The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Released

One of Tolkien’s main aims in Lord of the Rings seems to have been to build a world both in and outside of time: it comments on many human histories from the ahistorical vantage point of myth. Howard Shore achieves a similar balancing act in his colossal body of work for the early-2000’s film trilogy. His score synthesizes many historical voices — golden neo-Romantic glow, Stravinskian drive, microtonal clusters — into a distinctive idiom. Even if it were a terrible score, it would be historic on its dimensions alone: 90 different musical themes across the three films, a 330-person armada of musicians, more than 13 hours of music. Fortunately, it doesn’t collapse under its own weight, most of all because of Shore’s skillful manipulation of his durable themes.

Sean Wood

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