How long should we expect TTT to be? 3.5 hours? How many discs will it be, 3 or 4? I think I remember reading somewhere that it will be 4 discs. When will it be released? I have heard late spring, so possibly around April-May. What tracks are you most looking forward to on TTT Complete Recordings? Will there be another disc in the inside cover like the DVD on FOTR and if so will it have that same annoying rubber stopper in the middle?

Based on the inclusion of songs by the cast in FOTR, I am trying to remember all of the songs in TTT. I know there is the funeral hymm sung by Eowyn (sp?) for Theodred (sp?). But other than that and the singing done by non-cast members I don't recall any other songs.

Let's get some good discussion going on this release, because I feel it is the most forgotten and least well received of the three scores. Personally, I feel it is just as good, if not better, than FOTR and ROTK. Although that is asking me to decide which child is my favorite, they are all very "precious" to me! IMHO, it got screwed in the Oscar nominations and should have won best score as well, giving LOTR a 3 year sweep!

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Originally posted by nuts_score:
You selfish bastard!

But TTT is an all around better score than both FotR and RotK

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I completely disagree with this.

If TT or ROTK never got box sets, I wouldn't care.

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I completely disagree with this.

If TT or ROTK never got box sets, I wouldn't care.

Joe[/B]

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Well it has already been confirmed that they are coming out. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I am curious as to why you feel the way you do though.

You're right, I am a greedy bastard!! I wanted to have them all at once, oh well.

-Chad

In TTT, it's fantastic how Shore starts out with the sound of FOTR, softly grabs your hand and then takes you to new places, step by step, without dragging you along. He puts a new spin on the elves' music, gives it a much larger scale by the inclusion of two new soloists; we are introduced to the world of Fangorn; Gandalf receives a whole new treatment and so does Gollum.
At the end, we're perfectly set up for ROTK.

Excellent summary, I agree with you on all points. I had to take a break from FOTR and I am now listening to TTT. Thanks to Hirgon's site, I love listening to the burning of the Westfold, on the trail of the Uruk-Hai, Shadowfax. I just can't wait to hear these complete!

my ratings:
FOTR: 10/9
TTT: 10/10
ROTK: 10/8

Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without the previous two scores to build on and it is really a little silly to discuss them as if they were distinct compositions. They are 3 parts of a greater work that is more than the sum of its parts. As Doug Adams mentioned once, the music is a parallel telling of the story that doesn’t just underscore the action on screen but retells the story musically.

In the same way that the movie could not be complete without all three parts, so too the music. It won’t be complete without the middle and the ending and trying to rate it or rank it is really missing the whole point. It was conceived as a single work, just as Tolkien conceived the tale, (his publishers broke it into three volumes) and works best when viewed in that light.

I am loathe to choose a favorite LOTR score because I found that each score built so well on the previous one that they played out convincingly like three movements of a voluminous whole. I think that this presentation demands attentive listening, but it rewards it.

For my Nomad (an iPod but cheaper), I did edit in three parts from the original CD.

I included "Concerning Hobbits" between "Bag End" and "Very Old Friends" so as not to disturb the slower introduction of the Hobbit/Shire music but preserve a cue I have great affection for.

I sandwiched the opening of "The Great River," the part that existed only in the theatrical version, as Galadriel waves goodbye to Frodo, right before "Farewell to Lórien" shows up in "The Fighting Uruk-Hai" as I always felt that was the most beautiful part of the theatrical score.

I also put the wrenching string figure that closed "In Dreams" back into that track. I did this for my own personal listening, and am not complaining about the recording one bit...

...but I'm wondering if I won't be doing the same thing when The Two Towers comes out as a lot of the music on that album does not appear in either version of the film.

It will also be nice to have the music in the order of the film, as opposed to a seemingly random edit of cues.

TTT's music is so much a natural continuation of the music I can't say if it is better than FOTR or ROTK. It is really a second part of a three act score that forms a unified whole. TTT score has many great musical moments that are my favorites but so do FOTR and ROTK. As the story progresses and turns more epic so does the music as the story reaches its conclusion. In TTT this development begins to manifest. There are many pieces I am waiting to hear like the development of Nature's Reclamation theme, Isengard material and Rohan's music.

