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I think he's joking about your emoticon. It is kind of green. Perhaps it had spinach for lunch.

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Hey, I tried to tell him quietly, but he made such a big deal out of it, everybody's going to look closely at his emoticon's teeth now.

Anybody got a toothpick for the man?

Anyway... I was listening to The Two Towers OST today and was thinking that the choir on the original track of "Helm's Deep" (most of which is doubled in "The Wolves of Isengard") would sound phenomenal in DVD-Audio.

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Originally posted by Swashbuckler:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>I think he's joking about your emoticon. It is kind of green. Perhaps it had spinach for lunch.<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, I tried to tell him quietly, but he made such a big deal out of it, everybody's going to look closely at his emoticon's teeth now.

Anybody got a toothpick for the man?

Anyway... I was listening to The Two Towers OST today and was thinking that the choir on the original track of "Helm's Deep" (most of which is doubled in "The Wolves of Isengard") would sound phenomenal in DVD-Audio.

[Message edited by Swashbuckler on 03-03-2007]

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Originally posted by Ge0rge:
yeah, maybe. Personally, when I tried to hear the difference between the same moments in the CDA and DVD-A stereo representations... well, it was almost impossible.

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It largely depends on your listening equipment, George. I'm listening with Etymotic ER-6i's isolator earphones (sorta high-end, but not gratuitously priced), and there is a massive difference in many areas.

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Originally posted by NeoVoyager:

It largely depends on your listening equipment, George. I'm listening with Etymotic ER-6i's isolator earphones (sorta high-end, but not gratuitously priced), and there is a massive difference in many areas.

As a general rule, I'd say 99% of speakers won't do justice to the DVD-A presentation. What I need to get is a good Dolby 5.1 system so I can listen without earphones!

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Hey, I tried to tell him quietly, but he made such a big deal out of it, everybody's going to look closely at his emoticon's teeth now.

Anybody got a toothpick for the man?

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Still not getting it ... is this supposed to be some kind of joke ... ?
Here's another one:

The latest OperaNow! podcast has a brief discussion about the upcoming opera "The Fly" by Howard Shore. There isn't any input from Shore but there is a short discussion about film composers moving into the world of opera.

ruckus

Permit me a few parallels:
Nuremberg is Wagner's Shire (a la Bree perhaps!) an idyllic place
Hans Sachs is his Gandalf/Bilbo/Frodo combo: (G for his wisdom, B for his being a substantial citizen, and F for his long-suffering...)
Eva and Walter are his Arwen and Aragorn
Pogner her father is his Elrond
and, of course, his Smeagol is Beckmesser!

Wagner wrote his own poetic libretti, so be sure to find an English (or whatever your favorite language is!) translation... you will miss so much without it.

The highlights are the opening Prelude, and Sachs famous monologues (the Lilac Monologue in Act II) and the Delusion Monologue opening Act III, his famous exhortation to art at the end of Act III... and the fabulous quintet in the middle of Act III (which is 2 hours long, by the way -- he saves the best for last)
The most hilarious moment is the duel in song between Sachs and Beckmesser that leads to the pillow fight of the neighbourhood at the end of Act II (a fugue no less!) And of course the ultimate song of all songs: the Prize Song (at the end of Act III) about which Sachs coaches Walter so he can win Eva...

It's all about love (of course) and human foibles and how art cures them both...
Don't miss it!

Go here for more info: http://www.operainfo.org/broadcast/operaMain.cgi?id=80&language=1

Timdalf

[Message edited by Timdalf on 03-05-2007]

[Message edited by Timdalf on 03-05-2007]

Didn't Shore write that as a concert piece and Scorsese used it in Gangs, instead of Shore writing it specifically for Gangs? I thought I read that somewhere. I rewatched Gangs the other day and Scorsese starts this piece three times, but always cuts it off long before it gets rolling.

25 more days (though I think I'll stretch it another week and wait till Easter Sunday). That make 32 more days...*sob*

Who thinks I'm crazy?! Huh?!!

Oh dear, oh dear... The whole point of his music is DRAMA, human drama!! But you are not alone in this... and particularly these days when singers of the quality we had in earlier decades are a distant memory!

Anyhow, to answer your question: there are several recordings of "Symphonic Syntheses" by Leopold Stokowski and there are "Wagner without Words" sorts of things: Rings, Tristans, Parsifals (a later term for the same kind of extended musical excerpts) conducted by Lorin Maazel. And then there are innumerable recordings of the usual "bleeding chunks" of orchestral passages, overtures, interludes, preludes and what not by every conductor since the beginning of recorded time...

A thorough ck through Amazon should come up with more than anyone can handle in a lifetime. Good listening!

Timdalf

I often say, "I'm older than dirt" and it appears I really am.

Now, this may seem like a really stupid question, but think about it. Doesn't the Isengard music consist of three components:
- the 5/4 representing the Orcs/Uruk-Hai
- the half-step down and back again representing Isengard itself, and
- the metallic percussion representing the industrial might

Isn't the whole LotR story based on the concept of the industrial revolution, represented by Sauron and Saruman, overpowering the idyllic, rural way of living?
And since the threat of the inustrial might/Sauron isn't over until the ring is destroyed, shouldn't the metal percussion also be present in ROTK?

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Originally posted by Magpie:
I don't know what prompted me to click on my user name to find my profile (well, I think I wondered how long I'd been a member...) but...

I often say, "I'm older than dirt" and it appears I really am.

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I would say industrialization VS natural world is only one of the many themes Tolkien's story has.

On the level of ideas Isengard is the manifest and visible embodiment of this industrial might of Middle-Earth in the book and in the films even more so than Mordor and Sauron which are of course refered as the origin for Saruman's inventions, metal and wheels and ways of creating things fast and with seemingly little labour.
Sauron may be the origin of this industrialization but his forges, furnaces or factories are not conretely shown at any point, they are only alluded to.

