Annie Lennox, Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
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Free Music Notes for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Free Music Review: There and Back Again: A Grand Finale
Hit: 5 Stars
This music is the completion of a journey begun over two years ago.When I first heard, quite a while ago now, that Howard Shore had been selected to write the music for "The Lord of the Rings" films, I wasn't sure what to think. I liked Shore's music well enough from movies like "Silence of the Lambs" or "Seven," but I wasn't sure how he would handle the epic nature of something like this. Three times over now, Shore has proven to me (and to many others) that he is quite capable of expressing everything that makes "The Lord of the Rings" such a grand story in his music.
The score for "Return of the King" is the most grand and sweeping of the three scores, which is as it should be, since the events of the story are of the largest scale. And yet, somehow the music finds moments of intimacy and soft beauty, even amidst all the epic movements and operatic themes.
Each of the different tracks on the album is recognizable for its theme: "The White Tree" is a powerful and noble theme for Gondor, "Shelob's Lair" is a terrifying piece for its namesake, "The Steward of Gondor" is a softly moving march accompanied by panflute, with a surprisingly-moving vocal piece by Billy Boyd (Pippin in the film), and "Minas Morgul" is an even more intense repriese of the recurrent theme for the Nazgul. "The Fields of the Pelennor" will rouse you right out of your seat, and "Twilight and Shadow," with the incomparable Renee Fleming lending her gorgeous voice, will make your eyes tear up.
The track that will rip your heart out, though, is definitely "Into the West," with Annie Lennox singing vocals. Such a beautiful, powerful, emotional song is the perfect coda to these films, and an excellent summary for all that has gone before. The first time I heard this song, before I even saw the film, I was left with tears rolling down my cheeks. Of the three songs which play at the end of each film, "Into the West" is easily the best one, the most moving, and the most deeply-felt.
If you get the Special Edition version of this soundtrack, the DVD that accompanies it has some pretty interesting stuff, but it's mostly for movie music buffs. If you're into the process of creating music for motion pictures at all (I definitely am), then the short documentary shown on this DVD is an excellent one. Other than that, the other interesting features are an extra music track ("Use Well the Days," again performed by Annie Lennox) and a long "supertrailer" for the three films. Both are worth seeing, but the documentary was the best part for me, and the real selling point of the extra DVD edition of the soundtrack.
The point of it all is that this is It. From the Fellowship theme to the music of Rohan, from the violent strains of the Dark Lord's minions to the gentle tones of the Shire, this soundtrack brings it all together. It is operatic in scale but intimate in effect. Whether you want to relive the film itself or just find a good accompaniment to read the books by, Howard Shore's music for "Return of the King" provides the perfect musical companion. It is unquestionably a masterful acheivement, and should be required listening for any fan of the films, or any fan of the works of Tolkien.
Free Music Review: A crowning achievement for an epic film score
Hit: 5 Stars
I enjoyed the music to "Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers", but they felt like unfinished works, the ends untied. And for good reason: the movie epic the music depicts was itself unfinished. Now, with "The Return of the King", everything comes together at last. And the result is an orchestral masterpiece.Many composers are capable of writing perfectly serviceable music for a film score, playing fast and exciting music in chase or battle scenes, tender music in romantic scenes, and pastoral music in country scenes, such as the Shire at the beginning of "Fellowship". Sometimes, as James Horner did with "Titanic", it can strike a very powerful chord, and the music can ride around in one's mind for months on end, the tunes utterly unforgettable.
But very few composers, to my knowledge, can develop different themes for over a dozen different characters and places, then skillfully weave them together into a sonic tapestry, so rich in detail that it is actually possible to listen to the music and follow the story's plot line in one's head. John Williams has done it, with his "Star Wars" saga. And now Howard Shore has pulled off a similar coup with "The Lord of the Rings".
Brought together, on this CD, are the hobbit/Shire themes, the heroic/Aragorn motif, the elvish choral music, plus the stirring martial music depicting the Riders of Rohan. Added to the brew is the ominous Dies Irae-type Nasgûl music, found in the track "Minas Morgul", and the pounding percussion reminding us of the orcs. And, new to "The Return of the King", is the grand Gondor motif, especially notable on the track "The White Tree". Filled with brass instruments, it fairly sings.