I have been wondering if Doug Adams will recapitulate and discuss further about the themes mentioned in the FOTR liner notes or will he just start to analyze the new thematic material and make passing references to the old themes.


I wait for TTT Complete Recordings as anxiously as the FOTR but atleast I have that set to keep me company to ease the waiting

I've said it earlier on, but it's really amazing to watch TTT and hear the magical FOTR evolve into something much broader, progressively fading and finally interacting with the down-to-earth music of men. It starts out in full FOTR fantasy- mode with "Foundations Of Stone" and The Three Hunters, until Howard Shore carefully starts to intertwine things. The 5/4 drums of Isengart meet the Fellowship theme, the History Of The Ring theme and The Pity Of Gollum become a little more related, especially in the orchestrations.
In between these developments are sewn hints at or introductions of new themes. Gollum's Stinker motif is introduced and from now on the cembalon is omnipresent in the Gollum- orchestrations.
Meanwhile the Fellowship theme evolves around Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in the Three Hunters scenes by slowly assimilating itself to the Rohan style (french horns in unisono, played a little portato) that is hinted at it "The Riders Of Rohan" when Aragorn encounters Eomer. This early connection becomes clear when the Rohan theme is played out for the first time after Theoden's recovery.
The interaction of these three elements, Rohan, Fellowship and Isengart, will culminate later on in Helm's Deep.

Also very amazing is the use of Aragorn's theme in TTT, the way it foreshadows the fully formed Gondor theme in ROTK with its heroic, but not yet bombastic orchestration, noticeable when Aragorn reads Merry and Pippin's tracks and when he arrives at Helm's Deep.

And don't forget the trio Frodo/ Sam/ Gollum! This one is brilliant, too! Notice how the Gollum style, the strings and the woodwinds, takes over the writing as the story progresses. Even when Gollum isn't even in the scene, like the one in which Frodo asks Sam why he runs Smeagol down all the time.
This very development can be heard in ROTK as well, only that the Mordor sound takes over. Maybe it's a little too early for ROTK, but just look at it: the closer we get to Cirith Ungol, the more dissonant and high- pitched get the compositions, and the more transparent get the orchestrations. The closer we get to Mordor, the thicker we get again. Full string chords, progressively more brass and so on and so forth.

One of the nicest developmentsfor me in TTT, one that doesn't get too much attention (if at all), is the evolution the ringwraiths go through.
This is another theme for which you have to take ROTK in account. In FOTR, the wraiths were more like action characters, quick and physically violent, and so was their music; gothic, brutal chants with a fast pace and a sense of action. The portrayal in TTT is radically different, but equally effective.
Here, the Nazgul's strength lies in their horrifying presence, and in their presence alone, so the music, although using the same chords, has a totally different spin.
When the wraith flies over Osgiliath, the score radiates an aura of omnipresent, dominant terror; terror that is not aggressive but that could get worse and overwhelm you any second.
Exactly the same approach can be heard in ROTK two times, until the wraiths return for battle on the Pelennor. Then the Nazgul sound with the choir from FOTR returns, but it has grown and transformed into something bigger. A musical monster, apocalyptic splendor that reflects the power Sauron has given them for their final battle.
And not only that; it also recalls The Prophecy and adds another dimension to the film that could have never been translated into film or dialogue.

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Originally posted by gkgyver:
I've never thought of FOTR, TTT and ROTK as rivals and never understood why many complained for instance about the lack of old material in TTT and ROTK.
Maybe people look at them as sequels, but from all the interviews and DVD features it's crystal clear that TTT and ROTK don't WANT to be that.

