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Why Howard Shore’s scores to Lord of the Rings are ABSOLUTELY EXQUISITE ON EVERY LEVEL: A (hopefully short) thread
In the first film, during the Council of Elrond, Boromir stands up to talk about his father, the steward of Gondor. At that moment, a horn solo starts, carrying what will become the Gondor theme in the third film.
(The fully orchestrated theme is heard both when Gandalf and Pippin are riding into Minas Tirith, and during the Lighting of the Beacons sequence - a personal favorite of mine!)
Speaking of Gandalf and Pippin riding to Minas Tirith - as they’re preparing to go, we hear a remarkable melding of themes in the stable scene. When Merry hands the last of the Longbottom Leaf to Pippin, “Shire” starts in the clarinet, while the horns carry “Fellowship.”
These themes occur together frequently, especially because the Ring-bearer, the center of the Fellowship and the reason for their quest, is a Hobbit, but it doesn’t discount the contributions of the other three Hobbits either.
The incorporation of both book material that didn’t make it into the films and the broader legendarium is also a beautiful thing. Example 1 - the Departure of Boromir. As he dies, the choir is singing a text from the second book in Elvish.
In Chapter 5 of The Two Towers, Faramir says to Frodo:
“...I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Númenor...”
“...I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend: the city of the Men of Númenor...”
...And that is what the boys’ choir sings in Elvish as his older brother Boromir, the great warrior, dies.
(I’ll give you a minute to cry; it’s fine. Major props to @SeanBeanOnline for dying so beautifully onscreen as Boromir.)
(I’ll give you a minute to cry; it’s fine. Major props to @SeanBeanOnline for dying so beautifully onscreen as Boromir.)
And now, to the inclusion of the broader legendarium.
In the first movie, we lose the elf Glorfindel sending Frodo to Rivendell after he’s stabbed, but we gain our introduction to Arwen instead!
In the first movie, we lose the elf Glorfindel sending Frodo to Rivendell after he’s stabbed, but we gain our introduction to Arwen instead!
What’s really artful about her introduction in the movie is what the choir sings underneath as she rides up to Frodo.
“Tinúviel, elvanui. Elleth alfirin edhelhael...”
Translation: “Tinúviel, the elven-fair. Immortal maiden elven-wise...”
“Tinúviel, elvanui. Elleth alfirin edhelhael...”
Translation: “Tinúviel, the elven-fair. Immortal maiden elven-wise...”
This is a continuation of a song we briefly see Aragorn singing in the extended edition, while he keeps watch over the Hobbits en route from Bree to Rivendell. The significance of that, however, is that the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen is quite similar to that of Beren and Lúthien.
In that same scene, Aragorn briefly tells Frodo that Lúthien was “the Elf-maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal.” When Frodo asks what happened to her, Aragorn simply answers, “She died.”
Sound familiar? It should.
Sound familiar? It should.
Now, Beren and Lúthien’s lived in the First Age of Middle-Earth, about 6,500 years before Aragorn and Arwen. Thingol, Lúthien’s father, told Beren that his daughter’s bride price would be a Simaril cut from Morgoth’s crown, a task he was sure would be impossible for a mortal man.
Surprise! Beren did it! He and Lúthien were wed and became the ancestors of the Kings of Númenor.
Now, it was said of Arwen Undómiel (Quenya for Evenstar) that in her likeness, Tinúviel the Nightingale once again walked through Middle-Earth.
Now, it was said of Arwen Undómiel (Quenya for Evenstar) that in her likeness, Tinúviel the Nightingale once again walked through Middle-Earth.
In fact, when Aragorn and Arwen first meet in Rivendell, he calls out “Tinúviel!” to her, believing that he sees her ancestor in front of him. (Hence the line in Fellowship, “I thought I had strayed into a dream.” Romantic, right?)
After that first meeting (which is, of course, when they fell in love), they meet about 30 years later in Lothlórien (home of Arwen’s grandparents, Celeborn and Galadriel). They climb the nearby hill of Cerin Amroth and plight their troth to each other.
Now, fast forward through all the events of LOTR, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and Arnor (which was, coincidentally, Elrond’s condition for him to marry Arwen), and after a LONG engagement, they marry and he reign lasts 122 years. (We love to see it.)
Aragorn dies at the age of 210, succeeded by his son Eldarion. Arwen, in her heartbreak, says her goodbyes to her children and dies shortly after him in Lothlórien - the only living Elf in Middle-Earth since her ancestor Lúthien to die of old age.
ALL OF THAT TO SAY, we know nothing of Beren and Lúthien in the films besides the brief overview we get from Aragorn. And yet, Howard Shore pays homage to their story on introducing Arwen in the first film.
Musical storytelling at its finest.
/end (for now)
Musical storytelling at its finest.
/end (for now)
OH! And for extra feels, did I mention what’s on the headstone of Tolkien and his wife?
You’re welcome for the feels trip.
/actual end of thread
You’re welcome for the feels trip.
/actual end of thread
