Track-by-Track: Soundtrack Discussion and Analysis

[The Tennis Ball Kid]

Hmmm, this site says it's Mabel Faletolu.


ttbk

[Encaitare]

Thanks for the link... so it's a lady after all! Eeenteresting....

[Lathriel]

I think its Edward Ross, the same guy who sings In dreams.

Anyway, the first time I heard the Lothlorien track along with the movie I thought it was too dark for the movie. However, when I later discovered that it was Gandalf's Lament I understood everything.
Now I really like this track although I would have liked to see more of the elves' light side since I know they are also capable of happier songs.

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

It's been a month since my last visit on this thread (too busy with school work) but now I finally have some time to discuss with you

At the first time when I listened to this piece on the soundtrack, I was disappointed because the atmosphere didn't match with its name: Lothlorien. But now I think the song is more about the Fellowship entering this mysterious realm and their astonishment at its grandeur. Maybe this song's feeling is quite appropriate for people living under danger and whose culture is fading.

That some kind of a string instrument at the beginning sounds very interesting, very Oriental like Encaitare said. Elizabeth Frazer's voice is somehow more "rough" than any other Elvish song's performer's. I think it's good for a lament, thogh. At 3:55 the style changes completely. It's now again all about the Fellowship and their journey. The brass instruments play a hopeful little melody which ends with a major chord. Though they've lost Gandalf, their mission still stands a chance.

[Encaitare]

As the Fellowship leaves the protection of Lorien, the music is a melancholy choir accompanied by strings. The lyrics, I was happy to learn, are from Galadriel's song "Namárië":

Ai! laurie lantar lassi súrinen,
yéni únotime ve ramar aldaron!
yéni ve linte...

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
long years numberless as the wings of trees!
Long years like swift...

The site where I got the words gives a slightly different translation to account for the actual order of the words, sentence structure, and whatnot. I took the translation from the book, though, except for the last line since it is incomplete.

The Fellowship theme then returns, slightly variated in brass, but the lower strings provide a sense of grandeur and foreboding. As the boats pass the Argonath, the choir begins to sing once more:

Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien.
Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!

Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come.
In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world!

In the book, Frodo notes the "great power and majesty" of the Argonath, and he is filled with "awe and fear". The music demonstrates this in several ways. Firstly, it is the Ring's theme which we hear, fitting since the Siege of Barad-Dur against Sauron claimed Anarion's life, and the Ring itself eventually claimed Isildur's. Secondly, though, there still is a great sense of power surrounding these statues. The music declares force, pride, and might -- it commands.

From a technical standpoint, I really like the swelling dynamics in this second section. They rise and fall, much like water.

Thoughts? Comments? Do you think the lyrics are fitting? How does the style of the music tie in with the emotions of these scenes?

[Anguirel]

Together, I think the Bridge of Khazad Dum, Lothlorien, and the Great River represent the absolute peak of the FOTR soundtrack.

The Bridge (Track 13, appropriately enough), is quite simply the most dramatic track on the FOTR CD. I see the scene swimming before my eyes. And...how do I describe this...the Fellowship theme is far more...urgent...than in, say, the Ring Goes South. I'm struggling with the musical vocabulary, but there are these sort of higher notes streaming from it, like sparks off a blade. The shadow and flame really emanates from it, and especially later from the choir.

Like others, I at first didn't like Lothlorien, either visually or musically. I remembered the joyous haven, the relief I'd experienced on my first reading; how I was literally begging my book to stay longer, never to leave the safety and beauty of the golden eaves. The "menace" of Track 14 just didn't seem right. But it's grown on me (as has the film interpretation, with the fabulous FOTR EE.) It's simply another point of view, and an interesting one. What must Boromir, Gimli, Merry or Pippin have thought on entering this strange land of dreams, where the branches resounded with laments? The melancholia of the place is caught exactly.

As for the Great River...it's actually the most fully Elven music in FOTR. I can never be satisfied with listening to it once; I have to replay the voyage...

[Lathriel]

I love this track because it portrays the Argonath and their granduer so well while at the same time it has a melancholy tone since the Argonath are a reminder of the Kingdom of Gondor during its greatness and now it is in a weakened state.

Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien.
Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!

Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come.
In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world!

This is actually a foreshadowing of what is to come, the return of the king; because Aragorn sings this in ROTK as he stands in Minas Tirith. I didn't realize that untill now, so thanks for the lyrics Encaitare