- Fri Dec 11, 2015 6:25 pm
#77912
The topic of orchestral scores has been brewing in my head for a while now. I have a read a few comments on the board from people saying they prefer funk/electronic/jazz scores over full orchestral, and I am probably no different, but I really do enjoy hearing a full symphony orchestra and always have. I grew up on Goldsmith, Williams, Herrmann, Silvestri, Poledouris, and Horner, much more than Italian psych/funk or Carpenter and Howarth (although my interest in the latter has grown exponentially since my early teen years). Like many of us, I gave up on concert/symphony band early on and went off to experiment with punk/metal bands and electronic/computer-based music. The parallels of being a young adult with little money to the DIY culture of cult horror/scifi film and music creation are very apparent, and I am sure many of us landed in this realm rather than being members of the local symphony orchestra (anybody?).
Anyway, Lord of the Rings. Full disclosure: I am a Tolkienite. That said, I don't want the discussion to veer too much into Tolkien or Peter Jackson. Both of those topics already have entire websites and forums dedicated to their discussion (let's not even get into The Hobbit right now). I also grew up with the Bakshi film and the interesting beast that is Leonard Rosenman's score.
In my opinion, Howard Shore's LotR saga is a masterpiece of thematic creation. Individual themes for every major character, including the ring, character arcs, and the fellowship as a whole. The amount of instruments involved is quite large and varied, but Shore decides to stay solidly the physical realm, and did not use any electronic instruments (to my knowledge). Incredible solo and choral vocal work, written in Tolkien's created languages, which adds innumerable nerd points to my reckoning. The whole thing sounds so bombastically large, yet certain passages sound incredibly intimate and heart-wrenching. Although I admit the films had a profound affect on me at the time, I really feel it was Shore's music that has had the longest-lasting impact.
I have obsessed over Shore's creation for well over a decade now, enjoyed the expanded CD albums countless times, and books have been written solely about how he put it all together. It has been voted the number one soundtrack of all time on Classical FM for the last six years in a row. Love or hate the films (let's avoid that here), I find it difficult to deny the power of his work. That said, I haven't heard anything about a vinyl release, or even much about it at all amongst this "vinyl soundtrack revival". Are they all just "too much cowbell"? So...
Anyway, Lord of the Rings. Full disclosure: I am a Tolkienite. That said, I don't want the discussion to veer too much into Tolkien or Peter Jackson. Both of those topics already have entire websites and forums dedicated to their discussion (let's not even get into The Hobbit right now). I also grew up with the Bakshi film and the interesting beast that is Leonard Rosenman's score.
In my opinion, Howard Shore's LotR saga is a masterpiece of thematic creation. Individual themes for every major character, including the ring, character arcs, and the fellowship as a whole. The amount of instruments involved is quite large and varied, but Shore decides to stay solidly the physical realm, and did not use any electronic instruments (to my knowledge). Incredible solo and choral vocal work, written in Tolkien's created languages, which adds innumerable nerd points to my reckoning. The whole thing sounds so bombastically large, yet certain passages sound incredibly intimate and heart-wrenching. Although I admit the films had a profound affect on me at the time, I really feel it was Shore's music that has had the longest-lasting impact.
I have obsessed over Shore's creation for well over a decade now, enjoyed the expanded CD albums countless times, and books have been written solely about how he put it all together. It has been voted the number one soundtrack of all time on Classical FM for the last six years in a row. Love or hate the films (let's avoid that here), I find it difficult to deny the power of his work. That said, I haven't heard anything about a vinyl release, or even much about it at all amongst this "vinyl soundtrack revival". Are they all just "too much cowbell"? So...
Last edited by deafmetal on Tue Dec 15, 2015 5:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
