Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Shore, Howard
Label: Universal Music Group
Release: year
Rating: 5/5
The literary creations of the legendary English writer J.R.R. Tolkien, more than four decades after his death, still fire the imaginations of readers young and old, and over the past decade of plenty of moviegoers too. The characters and places of Tolkien’s fantastical ‘Middle-earth’ have been the subject of all kinds of musical inspiration many times over, in both popular and classical orchestral music, where individual arrangements tend to bring fantasy imagery to life in an especially convincing way. When it came to choosing the music for his new spectacular trilogy, this time inspired by Tolkien’s book »The Hobbit«, Peter Jackson, the New Zealand director who rose to fame with his film adaptation of Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, decided to team up once again with the acclaimed, multiple award-winning Canadian composer and arranger Howard Shore.
Shore had already proven himself as the creator of the music for all three films about Frodo’s perilous journey to Mount Doom, so it made sense for Jackson to renew their successful partnership for the screen version of Bilbo’s adventure over hills and dales toward the Lonely Mountain, where ancient dwarven treasure lies hidden under the watchful eye of the cunning dragon Smaug. A few years later, on the score for »The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey«, the first part of the new trilogy, the seasoned Shore reaffirmed his finely tuned feel for crafting mighty, vivid orchestral arrangements, conjuring the images and visions of Tolkien’s fantasy world with ease, and earning himself plenty of fresh praise and recognition once again.
This time, working once more with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Shore found himself facing a completely new challenge. Anyone who happened to catch the second film in »The Hobbit« trilogy in the cinema, this time subtitled »The Desolation of Smaug«, will have noticed that it’s noticeably darker than the first part, ‘An Unexpected Journey’. The mood of the lion’s share of Shore’s compositions on the double album »The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug« fits accordingly: darker symphonic tones mostly dominate, along with lightning-fast tempo changes and dramatic shifts, which only heighten the sense of claustrophobia and the many dangerous situations that the hobbit Bilbo, the wizard Gandalf, King Thorin and their dwarven company run into on the road to Erebor.
Shore also produced his own compositions, sticking as faithfully as possible to Jackson’s directorial ideas and the set design, so that certain arrangements mesh ideally with specific shots and moments on screen. The opening track »The Quest For Erebor« and its dramatic orchestral arrangements conjure a mysterious, mystical and slightly melancholy atmosphere, into which that famous, upbeat ‘hobbit’ theme sneaks, the one that has turned up in all of Jackson’s earlier films about the major events of Middle-earth. On »Wilderland« the tones turn markedly warlike and dark for the first time, growing in intensity from second to second, which is meant to reflect the mounting distress of the traveling band of inseparable friends as they once again find themselves in the middle of an inhospitable, unknown wilderness.
»The House of Beorn«, the moment in the story when Bilbo’s company meets the enigmatic skin-changer Beorn, a giant of a man by day and a bear by night, is crammed with wildly varied arrangements, where between choral vocalizations the subdued feeling of temporary safety constantly gives way to anxious anticipation of an approaching conflict. On »Mirkwood«, where Gandalf parts ways with the company, who set off into the unknown with heavy hearts through the dark realm of the Wood-elves, solemn beauty reflecting the grandeur of elven wisdom mixes with a gloom that mirrors the danger of the dark power of the tainted forest the travelers must fight their way through to reach their goal. In the final segment, some unexpected improvising brings on a totally chaotic atmosphere.
A master of dramatic arrangements and sudden, lightning-quick transitions that successfully build a sense of approaching danger, Shore especially shines on »Flies And Spiders«, where Bilbo and the dwarves have to fight off giant spiders. The central motif is slightly reminiscent of the one from the last part of Jackson’s first trilogy, ‘The Return of the King’, where Frodo faced the giant spider Shelob (Želoba in Branko Gradišnik’s Slovenian translation), with which Shore neatly captured the kinship between these monstrous arachnid broods. In the closing section the famous, mystical theme representing the power of Sauron’s One Ring, which also showed up in the earlier films, sneaks in too, while the final arrangement sounds especially epic.
On »The Woodland Realm« Shore skillfully rearranges the recognizable elven theme from the previous films and seasons it with pastoral elements and plenty of new symphonic flourishes, making his portrayal of the Wood-elves sound considerably darker and more warlike than usual, compared to their more ‘refined’ kin from Rivendell or Lothlórien. »Feast Of Starlight« has a distinctly ethereal feel, symbolizing elven wisdom as well as the unexpected beginnings of friendship and romance between the dwarf Kili and the red-haired elf Tauriel. It calms the dramatic nature of most of the compositions on the album a little, and lasts until the ‘One Ring’ motif sneaks in again. »Barrels Out of Bond«, where Bilbo proves himself a clever burglar and rescuer, has somewhat brighter ambient shades that liven up the turbulent arrangements, which Shore also uses on »The Forest River«, where the pace picks up and he cleverly conjures the company’s struggle against the current and the orcs.
»Bard, A Man Of Lake-Town«, where the mysterious lake-man and smuggler Bard first appears, and the company can’t tell on first meeting whether he’s friend or foe, has a tense, mysterious atmosphere that symbolizes the fateful encounter with a stranger holding a bow with an arrow aimed. On »The High Fells«, the moment in the story when the focus shifts back to Gandalf, who has gone into the mountain to unravel the riddle of the mysterious Necromancer among the tombs of the risen Nazgûl, emphatically dark orchestral variations rule, as you’d expect, while female choral harmonies heighten the ancient, archaic mood. »The Nature Of Evil«, where Gandalf’s path leads him to the fearsome fortress of Dol-Guldur and his suspicions about the return of the Lord of the Rings are increasingly confirmed, is a real manifestation of gloom and ambient chaos, which is to say exactly what Shore does best when he wants to musically portray the triumph of evil. On »Protector Of The Common Folk« somewhat brighter ambient shades return, nicely demonstrating Bard’s determination and courage in his revolt against the corrupt Master, while the subtle baroque arrangements in between successfully conjure the image of the ancient Lake-town.
