart from the movie another thing which everyone was anxiously waiting for was to see what type of effort Howard Shore had made. Honestly speaking, having heard some earlier stuff by Howard Shore I was a bit dissapointed. He seemed a decent composer but didn’t seem the right choice for making something like LOTR. What it needed apart from complexity was a soul touching melodic touch which Howard Shore seemed uncapable of. Now I know better and I wont mind being the first to praise Howard Shore for a brilliant piece of work.

Some of the tracks seem to encapture the very essence of the races created by Tolkien in such a fashion that while watching the movie and hearing the music it seems as if they have indeed jumped out of the pages of the book. Concerning Hobbits is the very best music to describe Hobbits. Its even better than Blind Guardian’s The Shire. Voices play a major part in the score. Howard Shore uses a deep, dark, almost scary chanting choir to represent the Nazgul, the Black Riders. The lyrics are in languages created by Tolkien himself. The female vocals in Lothlorien truly form the very essence of elves - religious, haunting, enchanting almost prayer like music. And the soundtrack ’’May it Be’’ by Enya deserves some real praise. When I first heard it, I didn’t know it was LOTR’s theme (I had left the theater before the credits came). The point is that when I heard it I thought ’’How cool would it be if that had been LOTR’s theme?’’ and I looked up at the TV only to see the words ’’OST - Lord of....’’ At that point I was debating with myself whether to buy the cassette or save money for some other stuff. May it Be settled it completely. I knew that I must have it and as soon as possible.

But be that as it may, the credit must go to Howard Shore first and foremost and to Enya, only later. I believe that this is the best piece of work that Howard Shore has done (including the score of The Two Towers which has also come and Return of The King which is yet to come).

The entire album is like a journey into Middle Earth and I would recommend you to listen to it when you will be travelling by car in an empty open space to leave your mind free to wander (of course you shouldn’t be driving as that may lead to accidents). The journey of a lifetime that can be repeated over and over again will take you from the pleasing, gently rustic atmosphere of The Shire to the more advanced, religious, musical land of Rivendell where The Elves dwell in peace and from there to The Souther parts amidst dangers such as the ride of the Nazgul, the terror at The Brigde of Khazad Dum to the beautiful land of LothLorien where time stands still and this feeling is truly brought out by the music before the Fellowship is finally broken in tragic circumstances. The whole journey will not only refresh your soul and please your heart but also give you lots of entertainment. I wont call this a happy album because the movie and the book isn’t a totally happy one. Instead it is positively dark and unhappy and evil at places. But at times, Concerning Hobbits has a sunny mood. May it Be and Aniron by Enya are two great pieces which completely justify the inclusion of Enya which was a disputed fact among the fans. I myself was a bit skeptical but she really proved that she was capable of doing it. And no one is more happier about it than me. Another notable fact is the link between the music. The same theme can be heard in more than one song. The best of the lot are the beginning of The Bridge of Khazad Dum which is repeated in The Ring Goes South and of course the innocent bliss of Concerning Hobbits. The dark choirs of The Black Rider is also brilliant in its own way. The Council of Elrond serves two purposes, shows the beautiful nature of the Elves and also has a soothing effect to the mind after the intensity of Aragorn fighting the Nazgul and one of them stabbing Frodo. It also contains that immensely powerful and memorable theme from the beginning of Bridge of Khazad Dum as well as a mildly different sounding version of Concerning Hobbits’. Finally it ends with The Breaking of The Fellowship which has a sort of recall of the Concerning Hobbits’ theme and it just sort of links fellowship... with The Two Towers.

To put it in a nutshell, Howard Shore brings the magic of Middle Earth into music. He truly mixes the mythology created by Tolkien to form a truly magnificent soundtrack and it deserves all the praise that it has got. The inclusion of both - Howard Shore and Enya was a bit debatable but they have proved to their critics in the best possible manner that they were the best ones for the job. And I respect them for that.

1. The Prophecy

   
   




2. Concerning Hobbits

   
   




3. The Shadow Of The Past

   
   




4. The Treason Of Isengard

   
   




5. The Black Rider

   
   




6. At The Sign Of The Prancing Pony

   
   




7. A Knife In The Dark

   
   




8. Flight To The Ford

   
   




9. Many Meetings

   
   




10. The Council Of Elrond [featuring the song ’’Aniron (Theme For Aragorn And Arwen)’’ composed & performed by Enya]

    
    




11. The Ring Goes South

    
    




12. A Journey In The Dark

    
    




13. The Bridge Of Khazad Dum

    
    




14. Lothlorien

    
    




15. The Great River

    
    




16. Amon Hen

    
    




17. The Breaking Of The Fellowship

    
    




18. May It Be [composed & performed by Enya]