I had no idea we would very soon get the CRs, so I recorded some of my favourite pieces using orchestral sampling. That was around the time I was still learning how to orchestrate and, generally, write music.
I should do a website or something

You should hear my recreation of Anduril's reforging ... lol
That's almost entertainment

Scroll down for it. I know this has been discussed here (at the moment I cannot recall and don't have the time to check), but it would be helpful to have an answer on that page as well.

Actually, I think I might order from Barnes & Noble because they are the only ones who I've bought the CRs from.

Now that we've all had (*cough* sorry - most of us have had) a decent amount of time with the RotK set, which score is your favorite of the three now and why?

After long consideration, I think I've decided that in light of the CRs, my favorite of the three is...

The Fellowship of the Ring.

There, I said it. See, without exception, I greatly prefer scores that do not sound like they are synced to images. Oftentimes in many of my favorite scores, I cannot detect any syncing to picture or scene breaks... they just sound like concert music. This is obviously a result of being first a classical fan and second a film music fan, but that's how it is.

That said, I think one can understand why I crowned the first of the three my favorite. The Two Towers began to be quite fragmented almost from the get-go, and by the third disc it's so extreme that I practically never listen to anything past "The Breach of the Deeping Wall."

The Return of the King? Whew! Here, unified and flowing pieces are definitely the exception rather than the norm. Of course I understand that the producers were trying to make it all chronological (and that most fans were clamoring for this as well), but chronological presentation at the expense of listenability is a very sad trade-off in my listening tastes. That's not to say I dislike the third score, but it's just not what the first was.

Anyone else care to share their picks and opinions?

My mail address should be visible in my profile.

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About my favourite LotR score ... you know, that very tricky. And I hate to pick out a favourite. Like you said, when listening to Fellowship, every track seems like a coherent suite. But that is due to the film being a lot more linear than the other two.
That being said, the reason why it's not my favourite one is simple. Fellowship has all themes in their "raw", basic form, which is understandable, since they need to be introduced. But in Two Towers and Return Of The King, all these themes sound alot more interesting because you really see where they are heading and what they do in the big picture. Plus, they are just more interesting orchestrally.

Now, remember, this sense of development and purpose wouldn't exist without Fellowship's excellent set-up, but would, for instance, Nature's Reclamation in FOTR have the same impact in all subsequent listens if you didn't exactly know how and when this theme climaxes in ROTK?
I think why many people hold FOTR up as the best one is mainly because it has the bonus of re-evoking the feelings you had when you first heard those themes.

You are right, when I first heard TTT's score in the theatre (even on the EE), I thought it was a bit, what's the word, "incoherent". But I largely blame the incredible amount of editing that has evidently been done to the score. On the CR, TTT is as coherent as I could have ever wished for.
When evaluating each score, you also have to take into account what mood each one sets. If I was in the mood for grandeur and magic, I wouldn't exactly listen to TTT or large parts of ROTK.
Out of all three scores, TTT is, IMO, by far the most mature, "grown-up". The whole Forests Of Ithilien/Henneth Annun sequence is amazing in its subtlety (a most overlooked part!).
You have to be in the mood for TTT, no question. And yet, from all three films, I think it has the most astounding finale. It shifts tone and swerves around flawlessly, and the transition between film and credits gives one goosebumps.

You wrote ROTK is not how we started. Well, I certainly hope so!
Honestly, I would have been pretty dissapointed had Shore not switched mood and, partially, style from time to time. You know ROTK isn't FOTR right after the first 50 seconds, no doubt. But does it need to be? *Should* it be, that's the question. Of course not!
That would contradict the whole concept. Has ROTK vastly different orchestrations compared to FOTR? No. It's just the way themes are combined and tweaked that makes it sound different.

Once you come to realise that, ROTK is a marvellous score. I don't think any LOTR score is an immediate attention grabber when listened on their own for the first time.
At least that's my experience.
You listen to it, you turn it off, and somehow it sticks in your mind. After a couple of listens, you're hooked.
It's also not the kind of music that has the "humming" quality of other scores. It's music that was purely made for listening and feeling. You also don't have the real urge to hum along or anything. You just listen because it's fascinating and thrilling.

Yes, of course. I just didn't mention this in my post merely because it seemed kinda obvious.

<<< I think why many people hold FOTR up as the best one is mainly because it has the bonus of re-evoking the feelings you had when you first heard those themes. >>>

A little bit of clarification is in order. I believe TTT is probably a better score than FotR, and RotK is better than both of them. All of my misgivings come from the way the music is presented on the CRs (which I am exclusively using to evaluate the scores).

