by Pete M on 5/15/2002
favorite track: 18
 
Recently re-issued on disc in order to coincide with the theatrical release of Peter Jackson's version of FOTR, Leonard Rosenman's score for the 1978 animated version is a superb piece of music that outshines the film it was written for. Obviously, since the film is only half the novel, the score only includes music up to and including the huge battle of Helm's Deep. On disc, this isn't really a problem, and the music is a satisfying listen in its own right.

In telling the tale of Frodo & the One Ring, Rosenman uses a rich and detailed orchestral palette with telling writing for chorus. There are several central thematic ideas, including the musical "pyramid" which opens the score, a dark and forbidding march for the Orcs, and some dark & eerie material for Mordor, which features a male chorus actually singing (or groaning) the word "Mordor." As fine as those thematic elements are, they are all dwarfed (no pun intended) by the main Lord of the Rings theme - a grand, triumphant and jaunty march which is best heard near the very end, but used in fragments and snatches throughout. Indeed, this development of the thematic ideas is one of the most satisfying things about the score. All of the elements are introduced - mostly in the opening track "History of the Ring" - in fragmented form, and are then slowly developed through the course of the music until they are finally heard in full form - e.g. the Mordor theme isn't heard in its full version until "Helm's Deep."

As is fitting the nature of the film, much of the music is very dark, edgy and violent with some stupendously huge and thrilling action pieces, chief of which is the furious climactic battle of "Helms Deep" where fanfares representing the men struggles to survive against the full onslaught of the Mordor theme (runs more than 12 minutes over two tracks). There is some variation though, most notably in "Mithrandir," a lyrical lament of childrens and adult chorus singing a text specially written by Mark Fleischer.

Fine though the music unquestionably is, I do have some minor reservations about it, or at least about its characterisation of the Rings world. For example, the just mentioned "Mithrandir" is meant to be sung by the Elves in Lothlorien, but it sounds like a pretty conventional Western (no, not Western as in horses and prairies) choral piece, and not really what I would imagine Elf music to sound like. This problem is now greater in comparison with Howard Shore's FOTR score, which characterised Middle-Earth much stronger, and has an awesome "Ring" theme which at once captures all the terrible power, darkness and inescapable allure of the One Ring. Rosenman has nothing comparable to offer. However, Rosenman does have the edge of Shore's score when taken purely as a listening experience on CD, being slightly more vivid, direct and thrilling - if not nearly as moving.

Whatever, it's a relatively small complaint against what is undoubtedly a fine score (probably this composer's finest), which makes for a very involving CD that demands repeated listening. In fact, it's far more entertaining on disc that it was in the film, something I don't think anyone would say about Shore's score. This re-issue is identical in terms of content to the version issued a few years ago by Intrada records, and comes with a cue breakdown written by the composer, plus some new liner notes. Highly recommended.