Music in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

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Table of Contents

Basic Information
Musical Topic 1
Musical Topic 2
Musical Topic 3
Reflection
Works Cited

Basic Information

For this work, I chose the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It was released in 2001. Howard Shore was the film composer.

Musical Topic 1

The name of this track is The Black Rider. It plays in the moments when the Hobbits are hiding and then running from Nazguls in fear (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). The scene would be hopelessly flat without this track because it would be robbed of its scary atmosphere. It is clear that the composer wanted the viewers to be as scared as the Hobbits are; he wanted their hearts to be running along with the terrified characters. In the movie, Nazguls are given a mystique, ancient, and horrifying aura. The soundtrack makes a viewer feel this aura.

This track can be characterized as a demonic topic, for it makes a listener feel the experience of being chased by several villains. The instruments are trombones, low-voice instruments, and high-pitched voices. The melody turns from slow to very fast in a mere moment. The rhythm is unsettled, and the dynamics are loud. Howard Shore used this musical topic skillfully to enforce the scene.

The composer has made a perfect choice of melody, instruments, and rhythm that suited this particular situation. The issue with the scene is that the villains are new to the viewer, and the viewer knows very little about how horrifying they are and what danger they pose. If it was not for the music, the viewer would not understand the point of this scene. With his artful choices, the composer managed to demonstrate the viewer the things yet unmentioned in the script.

Musical Topic 2

The name of this soundtrack is Lothlorien. It plays when the protagonists enter an elven kingdom for the first time and look around, startled (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). The music causes a strong association with this scene since it does create a sense of amazement, astonishment, admiration, and slight fear – the exact feelings that the characters must be experiencing during the scene. At the same time, the exquisite sounding, the innocent but confident singing of the choir, and the occasional interference of strong, low-tone instruments, and the combination of delicate beauty with somewhat terrifying strength would cause association with Tolkien’s elves in a viewer.

Lothlorien is a fairy topic since it is associated with supernatural but not demonic. Its harmony is minor. The melody of the soundtrack is slow. The involved instruments are violins, trombones, and voices (chorus). The dynamics are soft.

In this scene, the composer again demonstrates a good choice of tools to get a viewer acquainted with a new stage and new characters, as well as cause the same feelings in a viewer that the characters are supposed to experience. The protagonists enter an unknown land, they do not know what to expect, but they do understand that their new companions, though fairy creatures, are powerful. The scene is speechless; all these feelings have to be created by the music, and the composer succeeds to do this.

Musical Topic 3

The third soundtrack, The Breaking of Fellowship, also known as The Road Goes Ever On, is perhaps one of the most impressive achievements of Howard Shore. It plays during the final events of the movie, in which the protagonist makes some crucial choices (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring).

The music calls a strong association with the scene because it changes its tone and mood along with similar changes in the thoughts, choices, and mood of the characters. While they are concerned, the music sounds that way, too, and causes the same feeling in a viewer. As they finally decide what to do, the music brightens up. After they become confident in their choice and start feeling better about themselves, the music becomes heroic. In addition to this, the entire soundtrack is somewhat blue, as well as the scene: even if the characters are confident, the things that lie behind are still terrifying, and the established task is hard to achieve. Furthermore, it is the end of the movie, which is one more reason to make a soundtrack sad.

The topic is heroic, with an occasional passionate tune. The instruments include horns, violas, cellos, trumpets, oboe, drums, strings, and flute. The harmony is minor. The rhythm changes from moderate to medium.

As usual, Howard Shore’s choice of musical means makes a great contribution to the scene. It would not be half as impressive without the soundtrack.

Reflection

To my opinion, the film score enriches the film and contributes greatly to the viewer’s perception of its scenes, general spirit, and dramatic impact. It seems clear to me that the music enforces the long-existing association between fantasy movies and the European Middle Ages. For instance, the use of chorus and merry flute melodies calls associations with medieval music.

I have been the admirer of this movie and the soundtrack for a long time. For me, the soundtrack is an inseparable part of the film, and there are many moments in The Fellowship of the Ring what the music tells me more than any script.

Works Cited

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Ex. Prod. Peter Jackson. Los Angeles, California: New Line Cinema. 2001. DVD.

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