Then we get a quick succession of theme reprisals, including the Fellowship theme, a hint of the Nature theme, and then the Gondor theme. In "The Road to Isengard", we hear a statement of the rare Quest or setting off theme, heard when Frodo and Sam passed the boundary of the Shire. This eerie tone is an interesting contrast to Shore\'s other use of the boys\' choir, for the Nature theme, representing good and the reclaiming of Mordor-conquered lands. We also hear the ring\'s Seduction theme, performed by the London Oratory School Schola boy\'s choir, which has been featured in the first films, often accompanying close-up shots of the ring. This includes a statement of the Ring theme in the trombones toward the end of the cue, an unusual orchestration for the theme, which is normally played on the strings. A number of variations of the Ring themes are woven in and out here as playful hobbit music segues into dark Ring and Gollum themes. Disc 1 opens with "Roots and Beginnings" a smaller scale flashback in comparison to the other films, but no less violent. All three films open with some sort of flashback that tells us some aspect of the Ring\'s history and fleshes out its themes. Rather, this review will talk about the complete recordings, disc-by-disc, and talk about some of the thematic developments in relation to discussions I started in my reviews of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.Įven when I say something like "the Ring theme", I am in fact referring to multiple variations for particular elements of the theme\'s use in this case, I refer to the "History of the Ring" theme, though Shore has a number of musical ideas for the character.
I will not go into every theme in the film because the task is too daunting, but also because the liner notes do have in-depth discussions of the themes.
As The Two Towers introduced and developed the Rohan theme as the primary component to that film\'s story, The Return of the King brings in and develops Shore\'s grand themes for the people of Gondor and Minas Tirith. The Shire theme is relatively simple, both in melody and orchestration Fellowship of the Ring hinted at other themes (Gondor, Nature, Gollum, etc), but really only saw the development of the Shire, Fellowship, and Ring themes. Like the films, Shore\'s thematic elements similarly evolved through the course of the three installments. It is an interesting experience to view The Fellowship of the Ring directly after watching The Return of the King to see the stark contrast in the tone of the films. Culminating in The Return of the King we find ourselves having traveled from an innocent 111th birthday party in the Shire to a full-out, end-of-all-things war. I hardly have to summarize the achievement that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was for Peter Jackson, Howard Shore, and team the 2004 Oscars did that for me.
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