The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

by Howard Shore

Overview

Hailed as an adventure to match Raiders of the Lost Ark for thrills and Star Wars for visual magic, the first installment of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy demands an outsize score. Luckily, composing powerful film music is nothing new for Howard Shore, a Hollywood favorite responsible for The Silence of the Lambs, Ed Wood, and other soundtracks. And if Shore's credentials aren't enough, Celtic chanteuse Enya contributes two magical numbers to this winning soundtrack. Shore's epic score is operatic in length, richness, and variety -- utilizing a 100-piece orchestra with three different choirs. Immediately, the listener is seized by the high drama of this music. The score opens with "The Prophecy," as the powerful somberness of the orchestra's brass and the voices of the choir (singing lyrics by Philippa Boyens in an ancient-sounding language ), conjure images of the majestically sinister Gothic world of Middle-earth. And the magic continues with the "Fellowship Theme," a pastoral melody that follows the main character, Frodo Baggins, throughout his quest. The passage is typical of Shore's masterful musical rendering of both the grand scale of Tolkien's classic and the essential themes of love and brotherhood that lie at the heart of the tale. Among the ten soloists featured is Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins on the stirring "Lothlorien," which uses an Indian bowed lute to haunting effect. This is an exuberant score filled with cinematic thunder and childlike wonder, and not since John Williams's triumphant Star Wars theme has there been movie music so likely to capture the listener's imagination.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2001
Label:	Reprise / Wea
UPC:	0093624811022
catalogNumber:	48110
Rank:	6751

Tracks

1. The Prophecy
2. Concerning Hobbits
3. The Shadow of the Past
4. The Treason of Isengard
5. The Black Rider
6. At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
7. A Knife in the Dark
8. Flight to the Ford
9. Many Meetings
10. Council of Elrond
11. The Ring Goes South
12. A Journey in the Dark
13. The Bridge of Khazad Dum
14. Lothlorien
15. The Great River
16. Amon Hen
17. The Breaking of the Fellowship
18. May It Be

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Howard Shore   Primary Artist,Conductor
Enya   Vocals,Track Performer
Elizabeth Fraser   Vocals
London Philharmonic Orchestra   Performing Ensemble
London Voices   Choir, Chorus
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra   Performing Ensemble
Edward Ross   Vocals
Igelese Ete   Choir Master
Mabel Faletolu   Vocals
Michael McCarthy   Choir Master
London Oratory School Boys Choir   Choir, Chorus
Terry Edwards   Choir Master

Technical Credits

Enya   Composer
Roma Ryan   Composer
John Kurlander   Engineer
Nicky Ryan   Producer,Engineer
Howard Shore   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes,Orchestration
Danny Bramson   Executive Producer
Suzana Períc   Producer
Greg Sylvester   Art Direction
Paul Broucek   Executive Producer,Music Executive
Fran Walsh   Executive Producer,Text
J.R.R. Tolkien   Text
Philippa Boyens   Text
Peter Jackson   Director,Liner Notes,Executive Producer