Having read the book several times over the years, but not yet having seen the movie, I could nonetheless guess at the plot line just by reading the track titles and listening. The music from "Shelob's Lair" reminds me of a cross between the rock troll in the Mines of Moria and the infamous shower scene in Psycho. Could Sam and Frodo be running into something particularly nasty in the darkness? It's safe to assume that this scene is going to be very intense.
The one track which really refuses to leave my head is the last, "Into the West". When I saw on the track listing that the singer was Annie Lennox, it gave me pause. Enya singing "May it Be" I can understand, but Annie Lennox? I had mental images of a woman with bright orange hair belting out, with her trademark strident voice, Eurythmics hits like "Sweet Dreams", "I Need a Man" and "Would I Lie to You?" But it works beautifully. The voice is strident, true, but at the same time very tender. I can very easily imagine myself staring blankly at the screen as the end credits roll and this song plays: "What can you see / On the horizon? / Why do the white gulls call?"
How come guys like me don't get to go to Valinor? It doesn't seem fair, somehow ....
What more can I add? If you liked the first two CDs, you'll certainly like this one. Count on it.
Free Music Review: The Best of the Three: A Stunning Musical Journey
Hit: 5 Stars
The third of Howard Shore's soundtrack albums to the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is, like the film itself, the best of the best. The albums for both "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" were superb, stunning orchestral storyscapes that perfectly caught Tolkien's Middle-Earth and were wonderful individual listening experiences on their own, away from the films. The perfect music to read Tolkien by.But this is the big one. This is the masterpiece. This is some of best film music of the last decade. Shore surpasses himself in every way on this score.
The new major theme for the score is the Gondor Theme, heard in fullest expression in the inspiring track "The White Tree" (actually, this is the music for the lighting of the beacons of Gondor) and also in "Minas Tirith" and the lonely, sad track "The Steward of Gondor," where Billy Boyd provides a haunting song to accompany a massacre. (Boyd's voice is a real surprise -- he sounds professional).
The other themes from the early films return, with Shore adapting them and changing them in surprising ways. You'll thrill to hearing the Rohirrim theme in "The Ride of the Rohirrim" as well as the way the theme introduces the real stand-out track of the album, "The Fields of Pelennor," a masterpiece suite describing various aspects of the battle around Minas Tirith. This track achieves almost a sublime level of action and power (screaming chorus, driving brass, and Shore's characteristic delayed resolution to build suspense) and is the musical highlight of the three albums. (I stood up cheered at the end the first time I heard it, even though I was alone.)
"Shelob's Lair" is also an amazing track, filled with jabbing, crazy strings and a sense of rising panic. You can hear the giant spider moving around in the music and it will make you as afraid as Frodo himself was.
Shore pounds the story into an orchestral rage for "The End of All Things," which is the story's climax and an overwhelming track of rapidly shifting emotions and explosions of choral fury. It will quite wring you out the same way the movie does at this point.
For quieter moments, there are beautiful and inspiring tracks like "Twilight and Shadow" (dealing with Arwen) and the lengthy ten-minute track "The Return of the King," which sums up all the major themes and at last brings us full circle to the sprightly Hobbiton theme first heard back in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Shore ends it all with grace and quiet beauty in the subtle and sad track "The Grey Havens," which uses a theme that had grown throughout the score. This theme then becomes the soft and soulful Annie Lennox song, "Into the West," the perfect conclusion to the album.
I've come across few soundtrack albums as well put together as this. Anyone who loves Tolkien, film music, or great orchestral music, MUST buy this album.
My only complaint? There's so much more music in the film than they could fit on a single CD. A big deluxe double CD with more of the music would be appreciated in the near future.
Free Music Review: a radiant, appealing, tender - hearted score...
Hit: 5 Stars
Just beautiful. This soundtrack has really brought the trilogy of the lord of the rings to a memorable close. It wasn't the resounding bombastic finale I expected, which makes me anxious as to what that could mean concerning the story: Do the good guys win or not? If they do, why is the ending so bittersweet? It feels as if a great price has been paid to overcome the dark, monumental odds. I heard news about the director of the film [Peter Jackson] intending to strike audiences at the heart with this last installment of the trilogy. If that is the intention, I would have to say this score certainly engrosses its listener with a stirring sense of maturity and a powerful emotional rush.
