by Jeron on 11/18/2001
favorite track: 17
 
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

-- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Tolkien's epic, "The Lord of the Rings," will celebrate its 50th anniversary soon. What better way to prepare for such a great celebration than with Peter Jackson's highly anticipated films? Well, there is perhaps one other method, and that would be through the power of Howard Shore's highly anticipated score. After many months of skeptical discussion by those unfamiliar with Shore's abilities, and many months worth of solid backing by Shore's solid backers, the moment of truth is finally here. The results? Absolutely and wholly stunning. As mentioned in interviews and articles, four months of research went into the music alone before Shore began crafting his score. As a result, Shore's foray into Ring mythology brings a depth to the music that would otherwise be nonexistent. Employing a 100-piece orchestra, 60-person male choir, 30-person boy's choir, and a mixed choir as well, Shore's music not only achieves an undeniable level of sophistication, but also succeeds in delivering sheer massive orchestral power to its listener. Rarely does a score truly put itself on the map (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones); rarely does a story as legendary and epic as "The Lord of the Rings" get a score of equal proportions. Lucky for us, both have fallen into place and fit like a glove.

But what is so great about the music? A person can toss around words like "stunning," "solid," "incredible," "powerful," and "magical" easily without backing them up. First, I must make it clear that I've not seen the film, nor read any of the books (as Shrek would say, "it's on my to-do list!"). This assessment is based solely on my impressions of the score album as a listening experience. This is a musical journey like no other; it's adventurous and intellectual; every note meticulously calculated and executed with both pride and passion. Shore focuses on the fantastical cultures Tolkien invented and uses the mythologies surrounding those cultures as a primary influence and guide. The music as a whole is, as you might have guessed, extremely dark and operatic. A majority of the cues are heavy, forceful choral onslaughts that rival, if not surpass, the similarly regarded moments in Shore's Looking for Richard. What differentiates this from anything the composer has done in the past is his intricate craftiness; his use of motifs as a structural building block; his incredible sensibility for the epic fantasy (who knew?). And the themes! Shore has written some amazing thematic material. To cover all of the themes in detail would simply take too long, so I'll discuss two or three that stand out in my mind: The first theme, introduced in "Concerning Hobbits," is probably best identified as the hobbit/fellowship theme. This simple, singular theme makes very few appearances throughout the album, but stands out as a theme that will become a favorite. Performed most prominently in the finale track, "The Breaking of the Fellowship," Shore's use of this theme might make it one of the most powerful finales in the past decade. "The Shadow of the Past," a dark, pulsating choral piece, introduces a second theme, and serves as the most dominating - menacing and dissonant, it's a tour de force that will most certainly gain Shore some new subscribers. Serving as a bridge between both of the above mentioned themes is a third theme that embodies the quest-or