Track-by-Track: Soundtrack Discussion and Analysis

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

Alas, I don't have the collector's set but just the regular EE. If there's something very interesting on that dvd, it'd be nice if you (or anyone that happens to own that) could share it in this thread - if it's not completely off topic, of course. Anyway, would it be time for track four? I can't wait to get my hands on that piece

[Encaitare]

When I get around to watching the DVD, I will definitely tell about it here or start a new thread for it. In a little while you'll probably be able to buy it separately, like the National Geographic DVD which came in the FotR box set.

It's time for Track 4: The Treason of Isengard -- I apologize for not posting it yesterday; I have been a bit busy with New Year's and all!

The track opens with soft vocals which sound very mysterious. At this point in the movie, Frodo is still kept a little in the dark, so he is worried about what is going to happen. Yet as the music progresses and as Sam and Frodo travel through the sunlit Shire, it becomes somewhat lighter; again we hear "In Dreams," the Shire theme (1:26), this time on French horn, which becomes the Fellowship theme on various instruments, but only a couple at any one time. The Fellowship in its earliest stages is beginning with the two hobbits.

Then the Fellowship theme is heard again at 2:00, as the style of the music changes completely: it becomes far more serious in tone, and full of brass to announce Gandalf's presence. As it moves on to Saruman, there is a crescendo which heightens the tension and sense of danger. The choir sings the following in Black Speech, part of the poem of the Ring:

Ash Burz-Durbagu burzum-ishi [3:10-3:16]
Daghburz-ishi makha gulshu darulu. [2:55-3:09] [3:17, 3.21-3:29]

One for-Dark-Lord in-darkness
in-Mordor where shadows lie.

Or, to put it in normal terms, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne / In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

The choir sings its part softly on top of a pedal point for 35 seconds. It gives very old, ancient feeling. Something that has roots in way back history has put things in motion again. The "walking theme" begins at 00:51. The drums play some kind of a marching comp on the background. The melody doesn't sound completely sad or depressed but a bit plaintive. After all, the two hobbits are leaving their home behind for the first time. Until - a glimpse of hope is delivered by In Dreams and Fellowship themes. As Encaitare said:"The Fellowship in its earliest stages is beginning with the two hobbits." So the Fellowship theme is very soft and rather just predicts the things they are going to go through during their quest.

Between 1:56 and 2:20 as the brass take over the melody, the strings have two different pedal points. I don't know if they're used here to refer to the beginning of this track, but to me it seems like things concerning the same historical event are just beginning to happen in the Shire while in greater cities the coming battle, corruption and such are already more concrete facts.

The choir chanting in Black Speech sounds once again ancient but also majestic. It matches the feeling of Orthanc very well since the setting itself reflects both of those adjectives. The choir, drum and brass end this track in forte without diminuendo or ritardando. The music just suddenly stops without any kind of a warning which is perfect to give emphasis to the shock about Gandalf's capturing.

[Encaitare]

More happy Shire music here!

At the beginning the flute plays the theme again, slightly altered. Also returning is the Alberti bass from Track 2, played this time on bassoon. As the hobbits are running away from the angry farmer Maggot, the music takes on an urgent feel. They crash into one another, and we hear a crash symbol at 0:43. Then as they reach the bottom of the hill, the notes become lower and the tempo more slow, ending at 0:50.

At 1:06, the low strings move in descending thirds. Starting around 1:08 , if you listen really closely, I think there's a flexatone in there, making eerie wavy noises underneath the strings and choir. It seems that the brash horns stand for Mordor. The brass notes are high over the low strings, which could very well be our poor frightened hobbits, looking for somewhere to hide. Once more, the choir sings, this time in Adûnaic:

Nêbâbîtham Magânanê
Nêtabdam dâurad
Nêpâm nêd abârat-aglar
îdô Nidir nênâkham
Bârî 'n Katharâd

'We deny our maker.
We cling to the darkness.
We grasp for ourselves power and glory.
Now we come, the Nine,
Lords of Eternal Life.'

By 2:25, the horns and choir fade, and we are left once more with the lower stings, the hobbits.

[Kitanna]

I love the contrast in this song. It starts out with the innocent music and feel of Hobbits and the Shire. Then it morphs into the evil music of the Wraiths.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

if you listen really closely, I think there's a flexatone in there, making eerie wavy noises underneath the strings and choir.

Wow! You are really skillful in recognizing different instruments! Do you play in an orchestra?
The Black Rider - In my opinion it's one of the pieces in FotR that are easiest to get into. Despite the dissonancing chords it's really pleasant to listen to. The middle part of the piece is very distressing. After the dominant brass and choir leave the listener gasping (2:25) the drum plays for a few seconds like imitating a heart beat. The pace of the "heart beat" is quite calm, especially for a hobbit who has been chased by a black rider. But I think it still somehow reflects the feeling that the hobbits managed to evade the danger and they don't have to worry for a while.

[Encaitare]

Wow! You are really skillful in recognizing different instruments! Do you play in an orchestra?

Thanks! I play in the school's wind ensemble and full orchestra, and also in an orchestra outside of school.

I watched the Creating the Lord of the Rings Symphony DVD and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about music. It's mostly just the music being played by the orchestra/choir with a few short interview clips with Howard Shore, but it's fascinating to watch. I learned several things from it as well. Seems I was wrong about the Shire theme; it is a tin whistle in Track 2 after all. And where I've been saying oboe, it's often been an English horn. Ah, well. I was close.

Track six:

The very beginning (very as in just the first few notes) reminds me of the Mordor theme, a reminder that the Nazgul are still out there somewhere. At 0:24, it becomes distinctly hobbitish again, with a smidge of bounce to it.

Side note, not really LotR related: at 0:53, I was trying to figure out what theme that would be... I realized that for a few seconds it sounds similar to the music from Pirates of the Caribbean!

Around 1:15, the timpani slowly starts to make an appearance in the background, which as ungoliant said, is rather like a heartbeat. Then the pace really beings to pick up, and a gong enters, adding to the traces of Mordor which can already be detected. When the brass and choir are added, it is evident that things cannot be pleasant for our poor hobbits.

Suddenly things grow dangerously quiet. When we played Beethoven's Fifth in orchestra, there is a Grand Pause in which nobody plays, and it lasts a beat longer than anyone listening would expect it to. The conductor, who is a fascinatingly deep guy, told us that that one beat of silence should be the loudest thing in the entire symphony. While there is not total silence, it somehow feels even worse, making you feel uneasy, like you are in hiding while one of those black riders is about somewhere outside. Low brass, a soft gong, and some more of the discordant strings, so much like in Shelob's lair, break the silence and then we are back to the loud brass once more.

This transforms into the Isengard theme, at which I always get excited because it's in five. I always kind of move in time with the music when I hear it.... ONE two three FOUR five ONE two three FOUR five... It gives an impression that's slightly off kilter, and the accented beats are like strong hammer falls, giving the image of the orcs forging away in Isengard. As I learned from the LotR Symphony DVD, they actually had a guy banging with a mallet or hammer on a huge, suspended piece of metal.

Then it slows and becomes gentler. I am not sure what part of the movie this corresponds with; I'm thinking Gandalf on top of Orthanc, although I'm not sure.

And as a last note, this track is pi minutes long.