The second disc opens with »Thrice Welcome«, where the crooked Master of Lake-town, for purely self-serving reasons, welcomes Thorin’s company of dwarves as guests and throws them a festive banquet in honor of their imminent return to Erebor, tied to a promised share of the legendary riches with which he could fill all four corners of his treasury. Fittingly for the moment, baroque-flavored orchestral inserts rule here too, while the strings spin a cloak of mystery and feverish anticipation. »Girion, Lord of Dale«, a memory of Bard’s ancestor, who managed to wound but not kill the dragon Smaug many years ago, comes across through its ambience with an ancient aura that radiates from the arrangements throughout. On »Durin’s Folk«, where the dwarven company is back at center stage, the orchestration is somewhat slower in tempo than usual, with a pronounced rustic string sound. »In the Shadow of the Mountain« is structured in a similar style, only it sounds even more epic and majestic, as the hobbit and his dwarven companions finally reach their destination: in the shadow of the mighty mountain where the legendary dwarven kingdom lies hidden.
On »A Spell of Concealment«, where the action swings back to Gandalf and his arrival at Dol-Guldur, as the grey wizard finds that Sauron’s old fortress is wrapped in a spell of abandonment, sacral-flavored inserts and bombastic transitions rule, further adding to the mysterious and dark mood. »On the Doorstep« is one of the longer compositions on the album, which is hardly surprising, since it ties into nearly the pivotal event of the whole adventure, when Bilbo and the dwarves reach the hidden entrance to Erebor and almost give up on the entire undertaking after failing to find the keyhole. The first half of the piece is fittingly cloaked in darker ambient shades, while in the second half, over mighty choral harmonies, the mood brightens a little, symbolizing new hope and joy once Bilbo manages to find the keyhole.
On »The Courage of Hobbits« Shore skillfully rearranges the famous ‘hobbit theme’ and, with help from extra, improvisational-sounding percussion, wraps it in a cloak of mysticism and enigma, which paints a good picture of Bilbo’s brave entrance into the dragon’s colossal royal treasury. »Inside Information« is the darkest moment of the film, when Gandalf finally uncovers the terrible secret that the mysterious Necromancer in Dol-Guldur is in fact the resurrected Sauron. Fittingly, Shore pushes the drama of the individual arrangements, which gradually build the dark mood, all the way here, before it all wraps up with the recognizable, gloomy motif signaling the dominance of ancient evil, that is, Sauron.
On »Kingsfoil«, where Tauriel saves Kili’s life with the healing elven herb athelas, more optimistic and bright ambient colors return, topped off by ‘angelic’ female choral vocals. »A Liar and a Thief«, Bilbo’s meeting with Smaug, is for a moment laced with chaotic, at times almost psychedelic, melodramatic arrangements that successfully crank up the sense of great danger. »The Hunters«, at a good nine minutes, is the longest and perhaps most complex composition on the album, as the mood shifts almost constantly through an extremely dynamic swapping of arrangements. »Smaug«, where the evil, ancient dragon decides after many years to launch a new rampage of destruction, is marked by all the grandeur and pomp necessary, as befits the introduction of the key (negative) character of the second part of the Hobbit saga.
The same goes for the fiercely warlike and turbulent composition »My Armor Is Iron«, where numerous arrangement elements that marked the album’s earlier most dramatic creations come together with choral harmonies in a sonic collage. A real standout is the folk ballad »I See Fire«, dominated by pastoral acoustic guitar chords and string arrangements, the only piece that isn’t the fruit of Shore’s compositional genius, but was written, played and sung by Ed Sheeeran. That also makes it the only vocal piece on this otherwise fully instrumental soundtrack for the second part of The Hobbit. »Beyond the Forest«, with its gentle orchestral veils and wonderful ‘elven’ choral harmonies, makes a beautiful epilogue to the album. In other words, it closes things out with a lovely ambient contrast to the prevailing dark nature of most of the other compositions.
Shore’s latest soundtrack, this time for the second Hobbit film, is a practically mandatory purchase for every fan of Tolkien’s world. The renowned Canadian composer once again proves himself one of the most skilled visionaries at marrying individual film scenes to the kind of orchestral music that does justice to the key chapters of this cult fantasy novel. Everyone has their own idea of how the ideal soundtrack for Tolkien’s literary masterpieces should sound, but with his masterful approach, Howard Shore has certainly come closer to Tolkien’s original vision than any composer before or since.
Line-up
Howard Shore – composer, orchestral arrangements
Conrad Pope – conductor, orchestration
James Sizemore – orchestration
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra – performance
Ed Sheeran – vocals and acoustic guitar on “I See Fire”
Production
Howard Shore
Track list
CD 1
1. The Quest for Erebor
2. Wilderland
3. The House of Beorn
4. Mirkwood
5. Flies and Spiders
7. The Woodland Realm
8. Feast of Starlight
9. Barrels Out of Bond
10. The Forest River
11. Bard, a Man of Lake-town
12. The High Fells
13. The Nature of Evil
14. Protector of the Common Folk
CD 2
1. Thrice Welcome
2. Girion, Lord of Dale
3. Durin’s Folk
4. In the Shadow of the Mountain
5. A Spell of Concealment
6. On the Doorstep
7. The Courage of Hobbits
8. Inside Information
9. Kingsfoil
10. A Liar and a Thief
11. The Hunters
12. Smaug
13. My Armor Is Iron
14. I See Fire
15. Beyond the Forest
