Microphones in Middle-earth...the BBC Lord of the Rings

[Estelyn Telcontar]

In Music in Middle-earth, Paul Smith (himself a counter-tenor) writes of Galadriel's song:

...it is interesting that this solo is assigned to a counter-tenor rather than a contralto; perhaps, since the music plays in the background of the narration, an evocation of other-worldliness associated with the male alto voice was considered to be more important.

Smith also assumes that the counter-tenor voice is used for Gwaihir

...to evoke the otherness of the Eagle.

and goes on to say:

Dramaturgically, the short episodes of the aria move the action forward by framing the discovery of the sapling on Mindolluin and the acclamation of Aragorn as Elessar.

That is interesting - normally, it is the recitative in an opera, not the aria, which moves the story forward!