Howard Shore – The music of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Peter Jackson. We all know who he is. He’s the guy who used to make slapstick horror comedies till he read Lord of the Rings. Some say that if justice was ever done to a book, it was Peter Jackson and Francis Ford Coppola who did it, the latter for the Godfather. Well, when Lord of the Rings had hit the cinemas, all I knew about those films was the number of Oscars they were winning.

But then I read the book, and having created an image, an environment and a certain feel about  Middle Earth, I watched the three movies on my home theater. Never before had my father sat through 4 hours of movie without moving, but here was a film that astounded all, and with every passing moment, we were debating whether the book was better or the movie. And in a house of ardent book enthusiasts as mine, that debate does not start on a daily basis.

But what I noticed, was the music of the Lord of the Rings. This was not some background score created to support the movie. It was created to give the world of  Middle Earth shape, and that certain feel that is created by the book. This was music composed by a man who felt Lord of the Rings as much as every fan of the text would. Let’s take this for example:

The Shire. Hmm, ok if you say so.

Yes, the image above might evoke some memories of the Shire, that happy land aloof from the travails of Gondor and Mordor full of merry hobbits who just care about the weed in their pipes. But now listen to this:

Now, I can see the Shire if I close my eyes. I can hear the words of Gandalf as they pass by the green fields of Hobbitton. I can imagine a cheerful place, preparing for Bilbo’s birthday, and a sleepy but happy town. And when you combine the two, THAT is what gives the Lord of the Rings its epic touch.

How about this:

Nazgul!! Creeeeeeepy.

However, you get to the middle of THIS:

The dread comes now. The fear, the wrath of the Nazgul, the Black Riders is upon us with this music, and THIS, combined with the sight of the Nazgul galloping down the road instills a fear in the movie watcher, in much the same manner as the book.

It;s not just here, it’s everywhere in the movies. Scene after scene, the feelings in the human body are stirred with the chords that are struck. “Hope is kindled” says Gandalf. As every successive beacon lights in this scene, the violins in the background build up the music, picking up our spirits, which had fallen after Denethor’s apocalyptic talk, and bring the scene to Rohan, where hope, in the form of the heir of Gondor and the riders of the Rohirrim is still there.

What is unique about the Lord of the Rings music, is the fact that it did not have a culture, or a tribe to fall back upon. when we talk of other epic soundtracks, such as that of Amelie, or August Rush or the much-loved Pirates of the Caribbean, Last Samurai or even Titanic,  the composers always had a culture, an era and a certain musical idea to adhere to. Like Last Samurai uses Japanese instruments, and the soundtrack of Black Hawk Down was composed using traditional African instruments and contains tribal influences.

Howard Shore, on the other hand, had to describe a world alien to him, which was only described in the book. The happiness of the Shire, the wrath of the Nazgul, the meaning of the Fellowship, the Hobbits’ feelings as they pass through different kingdoms, the companionship of Sam and Frodo,  the mystery of the Elves, the charm of Rivendell, the fall of Gandalf, the hopelessness and death of Mordor, the industry of Isengard, the hope offered by the Rohirrim, the last ride of King Theoden, the Return of the King, the destruction of the Ring, the celebrations and the journey into the West, these moments of the movies would have never been the same without Howard Shore’s music. And in creating the music of the Lord of the Rings, Howard Shore became responsible for doing justice to the book in much the same way as Peter Jackson, or Francis Ford Coppola.

There are many great tracks in these three albums, but the most notable would be:

• Concerning Hobbits
• The Ring Goes South
• The Bridge of Khazad Dum
• The Breaking of the Fellowship – The best in album one (for me)
• May it Be – composed by Enya
• The King of the Golden Hall
• The Hornburg
• Forth Eorlingas
• Gollum’s Song – The best in album two
• Minas Tirith
• The White Tree
• Minas  Morgul
• The Fields of the Pelennor
• Into The West

Howard Shore - I share my Birthday with him!!

Through this post, I pay my respect to the man and his team that gave a voice to one of the greatest stories that English literature has ever seen. I thank him for giving me three albums that are as close to my heart as the book that they were based upon. Rarely are such feats achieved.

Howard Shore has also composed the music of Departed, Silence of the Lambs, Striptease and his music will next be seen in Hugo. Now, I know trailer music is not composed usually by the same person, but if one judges by it, we are in for another treat, and hopefully another album that is a cherished part of our music collections.