LOTR - Return of the King Soundtrack I got my cd from Amazon two days ago. I always write to music and have found Howard Shore's music for Lord of the Rings very helpful in unlocking my mind. The last two days have been exceptional.
I have the old earphones on for hours and stuff has been pouring out. I have done 3 days work in one today. What is it about Shore's vision?
I think that LOTR is more than a masterpiece and I think it is a call for revolt against the dark forces of the corporate world. It is couched as an adventure film, but it is quite revolutionary. It calls to us to find again our humanity.
More than any part of the enterprise, Shore's music captures the yearning to be free, to struggle against all hope with a few friends. For me this is hardly a metaphor. I feel that we do indeed stand before the gates of Mordor.
I do feel that nearly all hope is gone. But I also feel thrilled that I enjoy this emerging fellowship of friends who are taking the risks of their lives to become human again. So what better opener of the door of feeling, hope and consciousness than Shore's score?
My favourite soprano Renee Fleming's elvish laments are for me the high point. Close are Billy Boyd's sad song for the hopeless charge of Gondor and Viggo Mortenson's elegiac promise of faithfulness in Kingship at the end. The human voice is still transcendent.
I hear that they plan to release the full score - 9 hours long - later this year and that Shore has written a symphony. I wonder, did he have any idea when he began this project where it would take him? If I can be so moved what has it been like for him?
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