Whatever the motivation behind this work Howard Shore's effort here is beautiful. From the captivating, stirring bittersweet/ominous themes of the soundtrack's opening cue ['A Storm is Coming'], to the gorgeous flute melodies in 'The Steward of Gondor' [featuring Sir James Galway, and a really nice performance by Billy Boyd], to the emotional highs of 'Twilight and Shadow' [Renee Fleming sounds like an angel, but somehow, it's Shore's expansion of the 'Evenstar' cue in the Two Towers that really makes this track the gorgeous peace of music that it is]....
I could go on and on. There are newer themes like 'Minas Tirith' and 'the Black Gate Opens' that could easily be performed with even more spectacular grandeur - a la the Return of the King 'Trailer Theme'[notwithstanding 'the White Tree' is a real highlight of energy in the soundtrack for me - the violins swirl with great vigor as the track ends], and wonderful twists of the darker themes, like Minas Morgul, Cirith Ungol, and Ash and Smoke. Shelobs lair is brilliant composition. No one can contest the sheer uneasiness and dynamic quality it exudes. I cannot wait to see 'She' in action in the film.
The Rivendell theme ['Many Meetings' from the Fellowship of the Ring], which was given a beautiful, heartbreaking turn in the Two Towers soundtrack ['the Leave Taking'], is reestablished in a majestic way in 'Anduril', hinting strongly at the King's Return. Speaking of majesty, the End of All Things is another real highlight on the soundtrack. It feels as if all choirs and leitmotifs of a dark or dramatic nature have come together to witness what must surely be the climax of the entire story.
I've rambled for too long. But I did want to mention the last three tracks on this album. 'The Return of the King', 'the Grey Havens', and Annie Lennox's 'Into the West'. I think the real heart of the entire journey has been captured in these final cues and songs. I felt genuinely sad, realising that the story was over, and that this was goodbye. Bittersweet, yet utterly classic.
Please listen to all three albums of the Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore has achieved something monumental with this story, he has inspired and awed us with majestic scores, and yet touched our hearts with heart itself.
Free Music Review: The stuff of legends!
Hit: 5 Stars
What can I say that hasn't already been said about Howard Shore's magnificent score for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy? A soundtrack can define the whole atmosphere of a film, and this fully orchestrated work certainly does that with sweep, splendor and wonder, alternately humanizing (hobbit-izing?) the characters, imbuing the landscape with magic and capturing the world-shaking impact of events of mythic proportions. And this was no easy task considering the iconoclastic status of the story and the superb quality of Peter Jackson's filmmaking. This is a truly a soundtrack for the ages--a fitting accompaniment to a film for the ages! Every aspect of life, from the extreme to the mundane, is captured in this music. Listening to it can make every remembered moment of the movie come alive again in your mind, from the most horrific battle to the smallest moment of humor or kindness. And the battle scenes in "Return of the King" are incredible visuals, blending live action and computer-generated imagery so seamlessly and densely that it boggles the mind. But what would they be with only screams and snorts and scuffles to give them voice? It's Shore's frenetic, string-laden, brass-filled, drum-spurred fury that truly gives them life, waxing, waning and cueing the audience as to when the greatest menace is about to threaten the war-weary heroes. The musical themes from the first two movies continue to be developed here, wending their way in and out of expanded interpretations whose dense complexity rivals that of Tolkien's story, not to mention Peter Jackson's filmmaking itself. The total effect is utterly convincing and utterly transporting. Peter Jackson chose well when he picked Shore as his score writer. Very, very well! Be sure to get the scores from the other two movies in the trilogy as well - "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers." They seem to be available in no end of different packagings, including ones with bonus DVDs about the creation of the score. Also, make sure to get the extended edition DVDs of the movie itself, with hours and hours of fascinating commentaries and behind-the-scenes documentaries about the making of the films. Truly a bargain at any price! And for authentic music from bygone ages, try the real thing! There are many fine groups out there. Here's just a sampling: Anonymous 4 (pure-voiced sacred chant by four women), The Baltimore Consort (jaunty popular music from the Renaissance), David Munrow's Early Music Consort of London (simply perfection), Christian Mendoze's Musica Antiqua (lively, percussive Renaissance dance music), The Toronto Consort (great variety), Ensemble Unicorn (worlds of fun!), Wolgemut (brash buzzies and bagpipes with attitude), and the magical early/folk fusion of Cantiga and Burlap Lute. Have some fun with them and live your own fantasy!