So in my mind it is appropriate for Shore to use those metallic percussion instruments only for Isengard which truly is seen as a great forge of war and industry that threatens to engulf the natural world and wantonly destroy it.

In RotK Isengard is already defeated but the threat of Sauron remains. There is no point to represent Orcs or Sauron with the same instrumentation as Isengard as Shore has set so specific style for each culture.

The Orcs are still very much a threat and as the 5/4 Rhythm represents their race at their most focused and determined it is correctly applied to Sauron's assault on Minas Tirith in RotK. What are these Orcs but an extension of Sauron's will which directs them and drives them to form a disciplined force to assault the World of Men?

As for the lower register of the Mordor themes and the Orc material in Rotk, I have noticed the same and it is again in my mind a natural evolution of those themes as the story progresses. Mordor material becomes darker and deeper, more oppressive and forceful as Sauron's whole might is unleashed on Free Peoples. The idea of the heroes going closer to Mordor where Sauron's might is at its height is reflected in the music very powerfully.
And indeed the brass players must have had hell of a time while playing certain passages in RotK

We have talked about this before but
it is also interesting how the Nazgûl music has become almost purely orchestral in RotK. There are 2 passages that involve a choir, the Fell Beast Assault on Minas Tirith and Eowyn VS Witch King duel but other than that the Nazgûl are represented much like in TTT, with hints to their theme in orchestra.

RotK also seems to have a new smaller Ringwraith motif which could basically be a driving variant of their original theme now stripped to bare minimum producing a short oppressive and forceful motif which is used in many scenes involving the Ulair and the terror they inspire. Examples of this motif :

- OST track Minas Morgul 0;11-> in French Horns

- The scene where Osgiliath is invaded and the Nazgûl swoop down with their Fell Beasts.

-Faramir's troops escape towards Minas Tirith and Nazgûl pursue (longer drawn out variation).

- OST track Fields of Pelennor 2;33-> the choir is chanting this oppressive short motif augmented by the brass.

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"The show opened on a bright note, courtesy of Doug Adams who has been working with Howard Shore on bringing the Complete Soundtrack Recordings to life, and will soon be publishing a book about the entire process. He's been using a keyboard to demonstrate key musical motifs and how they are related to each other and to the various characters and lands of Middle earth. For his Saturday panel he promises some real surprises regarding information about the Return of the King Complete Soundtrack boxset. BTW, he did announce that this boxset will be 4 CDs so they can fit everything on there they want to release."

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Doug Adams, well known musician and writer who worked closely with Howard Shore on the musical score for The Lord of the Rings, gave a brilliant talk on the musical themes of The Lord of the Rings, specifically the four themes associated with the ring and how they are woven together throughout the three films. He confirmed that the final boxed set CD, with the music from The Return of the King, will be issued in 2007 on a four-disc set. Doug is also completing the book, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, which will be the definitive and official guide to Howard Shore's 12-hour musical score. The book will be out around the end of the year and may be accompanied by multimedia material demonstrating the music. A CD version of The Lord of the Rings symphony is also under discussion.

Doug demonstrated the musical themes he discussed so audience members could hear and understand more about how the themes relate both to the action and mood of the specific scenes in the films where they appear and to other themes associated with that character or kingdom. On Saturday, in the second part of his talk, he will play some surprise elements most fans have not heard before. I’ll cover his talks in more detail in tomorrow’s report.

King Kong music trivia: Do you know who plays the conductor in the Broadway theatre scene in Kong: Eighth Wonder of the World? Yes, it’s a Howard Shore cameo! And his wife is seated in the front row.

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Doug Adams continues his discussion of the themes of Howard Shore’s music for The Lord of the Rings. Look for the 4CD set, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The Complete Recordings, around November, followed soon after by Doug’s book, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films.

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November!!!!!

-Chad

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There were a few other announcements, but I'll leave that for other reviewers and official announcements (like, for instance, a release of a live symphony performance)

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Doug, do you care to elaborate on this?

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And his wife is seated in the front row

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Since both FOTR:CR and TTT:CR were roughly 3 hours each, does this make ROTK:CR SIX HOURS LONG???

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Originally posted by Jim Ware:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1> And his wife is seated in the front row<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

That I did not know! More trivia to crowd the useful knowledge out of my brain.

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I've been telling you folks this since December 2005! Wah...attention span of a gnat!

I do not know how much was actually written vs. to what was actually recorded. Having 12 hours of music written won't do us much good, now will it?!

I am still looking forward to this very, very much indeed. AFter this, I can die.

Jetlag reigns supreme right now, so I’m going to do some quick and dirty rumor control.

Re: November: Hearsay, rumors and speculation, I’m afraid. The question posed this weekend was will ROTK be out in November, answer was “Possibly, but nothing is set. Could be any time this year as of now.” Easy to see how that was misconstrued, but just to be clear, no release date or timeframe is yet set.

Re: Symphony CD: Nothing to elaborate on. It is a possibility, just as it’s always been. Would happen after ROTK and the book most likely, so there’s been no significant motion yet.

Re: 12 Hours: Including unused music, alternates, first drafts, etc. you get a figure close to this number. Just a ballpark. Nothing hidden, no secrets.

I’m grinding my gears on about 2 hours of sleep right now, but I’ll be back when time permits. Would love to speak in Europe someday, and if anyone ever organizes it, you can bet I’ll be there!

More later, friends.

I'm going to Easter Sunday on the LotR fast, meaning 23 more days from right now.

Hope to hear from Doug, soon...

Timdalf