<<< Out of all three scores, TTT is, IMO, by far the most mature, "grown-up". The whole Forests Of Ithilien/Henneth Annun sequence is amazing in its subtlety (a most overlooked part!). >>>

Not by me! Whenever I think of my favorite parts of TTT, "Glamdring" and the Ithilien scenes ("The Forests of Ithilien," "Rock and Pool," and "Faramir's Good Council") spring immediately to mind. I'm always one for somber, understated music.

<<< You wrote ROTK is not how we started. Well, I certainly hope so! >>>

Well, here is a small up-date depending the Fellowship-concert in Lucerne. The two concerts in February (23rd and 24th) are almost sold out! So we decided to do another concert on March 29th 2008. So everyone, who has not yet the chance to get a ticket, mark march 29th in your appointment calendar.

All best

quote:

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Originally posted by gkgyver:
For those interested, the first half of "The Lighting Of The Beacons" transcription (until Aragorn sees the beacon) is DONE!

My mail address should be visible in my profile.

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gkgyver, I haven't been able to get your email but could you please email your transcriptions to <alcaeru@gmail.com>. I am currently working on some transcriptions for piano and it would be a great help if you could lend me your work.

If anyone wants what I have worked on then email me at the same address.

well, after having finally managed to get the money for the Lucerne trip together, I found out that it's sold out.

Heh! I know, I know, I could have arranged this sooner, but finishing a degree and acquitting myself to post-diploma stress syndrome took priority. However, I'm quite loth to pass up the opportunity of meeting with some LotR folk or to finally get Doug Adams a few of the pints I've been promising him since forever...

I'm currently trying to sort this out somehow (could I, like, be seated in the tenors' section of the choir?!), and I've got a few short questions: who of you is going to be there (apart from Sabine !) and where are you staying? I tentatively plan on staying in Luzern's youth hostel, which, while a bit pricey, is still my best bet. Anybody willing to share a room with a Bavarian (which rules our local Franconian out, of course! )?

What else? I've finally got RotK:CR and eventually got around to listen to it and what can I say? Scoregasm!

I hope everybody is well and would be happy about some clues,

quote:

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Originally posted by Christian Kühn:
who of you is going to be there (apart from Sabine !) and where are you staying?

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I'll be there, now that I'm appropriately armed with plane, train and concert tickets. If I could find my hotel reservation e-mail I'd let you know where I'm supposed to be staying.

iF: Many of your fans would love to hear the music you scored for Peter Jackson's KING KONG. Is there a chance of a release?

SHORE: Yes, there is.

Doug Adams is having bronchitis and now lays at the hospital emergency room. The doctors didn't give him the permission to fly. He will try to get to Lucerne until saturday evening but chances don't seem to be too good...

All best

quote:

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Originally posted by Horner:
Terrible news!

Doug Adams is having bronchitis and now lays at the hospital emergency room. The doctors didn't give him the permission to fly. He will try to get to Lucerne until saturday evening but chances don't seem to be too good...

All best

[Message edited by Horner on 02-21-2008]

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I believe that I've never really fully recovered from that double-shot, so that's probably the reason the infections I get are always so stubborn since then.

YEEEHHAAAAAAAWWWW!!!!

What an awesome night! Full report coming soon!

Greetings,
Sabsi, Jim, Andy (aka Eorl), Basil (aka Horner) and Christian

quote:

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Originally posted by Christian Kühn:
First-minute report (0:55 am) from the live performance of FotR in Lucerne, Switzerland:

[b]YEEEHHAAAAAAAWWWW!!!!

What an awesome night! Full report coming soon!

Greetings,
Sabsi, Jim, Andy (aka Eorl), Basil (aka Horner) and Christian

PS: Georg, where the hell were you? You missed the group photo (with Howard Shore!) [/B]

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Hear! Hear!!! Doug has also asked for any and all reactions, impressions, conclusions and whatever to Lucerne on his blog... (See Report from Hses of Healing) He says he's on the mend, by the way....

My questions: Did it work? How did it work? Did it enhance your experience of Film and/or music? If you were new (hard to imagine, right?!) to Film or music, would this be the best way to start? Let's have details on Maestro Shore's comments... Any particular moment visually or aurally stand out? How does this compare with the usual theatrical experience, the home experience of Film and CR's? Audience reactions during and after... Was it a special communal experience? Etc, etc, etc...