I've said it earlier on, but it's really amazing to watch TTT and hear the magical FOTR evolve into something much broader, progressively fading and finally interacting with the down-to-earth music of men. It starts out in full FOTR fantasy- mode with "Foundations Of Stone" and The Three Hunters, until Howard Shore carefully starts to intertwine things. The 5/4 drums of Isengart meet the Fellowship theme, the History Of The Ring theme and The Pity Of Gollum become a little more related, especially in the orchestrations.
In between these developments are sewn hints at or introductions of new themes. Gollum's Stinker motif is introduced and from now on the cembalon is omnipresent in the Gollum- orchestrations.
Meanwhile the Fellowship theme evolves around Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in the Three Hunters scenes by slowly assimilating itself to the Rohan style (french horns in unisono, played a little portato) that is hinted at it "The Riders Of Rohan" when Aragorn encounters Eomer. This early connection becomes clear when the Rohan theme is played out for the first time after Theoden's recovery.
The interaction of these three elements, Rohan, Fellowship and Isengart, will culminate later on in Helm's Deep.

Also very amazing is the use of Aragorn's theme in TTT, the way it foreshadows the fully formed Gondor theme in ROTK with its heroic, but not yet bombastic orchestration, noticeable when Aragorn reads Merry and Pippin's tracks and when he arrives at Helm's Deep.

And don't forget the trio Frodo/ Sam/ Gollum! This one is brilliant, too! Notice how the Gollum style, the strings and the woodwinds, takes over the writing as the story progresses. Even when Gollum isn't even in the scene, like the one in which Frodo asks Sam why he runs Smeagol down all the time.
This very development can be heard in ROTK as well, only that the Mordor sound takes over. Maybe it's a little too early for ROTK, but just look at it: the closer we get to Cirith Ungol, the more dissonant and high- pitched get the compositions, and the more transparent get the orchestrations. The closer we get to Mordor, the thicker we get again. Full string chords, progressively more brass and so on and so forth.

One of the nicest developments for me in TTT, one that doesn't get too much attention (if at all), is the evolution the ringwraiths go through.
This is another theme for which you have to take ROTK in account. In FOTR, the wraiths were more like action characters, quick and physically violent, and so was their music; gothic, brutal chants with a fast pace and a sense of action. The portrayal in TTT is radically different, but equally effective.
Here, the Nazgul's strength lies in their horrifying presence, and in their presence alone, so the music, although using the same chords, has a totally different spin.
When the wraith flies over Osgiliath, the score radiates an aura of omnipresent, dominant terror; terror that is not aggressive but that could get worse and overwhelm you any second.
Exactly the same approach can be heard in ROTK two times, until the wraiths return for battle on the Pelennor. Then the Nazgul sound with the choir from FOTR returns, but it has grown and transformed into something bigger. A musical monster, apocalyptic splendor that reflects the power Sauron has given them for their final battle.
And not only that; it also recalls The Prophecy and adds another dimension to the film that could have never been translated into film or dialogue.

These moments and many many more make LotR truly stand out from the searching mass of other film scores.
In these moments, LotR ceases to be just wonderful movie music and becomes subtext.

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I agree whole heartedly with your observations. Though I have spend less time listening the TTT music in the movie (or have I been so observant that I had listened to the orchestration so closely as you) I notice each time something new and how Shore builds the musical world in the most satifying manner. His writing shows a very deep understanding and thought he put into the work. I was so happy and even moved by the depth of his thinking when I read the FOTR liner notes. Shore went ot extraordinary lenghts in writing these scores when you compare to an average film score. And as he himself has said the more he wrote and immersed into Tolkien's world the more he became fascinated by it. This was clearly a labour of love and it shows. He put all his effort into it.

I must admit Aragorn's theme eluded me to the day I read Doug Adams' liner notes. I never had quite found it in the FOTR as it is just subtly building as Aragorn's character is growing. Now that I listen to the TTT and ROTK his theme seems more clearer and makes perfect sense. The Gondor in Ascension theme in ROTK cleverly intergrates Argaorn's rising theme to the old Gondor theme foundation and creates a new positive and noble theme compared to the old rather mealcholic Gondor theme. This development is so gratifying to hear and observe and it applies to the whole score(=FOTR, TTT and ROTK).

That note you made about the Nazgûl theme is interesting. I definitely should watch TTT again and listen to their music again. It has been a while so my memories are little faded
The appearance of their theme in the battle of Pelennor Fields baffled me at first since it did not sound like the theme we are used to in FOTR or TTT but then I understood its connection to the Prophecy choir music and it seemed very appropriate.

By the way, Adams says that the release date has been decided, and it will be announced shortly.