The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
From AwardAnnals
| Album: | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Music from the Motion Picture |
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| Artist: | Howard Shore |
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| Label: | Reprise / Wea |
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Reviews
Amazon.com
Howard Shore’s music for the massively successful first film chapter of Tolkien’s Ring saga won him the Oscar® for Best Original Score, something of a surprise given the music’s ambitious scale and determinedly dark overtones, factors that handily blurred the line between typical film fantasy music and accomplished concert work. Its sequel takes the same, often Wagnerian-scaled dramatic tack, following the film’s story line into even more brooding and ominous dark corners. The previous film’s Hobbit-inspired pastoralism is supplanted here by rich ethnic textures that expand the musical scope of Middle-earth and the World of Men; the Hardanger, a Norwegian fiddle, represents the Rohan and the North African rhaita colors the Mordor theme, while log drums, dilruba, wood xylophone, and cimbalon add intriguing textures elsewhere. The score’s looming orchestral clouds are brightened by Shore’s masterful choral writing, which infuses ancient liturgical influences with various solo turns by Isabel Bayrakdarian, indie-pop star Sheila Chandra, Ben Del Maestro, and Elizabeth Fraser. “Gollum’s Song,” the composer’s concluding collaboration with lyricist Fran Walsh, is delivered with Björkish, postmodern angst by Emiliana Torrini, and helps punctuate the story’s modern sense of allegory. —Jerry McCulley
Related works
The Two Towers: Book 2 of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest. They have lost the wizard Gandalf in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. Now Frodo and Sam continue the journey alone down the great river Anduin—alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.
